You’d think it’s impossible not to be shook up at the thought of stepping onto the stage to open for one of the hottest artists on the planet right now – but Nadia Rose isn’t one of those shook ones and that was damn obvious when she made her debut ARRIVAL opening for Anderson .Paak last night in London.
Nadia likes to be in control, an MC who’s clear she isn’t f*cking with anyone who isn’t on her wave, she also knows how to have fun with it and make fun at it, all while stepping to her Twitter ready on the trigger finger asking for MC’s to send for her. But when it comes to going at it live, Nadia Rose is all in, she clearly knows how to give it, and she’s not letting herself get stunted by any pressure. Last night Nadia caught something of the Anderson .Paak wave, fixture focus on her pure craft, solo to the core, straight to the point, irreverent in her manner but built to last and certainly not fazed by the spotlight.
Stepping down into the basement of XOYO, we already knew our hearts didn’t stand a chance before things got all kinds of funky with .Paak but Nadia was first up, and ready to prove with her lyrical flames why there’s something about this ‘Next Up in 2016’ artist. Donning her signature Adidas trackie, Nadia warmed the crowd up, complete with a dope freestyle with beatboxer – seriously, do not sleep on Nadia.
I like to think my live stuff goes off, just as much as the actual material
With a firm promise to not let Semtex down in a backstage interview before her set, by the look on his face as he watched her do her thing, it just went off!
This London crowd included fans, critics, industry heads and a host of rated and hotly anticipated new UK artists – Ray BLK, Loyle Carner, Ady Suleiman, Cadenza – Nadia Rose wasn’t just performing to new fans she was also winning over future supporters and maybe some competitors ready to battle this fiesty MC – simply said she made her Arrival like ‘Boom’!
