Sunday 22nd May saw Wiz Khalifa head back up North for his third gig to be held at the Manchester Academy.

The queues for the gig had started by 2pm, winding way down the street and practically out of sight by 7pm when the doors opened. The crowd were representing in a serious array of Pittsburgh Pirates 59Fifty’s, chino trousers and Chuck Taylor All-Stars!

The night got going with a 45 minute set by DJ Snips playing almost every form of urban beats warming the crowd up from a very cosy place to a bouncing mosh pit, all eagerly awaiting the support act.

Then tripping onto the stage and direct from London came UK Hip Hop/Grime’s finest…Wretch 32!

The first few tracks from Wretch 32 were old stuff from his mix tapes, certainly getting the crowd going and in the mood. Spitting out a cover of Gyptian’s ‘Hold Yuh’, a hyped up and full volume crowd joined in to belt out Gyptian’s part. This lead right into a superb performance of ‘Unorthodox’ and ‘Traktor’, both of which were certainly well received!

DJ Snips returned to the stage for another 30 minutes or so playing more hip hop tunes before the Pittsburgh Rapper graced the stage.

Wiz Khalifa entrance onto the stage brings on a surge from the whole audience who move at least a foot nearer the stage into a space that really wasn’t there!

The first few songs were from his mix tapes which were electric and performed with electric energy. Wiz performed a mix of MGMT’s ‘Kids Say Yeah’ which blew the roof and was followed by the brilliant ‘Taylor Gang Anthem’.

Wiz, now with all his tattoos on show, went into songs from Rolling Papers ‘On My Level’, ‘When I’m Gone’, ‘Fly Solo’, ‘No Sleep’ ... to mention a few! Loved by the crowd in front of him, his finely crafted showmanship made sure the audience was as much a part of his performance.

Approaching the end of his set with style, Wiz performed an acapella piece leading into ‘Roll Up’ which injected further furore amongst the ecstatic crowd.

Next thing, Wiz hushed the audience down, playing on the anticipation of what was coming next to get the revellers itching to know how he was going to close the show. For what felt like an eternity the room waited before Wiz dropped the black and yellow beats and sent the audience into a mental, bouncing rave.

From the minute he stepped onto the stage until he eventually bowed out Wiz had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand. A rising star who has already achieved massive success in the underground scene, if his performance at the Manchester Academy is anything to go by this guy is going to be huge!

By Dale Kin-Cleaves