Stand Up To Knife Crime has become an essential annual fixture in the Notts music calendar, hosted each year by the fantastic Stone Soup Academy. Delivering an impactful evening of music, film and spoken word designed to unite, raise awareness and change perceptions surrounding knife crime in our community, the LeftLion Music team went along to support this important event...
Even though this is technically a gig review, calling Stand Up To Knife Crime a ‘gig’ feels wrong, because it was so much more than that.
The free event, which took place at Metronome on 24 July, is an annual affair, coordinated by Stone Soup Academy - an alternative provision free school in Nottingham, supporting students academic and personal development outside mainstream education.
After a DJ set from Janelle, and before any live music began, the short film ‘Hollow’ was streamed. This is available on YouTube, so I highly recommend you make the time to go and watch it.
I won’t give spoilers, but it perfectly encapsulated the grief, the devastating impact of needless violence, and the consequences of societal neglect on vulnerable youth, shedding light on the dire outcomes that arise in the absence of positive role models and support systems.
A highlight of his set for me was ‘Price of Gold’, which featured IAMNEE, who joined Marsalis on stage. Their vocals complemented each other beautifully, and the track will appear on his upcoming project, which I am highly anticipating.
Another standout moment was ‘Hello, Who’s There’, which Omari performed brilliantly, turning to face different ways on the stage to reflect the conversation that he has with his younger self on the track. A creative and engaging performance, you would never have known this was his first time attempting this on stage.
The next performer was rapper JayaHadADream, hot off the back of her performance at Glastonbury, and a mere few days ahead of the launch of her EP ‘Redemption Songs’ - which, by the time you’re reading this, is out now.
Anyone who knows me will know that I am probably Jaya’s biggest fan, and getting me to shut up about her music, and how much I believe in her artistry, is a challenge. I first discovered her two years ago, on this very same stage, so it was brilliant to see her back at Metronome.
Opening the set with ‘Demons’, an unreleased track at the time, set to appear on the EP, Jaya then went into crowd favourite ‘Butthurt Men’, which expresses distaste about the behaviour of men in the music industry in a series of fiery, energetic verses. “Anyone can be butthurt, though,” Jaya clarifies - “it’s not just men!”
Followed by the remixed version of ‘Force’ and the title track of her upcoming EP, Jaya showed exactly why she has received so much success lately. Her ultimate message, is to “do your thing”, and with Zoutr, her producer, on the decks, she really is an unstoppable force. Go and check out the EP if you haven’t already.
Kacia, a Stone Soup Academy student, then performed a song which she successfully entered into a competition down in London, followed by laidback RNB artist Kamar. His latest song, ‘Lover Boy Suicide’, sees him exploring the rap genre, before closing the set with a song about Sneinton, the area of Nottingham where he grew up.
Following the debut of the trailer for the Derry Shillitto-produced film ‘The Correction Unit’, another Stone Soup student, and star of the aforementioned short film ‘Hollow’, Charnz performed two tracks. Then, we moved onto the final artist of the night, ROB.GREEN. I had previously seen Rob at the new Central Library back in March, so I knew I was once again in for a treat.
Performing a set made up entirely of tracks from his ‘Manhood’ EP, and accompanied with familiar backing vocalists Tila and Tav, Rob merged music and poetry seamlessly, just as he does on the EP, to produce an engaging and mesmerising setlist.
Anyone who has seen Rob before knows he tends to end his set on a medley of popular songs, and this was no different. The audience, of course, knew every word, and were enthusiastically singing along with Rob, to end the night on a moment of unity - exactly what the event set out to achieve.
It was an impactful evening, complete with music, film, and inspiring guest speakers, successfully uniting people to raise awareness and perceptions surrounding knife crime in our community.
Stone Soup Academy Presents... Stand Up To Knife Crime took place on Wednesday 24th July at Metronome.
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