1Xtra celebrate their 10th birthday with an all star line up, Live in London

24 September 2018, 08:41 | Written by Cal Byrne

(Live)

(Pusha T) (Chance The Rapper) (Jorja Smith) (Stefflon Don) (Kojo Funds) (Ella Mai)

The shoulder twitches, the head shrugs, the footwork; Chance the Rapper brought it all to Greenwich Peninsula to remind everyone why he is a global sensation. Working the stage expertly, Chance was at the top of his game; every movement felt controlled and designed to elicit a certain reaction from the crowd. His presence alone brought the strong realisation that, the people that get to the top, have an otherworldly quality about them.

But, before Chance got to flex around the O2 there was a chance for the UK’s biggest and brightest to stunt their stuff.

Jorja Smith eased everyone into the evening to come, opening the night with a cool mix of sultry tones and old school stylings. Donning a full Taekwondo style trackie, Ella Mai did her best Kung Fu Kenny impression and owned the stage. "Bood Up" was one of the hits of the night and helped along by a stomping drum solo from her live band. Quite literally, Kojo Funds brought the fire in a 15-minute medley that kept the crowd guessing and hanging on every beat while, Stefflon Don made her pitch for Queen B of the UK music scene by arriving on a throne and leaving on one. "Pretty Girls" landed, as did basically everything else she touched.

But, the arguable performance of the night was to come from one of the other US imports. Pusha T’s constant insistence that Daytona was the “album of the year” may have seemed a tad heavy handed but it was hard to disagree with him based on this evidence. He dipped into all seven tracks from his Kanye produced gem and played a selection of G.O.O.D. Music cuts that set the arena off.

But it was up to Chicago’s latest golden boy to close the night. "Workout", "65th & Ingleside" and "Mixtape" all lit up the stage but it was "Blessings" that left everyone stunned. As Chance departed to a stream of confetti and streamers no one could disagree with the sentiment of the latter on the 10th anniversary of BBC 1Xtra Live.