Catch Those Feels From 6LACK’s London Debut

By Kamilla Rose Photography by Mabdulle Mar 28, 2017

There was an air of excitement in the capital for 6LACK’s debut show. From endless Tweets on the timeline, to pre-show playlists, London was ready and waiting for Atlanta’s elusive, yet utterly relatable 6LACK. And yes, it’s pronounced ‘black’ for those of you who haven’t cottoned on.

After a crazy response to the show, the event organisers moved it from the Jazz Cafe, which has a capacity of 420, to the Electric Ballroom, which has a capacity of 1100. Needless to say, 6LACK had no trouble selling out the bigger venue. With support from Disturbing London’s A2, who opened up the night with his signature melodic and emotive style, a perfect compliment for 6LACK.

Taking to the stage, paired with his DJ and band, the Zone 6 reppin’ singer who raps, burst into his melodic hits from his debut project ‘FREE 6LACK’. With a camera crew joining him on stage, weaving in and out, the moments, and reactions were captured throughout. Camden was packed. It was sold out from front to back, packed with plenty of stoner guys, and girls ready to sing along. Getting into tracks from the project such as ‘Rules’, ‘Free’ and ‘MTFU’, 6LACK proved why he’s amassed millions of online streams to date.

With DJ Tone bringing that hip-hop flavour, 6LACK’s R&B-esque vocals didn’t disappoint. Holding his own he sung live throughout, flirting between rap and song. Breaking out of song, 6LACK launched into ‘Alone / EA6’, the closing track from the project, an ode to his hometown Atlanta, but also showed us a candid 6LACK and his thoughts on the music industry in general. Without the vibe dropping though, DJ Tone shouts out, “If you don’t fuck with your ex, put your middle finger up!” which was met with a sea of middle fingers in the air, as 6LACK launched into ‘Ex Calling’.

Then 6LACK got personal. With the crowd shining their phone lights on him, he opened up about missing the birth of his daughter Syx last month, due to touring, then got into the reflective ‘Gettin’ Old’.

If you follow 6LACK on social media you’ll know he’s all about the visuals, and he didn’t let this slide for his live show. From psychedelic-type images, to video clips of soldiers in trenches, to clips from the Hype Williams directed 1998 film Belly, to images of a bear, 6LACK intertwined his visuals throughout.

With the audience calling for an encore, 6LACK returned to the stage to perform his final offering, ‘PRBLMS’. Arguably the most popular from ‘Free 6LACK’, the entire crowds arms were raised as 6LACK sung the opening line, ‘You a God damn lie’. Getting super into his feels 6LACK wasn’t going to let the London crowd be disappointed. With London singing along, word for word, it was the gal-dem who 6LACK wasn’t leaving out, as he took off his jumper and threw it into the crowd.

From increasing the venue and still selling out a show over 4000 miles away from his hometown, 6LACK has proved that staying true to your craft will ultimately prevail.