26 October 2011 (released)
31 October 2011
The o2 Think Big Gig took place at the Indigo o2 in Greenwich last week, to celebrate the work of young people in helping to better themselves and their communities by getting involved in different projects set up by the scheme. Supporting the event was two of the UK’s biggest rappers and ambassadors of the scheme, Chipmunk and Wretch 32. Both gave amazing performances on the night to give back to the young people involved in different projects. Wretch 32, said “The idea behind the gig is really simple: a celebration of young people, for young people, created by young people. Too often, the great work young people do day in and day out in their communities gets overlooked. The Think Big Gig is about standing up for young people and recognising that they do remarkable things to support and improve their communities every single day.”
The show itself kicked off with presenters Ben Osu and Ashley Walters. The pair had a great rapport with the audience, particularly Ben, as his cheeky sense of humour kept the crowd entertained in between acts as So Solid’s ‘Asher D’ kept things running smoothly. The great thing about the event was that the young people involved in Think Big initiative now had the chance to get up on stage and showcase their own talents as well as speak out about issues they feel affect them. It gave them the chance to perform on the same stage as stars like Chipmunk and Wretch, and show that they are also stars for the work they have done with Think Big. The strong performance of MISIDENTITY by two girls known as Stasti Theatre drew upon the issue of being judged by your appearance, race, religion, culture and so on, and had the audience’s attention., as Mikel Ameen proved his talents as a young rapper.
TV and radio personality Reggie Yates then took to the stage alongside one of the mentor’s Danny Bartlett to show his support of the ‘Hands Up, Who’s Bored’ project. Danny’s advert was shown on TV last week in an X factor ad break and can be seen on the Think Big website. Like Danny and Reggie, rapper Chipmunk also paired up with Marie Perryman Goins on the project Homework Club which emphasised the importance of children prioritising their education in order to secure a better future. Wretch also got involved with the project ‘Stand against Violence’ alongside Adam Fouracre, an inspirational man who set up the project after his younger brother was murdered six years ago due to senseless violence. Each mentor spoke of their project and what it meant to them, with a video played to sum up the work being done. It then was the turn of each ambassador to speak on the matter with fashion photographer Perou (Homelessness and the Arts project) stating ‘As a photographer, I want to bring my expertise to bear on James campaign – working together we want to use photography as bridge to help society understand the realities of youth homelessness and hopefully change perceptions.’
It was then time for a reward for all the hard work by those involved and this reward came in the form of Wretch 32 and Chipmunk, performing their hits which almost everyone in the crowd knew the words to as most were aged between 16 and 25. First up was Wretch who got the whole crowd pumped with his songs ‘Unorthodox’ and ‘Traktor’ and got everyone singing at the top of their lungs to his smash hit with Josh Kumra ‘Don’t Go’. Although Josh was not at the event himself, Wretch told the crowd ‘Josh would be proud’ as they sang the song word for word. He also told the audience that ‘violence was not cool, just dumb’ and had them all signing along with him. He signed off the performance by thanking the crowd for being ‘the best audience he’s had all year’.
Up next was the incredibly talented and entertaining Chipmunk who bounded on to the stage, with the energy a 20 year old but his clever lyrics and showmanship would lead you to think he was older than his years. He performed one of his early hits ‘Diamond Rings’ before going onto the number one he had with Chris Brown ‘Champion’ which summed up his huge success this year.
The exclusive performance of ‘Otis’ from Chipmunk’s new mix tape spazz.com saw Wretch join Chipmunk on the stage. The song is originally a hit of Jay Z and Kanye West, but you couldn’t tell as the energetic performance they gave together sent shockwaves through the crowd. The chemistry they had on stage boosted the fact they are good friends and admire each other’s music off stage also.
Overall, it was an inspiring evening, full of promising young people; refreshing to see when so many of them are struggling to be seen in a positive light in society today. The performances were full of energy and charisma whether it was from those involved in Think Big or from the artists themselves and proved that there are many young people willing to change their everyday lives. Chipmunk ended the evening with some inspirational words for the crowd encouraging them to continue thinking big and to follow the right path to their goals and dreams. For such a young man himself, his words couldn’t be more appropriate for such an important event.
