Live Review: Azealia Banks thrills sold-out O2 Institute - eventually
The Harlem-raised rapper has never been far from controversy throughout her career and she showed once again why she’s both hated and rated by music fans.
Just as she had done the previous night in Glasgow, Banks took to the stage just over an hour late and as a consequence played only a truncated 45-minute set.
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Hide AdDespite having only released one studio album in her career and not having released a mixtape since 2019, every single song was sung by the crowd with gusto.
Banks kicked off the evening with ‘Luxury’ from her 2014 release ‘Broke with Expensive Taste’ which has benefitted in recent times from being a trending sound on TikTok.
Recent release ‘New Bottega’ was sung back in raucous fashion while ‘The Big Big Beat’ got the crowd bouncing.
With a minimal set and only a DJ as backing on stage, Banks frequently relied on the capacity crowd to sing her songs back to her.
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Hide AdThe bassline as ‘Heavy Metal and Reflective’ started testing the limits of the sound set up and there was a brief pause in the set as the heat in the filled-to-capacity venue started to take its toll on fans at the front.
The night wound up to a crescendo as Banks sung the bridge of her breakthrough smash ‘212’ acapella before launching into the track - electrifying the crowd.
Much credit should go to support DJ GBE who played a mammoth two-hour plus set keeping the crowd dancing during a prolonged warm up.
Despite Banks’ controversies, it’s impossible to deny she still very much has the star quality that has kept her in the public eye for more than a decade.
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Hide AdAnd while we can’t really publish the refrain sung aloud during her final song, there should be no doubt that it went down well with the crowd.
It might not have been the most professional of performances ever seen but when fans go that feral for a finale, does it really matter?
Azealia Banks played:
Luxury
F*** Him All Night
new bottega
Fierce
Van Vogue
Liquorice
1991
The Big Big Beat
Treasure Island
Heavy Metal and Reflective
BBD
212
(Source setlist.fm)
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