Wagwan famalam, Stormzy’s in yard and all yats and mandem were flat roofin’ shook bruv.

Safe to say Stormzy’s Gang Signs and Prayer Tour was a cultural experience like no other. The sold-out gig saw Metro City’s tiers full to the brim as hundreds squeezed into one of the more hectic mosh’s of 2017. With Perth’s unlucky run of grime acts pulling out of shows such as Skepta’s 2016 tour and Stormzy’s Listen Out no-show, the crowd was buzzing for a chance to witness grime in it’s prime. Football-like chants circled the venue before an eventual appearance after a half an hour wait of excitable torture.

Stormzy applauded fans who watched him play at Jack Rabbit Slims in 2015, confessing it was one of the best shows he had ever performed and we all hoped he could pull it off again tonight. He did not disappoint. Kitted out in all black #Merky label gear he didn’t mind a bit of self promotion, clocking up a whopping 18 “hashtag Merky” mentions throughout the night, but aren’t we all just suckers for consumerism anyway?

Stormzy kicked through tunes from his debut full length album Gang Signs and Prayer, going through the motions with songs that got fans jumping, grooving, fist pumping, arm-swaying and even praying. The intimate mosh were packed so tightly you could see waves of pushes going from one end of the floor to the other. A perfect scene for the sweaty madmen, rough for fans who just wanted a killer view of Stormzy and even worst for the rinsers. Where the fuck would they have room to rinse?! Maybe it was a blessing.

The entire set had everyone on their toes waiting for Stormzy’s next big line, no song letting down the amped vibes. There were three songs in particular that just took the gig from ‘a night out’ to ‘a Stormzy concert’. With a call to action to shake the tiers of Metro, Too Big For Your Boots was a standout title. The the choir-like hums and aggressive beats had everyone going looney on the dance floor and it wasn’t about to stop anytime soon, Shutup and his own Shape of You Remix kept the intensity flowing. Even the most hardened of rudboi’s turned up for the Ed Sheeran remix.

Stormzy’s aura was like no other. When he stepped out on stage he had absolutely everyone necked with energy. The way the Londoner bounced on stage and was so tight with every line, everyone in the room could not let go of what they were witnessing. Going into the gig I thought grime might be a genre to last a few years, maybe ten, but after seeing a performance as powerful as this, boy was I flipped. Grime is here to stay.