NEWS
EVENTS
Celebrating London's urban music roots with Rinse | Born & Bred 2016
Drum and Bass | Monday 20th June 2016 |
One of the worlds most visited cities, London has something for everyone, and if you know the history of urban dance music, you know that London had a key role to play in the prominent rise of all things Grime and Bass over the last decade.
Hosted in conjunction with Rinse FM, the Found crew have brought back their Rinse | Born & Bred festival to Haggeston Park for this years urban adventure, and as always there is an exciting line up of the UK’s most prolific Deejays and artists on tow. After infamously dropping Azelia Banks a few weeks before the event, we were still in store for a great festival, with acts such as Congo Natty, Fabio, Novelist and Lady Leshurr all appearing throughout the weekend.
Catching a variety of performances over the weekend, we found some sets to be a bit short and unfinished, but on a more positive note there was still lots of evidence that we still have great home grown talent churning out from these shores. Mancunian spitter Bugzy Malone delivered an eminent and enthusiastic set, showcasing his evolution of grime alongside his catchy hooks and bars. Definitely one of the names to look out for 2016 as he’ll be bringing his Bugzy Malone showcase to Glastonbury, Wireless, Ibiza and Aiya Napa this summer.
Our Lady of the moment, Lady Leshurr, had the place in good voice and "fresh breath" and she went through her slew of her hits for her short but sweet appearance. Next up was Benga and Crazy D, who delivered a powerful and energetic history of dubstep set for Benga's prominent return to the festival circuit. ILOVEMAKONNEN was well received by the Rinse | Born & Bred faithful who made the native Californian rapper feel right at home as strutted bare chested across the stage basking the East London sunshine.
Unfortunately the next set had a distinct feeling of DeJa Vu with Wiley’s absence as he left his more than capable Younger brother, Cadell alongside Slimzee and P Money to shell down the main stage. Quickly darting over to the Heritage Vs London Something stage to catch a dose of Drum and Bass legends Randall B2B with Jumping Jack Frost, we were thoroughly entertained as they belted out classic after classic with an flavoursome old school jungle set that had the crowd crying our and skanking for more and displaying the many different influences which has come out and grown from London over the decades.
Rinse| Born & Bred also brings together some of the most influential names in sound system culture, and Congo Natty has to be one of the best systems to come out of the UK today. Closing off the main stage on Saturday Rebel MC, now also known as Congo Natty, brought along his "all sound boy" conquering dub plates and Iron Dread to educate the masses with their conscious vibes and riddims through Jungles golden era.
With Rinse | Born & Bred now spread over 2 days, we took solace in the fact that the Found’s urban assault would continue and Sunday was welcomed in for us by an outstanding and prominent performance from Novelist. Decked out head to toe in white, he was supported by Grandmixxer and the reloads were in absolute abundance. Novelist had the crowd on their toes as they lapped up his upbeat and lively performance as he cemented his name as one of Grime’s standout stars of today. As we drew to a close, one of our all time favourites Fabio came through on the main stage bringing us down a mesmirising journey of old school beats and synths as we revisited rave cultures early beginnings.
The thing about Rinse | Born & Bred is that it totally sticks to it’s game plan, delivering the cream of UK Urban Dance music culture that represents a London vibe, in both its music, location and crowd. Attracting a young and diverse clientele, the Festival seemed busy and slightly chaotic at times as large groups moved from stage to stage trying to catch a snippet of the talent playing throughout the weekend. I suppose if I had any gripes about the weekend then it had to be the drinks token system. Any Saturday “pink” tokens could not be used on the Sunday, which is a result for some, but not me. And as with any London festival, the sound levels are never really going to rattle your rib cage, but the atmosphere from the audience and the energy from the artists more than made up for it on both days.
All in all, Rinse | Born & Bred weekender was hectic for all the right reasons, amazing vibes and a well curated and diverse line up that really represented many of the London legends in UK's bass and grime music genres.
Rinse | Born & Bred - online - Facebook
Photos: Chazino Suban
