Live Review: Stormzy, Manu Crook$

Having supported pretty much every major hip hop artist to tour the country this year, Manu Crook$ has firmly cemented himself as Australian rap's next big thing. Riding the wave of critical acclaim from latest single Ridin', the Sydney rapper puts in another dynamic performance leaving the gathering masses hot, sweaty and ready for the main event.

Grime's recent resurgence has run parallel with the rise of South London rapper Stormzy. Nominated for the 2017 Mercury Music Prize for his number one-charting debut album Gang Signs & Prayer, Stormzy's long-awaited Australian tour is sold out, with his Melbourne supporters out in force on a school night. Chock-full of super-hyped males in their early 20s, the moshpit is absolutely rammed with bodies chanting Stormzy's name in anticipation of his arrival.

Sauntering on stage to deafening cheers, Stormzy launches into the double shot of First Things First and the icy Cold, the opening two tracks from Gang Signs & Prayer. Impressed by the show of love, Stormzy changes things up and takes everyone back to the early days, dropping WickedSkengMan 4. Testing the ratio of men to women with the tried-and-tested hip hop call-and-response method, Stormzy isn't wrong when he states there's "a lot of fucking men" in the venue, telling them to forget how hard they are and sing along to the R&B-flavoured Velvet. The set is a mixture of softer rap tunes (Blinded By Your Grace Part. 1, Cigarettes & Cush) and hard-hitting tracks (Bad Boys, Return Of The Rucksack), with security working overtime spraying and handing water to the kids at the front who are moshing like it's a rock concert.

Referring to his fans as the "energy crew", Stormzy continually urges us all to get involved, expressing his need to see "carnage" during the short sample of Feed Em To The Lions and the hard-hitting Mr Skeng. Taking time out to thank his mum, the MC dedicates 100 Bags (a song describing the hardships they've been through) to her and all the mums in the world. Stormzy is all about good vibes, asking for the house lights to be turned on so he can comment on how good looking the crowd is. We return the favour by singing him Happy Birthday when he reveals he turned 24 the day before.

"I don't give a fuck if you like this song, or the guy, but it's a banger," Storzmy claims defiantly as he dives into his remix of Ed Sheeran's Shape Of You, with the majority of the crowd surprisingly singing along to the song's catchy chorus. The finale is a triple threat of Stormzy's biggest tunes. Big For Your Boots turns the mosh into hysteria and a circle-pit forms at Stormzy's urging during Know Me From. Viral hit Shut Up is a fitting end to Stormzy's energetic hour-long performance, with the Londoner leaving nobody doubting he's "lord of [his] yard".