Review: slowthai triumphs as Hell Is Home tour heads to Brixton for sold out shows

“Does anybody fancy a cup of tea? And some biscuits too?” He really isn’t your average rapper, is Northampton’s Tyron Frampton.

With a devotional fanbase that has grown year on year since he broke through with 2018’s punky Doorman collaboration with Mura Masa, his tribe are out in force for a couple of sold-out nights in south London on this post-pandemic Hell Is Home tour.

As the place fills up on the first night, we’re treated to support from Deb Never and Knucks, both of whom excel in getting the vibe to the right areas.

What the people came for though tonight is personality. So, when the curtain rises to reveal the main man it’s a little shocking to find slowthai standing on top of a house.

The stage set references the tour title, but what it does it keeps us distanced from slowthai’s intoxicating energy. For a few songs it feels like this show might be a dud.

He’s perfunctorily reeling though the songs from his 2021 sophomore album Tyron. NHS gets a great reception, which is right as it’s one of his best.

Then he climbs down. There’s flames, strobe lights and dancing. This is what we came for.

Glidin’ is a song he guests on for Pa Salieu and he’s here himself to bring the first evening highlight. Now we’re cruising in the fast lane.

Without DJ and hypeman Kwes Darko in tow, as he was on the first album tour, slowthai has to carry the show mostly on his own shoulders and that’s a tough ask over 90 minutes.

The show dips and rises. Psycho, his track with Denzel Curry, sends everyone into an endorphin rush while new song F*** My Opps is another rallying cry against those who wish to cancel him.

Deb Never comes back out for push, their Tyron album collaboration, and it is a genuinely beautiful moment.

The Tyron album has plenty of reflective material - unsurprising as it was recorded during the 2020 lockdown - and it’s a tricky job to play that slower material while still keeping the audience energy alive.

slowthai does deliver though – he’s a man who can keep you enthralled even when he’s barely moving.

Following a well-received rendition of Ladies, he takes a moment to communicate.

“My fiancé and I had a baby and it’s changed my life, I love it. I bought a house, thanks to you.

“But a problem I will have until the day I die is trying to find a drug dealer.”

The humour is always there among the emotional darkness.

These Nothing Great About Britain era tracks are greeted with screams and moshing - those eski beats an undeniable force of nature when ridden by his maniacal rhymes.

New song Feels Good is joyous and possesses a clubby feel, bringing the suggestion of jungle/D&B sounds in the near future.

The set climaxes with his four best known tunes. The street crawl of Deal Wiv It, the Gorillaz feature Momentary Bliss, the James Blake featuring ballad Feel Away and the club anthem to end them all, Doorman.

It’s a satisfying night in all, one that not only firmly puts slowthai in the top echelon of contemporary rap acts, but highlights the lineage of his storytelling abilities that recall such lauded talents as Ian Dury, Damon Albarn and Mike Skinner.

You suspect the ride isn’t always going to be smooth, but his imagination and musical dexterity will keep him going far.

He’s not for everyone, but Northampton should be rightly proud of their son for taking on the world and winning.

slowthai played:

Enemy

Cancelled

Wot

Dead

NHS

I tried

Glidin' (with Pa Salieu)

Maza

Vex

Psycho

F*** My Opps

BB (Bodybay)

Push (with Deb Never)

ADHD

Ladies

Drug Dealer

Inglorious

T N Biscuits

Feels Good

Deal Wiv It

Momentary Bliss

Mother

Feel Away

Doorman