GIITTV’s Joe Coyle headed down to London to check out Professor Green’s exclusive gig for energy drink brand Relentless.
A gig in a church? This one-off Professor Green show was held at St John at Hackney Church. A completely partisan crowd of competition winners, a smattering of industry executives and family packed the serene venue.
From the moment I entered the venue the anticipation of Professor Green imminent appearance started to grow. Hailing from Hackney this was effectively a home coming gig for Professor Green.
First up were Rascals, a young vibrant Rap act to warm up the crowd. Impressing with confidence, wordplay and crowd interaction Rascals were a surprising and enjoyable addition to the evening ably getting the crowd hyped up for the main act whilst gaining a few new fans in the process.
As soon as Rascals departed the stage the crowd was ready for the main act but they would have to wait a little longer while Professor Green sent on his DJ and friend DJ IQ for a short DJ set to get the crowd bouncing. Combining a mix of classic and new hip hop with his significant skills on the decks, DJ IQ did his job with panache and soon it was time for Professor Green.
Sometimes it’s hard to know what to make of Professor Green. In parts disposable pop, his latest album ‘At your inconvenience’ has several tracks which hint at a maturity and staying power but tonight unsurprisingly is all about the hits. To begin with Professor Green seemed a little overawed with the beautiful venue but quickly settled and buoyed by the partisan crowd he started delivering the hits one by one.
‘I need you tonight’ , ‘Be good to Green’, ‘Remedy’, ‘Jungle’ and show closer ‘Read all about it’ all get a rapturous reception by the crowd tonight. At times I am dazzled by the show which is impressive but, like his output on record, frequently leaves me emotionally cold. Maybe this is because of the partisan crowd which hang on every word or maybe because I am cynical. I see unfulfilled potential when the performance is in progress.
Professor Green is an artist which has yet to achieve his true potential . He is significantly better than the ‘poor man’s eminem’ tag which dogged his early career. Tonight was a good gig, flashy with far too few moments of emotion . A good pop gig but somewhere inside of me it feels like I’m watching the beginning of a transformation.
