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Scotsman
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Wireless 2025: as fans wait for more announcements, here's 13 acts they think will play
There is plenty of speculation, and a touch of impatience, when it comes to the final line-up for this year's Wireless Festival, taking place at Finsbury Park, London from July 11 until July 13 2025. With the dates being so soon, you can understand some of the impatience, as many who have already bought tickets are still just seeing Drake, Summer Walker, Partynextdoor, Vybz Kartel and Burna Boy as the only confirmed names, with 'The Mandem' hotly tipped to be acts from the Boy Betta Know collective. But, with Glastonbury Festival now in the books, could we see some of the hip-hop acts that graced Worthy Farm finally be announced for this year's Wireless? We've taken a scour across social media, Reddit and even word-of-mouth from some other music fans we've spoken to find out who everyone thinks, or hopes, will be announced ahead of next week's event. Here's the 13 names that have been banded around as time ticks for those remaining acts to be announced - it will happen, we're sure of it. 1 . Sampha The Mercury Prize-winning artist Sampha is celebrated for his emotive vocals and experimental electronic-soul sound. While often seen in more intimate venues, his powerful performances and critical acclaim would offer a captivating, sophisticated contrast to some of the heavier acts at Wireless. | Getty Images Photo Sales 2 . J Hus East London's genre-blending artist J Hus is a perennial favourite for UK festival appearances. His unique mix of Afro-swing and UK rap, coupled with his charismatic stage presence, makes him a highly anticipated potential addition to the Wireless line-up. | Getty Images Photo Sales 3 . Jada Kingdom The Jamaican dancehall artist Jada Kingdom is known for her provocative lyrics and powerful delivery. With new music frequently dropping, she brings a vibrant and exciting energy that would certainly ignite the Wireless stage - especially the same day as Vybz Kartel and Burna Boy. | Getty Images Photo Sales 4 . Tems The Nigerian singer, songwriter, and producer Tems has become a global sensation with her soulful voice and captivating Afro-fusion sound. Her presence at Wireless would undoubtedly be a highlight, bringing her unique artistry to a wider UK audience. | Getty Images for SXSW London Photo Sales
Scotsman
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Wireless 2025: as fans wait for more announcements, here's 13 acts they think will play
There is plenty of speculation, and a touch of impatience, when it comes to the final line-up for this year's Wireless Festival, taking place at Finsbury Park, London from July 11 until July 13 2025. With the dates being so soon, you can understand some of the impatience, as many who have already bought tickets are still just seeing Drake, Summer Walker, Partynextdoor, Vybz Kartel and Burna Boy as the only confirmed names, with 'The Mandem' hotly tipped to be acts from the Boy Betta Know collective. But, with Glastonbury Festival now in the books, could we see some of the hip-hop acts that graced Worthy Farm finally be announced for this year's Wireless? We've taken a scour across social media, Reddit and even word-of-mouth from some other music fans we've spoken to find out who everyone thinks, or hopes, will be announced ahead of next week's event. Here's the 13 names that have been banded around as time ticks for those remaining acts to be announced - it will happen, we're sure of it. 1 . Sampha The Mercury Prize-winning artist Sampha is celebrated for his emotive vocals and experimental electronic-soul sound. While often seen in more intimate venues, his powerful performances and critical acclaim would offer a captivating, sophisticated contrast to some of the heavier acts at Wireless. | Getty Images Photo Sales 2 . J Hus East London's genre-blending artist J Hus is a perennial favourite for UK festival appearances. His unique mix of Afro-swing and UK rap, coupled with his charismatic stage presence, makes him a highly anticipated potential addition to the Wireless line-up. | Getty Images Photo Sales 3 . Jada Kingdom The Jamaican dancehall artist Jada Kingdom is known for her provocative lyrics and powerful delivery. With new music frequently dropping, she brings a vibrant and exciting energy that would certainly ignite the Wireless stage - especially the same day as Vybz Kartel and Burna Boy. | Getty Images Photo Sales 4 . Tems The Nigerian singer, songwriter, and producer Tems has become a global sensation with her soulful voice and captivating Afro-fusion sound. Her presence at Wireless would undoubtedly be a highlight, bringing her unique artistry to a wider UK audience. | Getty Images for SXSW London Photo Sales
The Guardian
18-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
J Hus review – rapper touched by genius can't quite channel his energy
J Hus's one-night-only show at the Royal Albert Hall, celebrating the five-year anniversary of his album Big Conspiracy, begins with the British rapper's sister and collaborator iceè tgm reciting a poem in front of a black curtain. 'It all starts with a question,' she posits. 'What is the big conspiracy?' By the end, the show leaves even more unanswered questions. When the curtain falls, it reveals a small symphony orchestra placed behind live band the Compozers. Hus opens with force: Helicopter, Triumph, Fight for Your Right, Fortune Teller, Reckless, and No Denying come in quick succession. He spits with braggadocious swagger, jumping from a protruding platform into the throes of the adoring crowd standing in the stalls. Even looking up towards the gallery, the venue's grandeur feels entirely fitting for commemorating such a heavy-hitting UK No 1 album, which has become embedded in British rap, Afrobeats, dancehall, and general culture over the past five years. But sound-balancing issues persist throughout. The orchestra is barely audible and placing them behind Hus, while logical for crowd interaction, doesn't seem to have been accounted for in the mixing. Hus offers no insight into his decision to introduce classical elements and hardly speaks throughout. After that vibrant (if somewhat rushed) opening run, he vanishes and we reach the show's nadir. For 15 minutes, throwback hits Common Sense, Bouff Daddy, Dem Boy Paigon and Friendly play through speakers with minimal accompaniment, and energy ebbs exponentially – dangerously – from the audience. Returning with 2019's Daily Duppy freestyle fails to jumpstart the evening. Even the orchestra members, idle, begin filming on their phones. So when Play Play finally drops, its impact is dulled: a disappointing moment for Big Conspiracy's biggest song, which cemented Hus's status as the godfather of Afroswing. There are still spellbinding moments, though. For Big Conspiracy's title track, strings swell as fog fills the lower stage and Hus performs seated on a stool next to iceè tgm; during One and Only, he stands at the end of a platform, illuminated by a single spotlight. Hus's hooks are in a league of their own but are sometimes underappreciated, so the tenderness lent by this staging helps to amplify his melodic gifts. It's a shame, though, that when Hus closes with 2023's Who Told You, leaving Repeat, Big Conspiracy's third-biggest track, notably absent. Hus himself is an engaging, impulsive performer and his catalogue will go in the annals of British music. But this experimental return to live music, coming after an arena tour was cancelled in 2023 and never rebooked, needs a clearer vision. The crowd leaves with questions about how rigorously planned this all was, despite the spectacular moments when venue, band, orchestra and rapper align perfectly.
The Guardian
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Jorja Smith review – mega-watt charisma powers ambitious new songs
As the crowd roars, and an eight-piece band gathers close, Jorja Smith appears cautious, maybe guarded. Even the singer's opening gambit Try Me throws up a challenge: 'I say your mind's made up on me,' she sighs, her voice silky. The Guardian's journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more. This is Smith's first UK tour since 2018, when, at just 21, her raw, atmospheric debut album won Grammy and Mercury nominations, Brit awards and a host of celebrity fans. Glitzy features with Drake, Stormzy and Burna Boy followed, but otherwise Smith resisted the playbook for sudden fame. She left London for home town Walsall, spent five years on her follow-up album, 2023's pointedly titled Falling or Flying, and only now, another two years later, is she touring those songs. Her searing, smoky voice is used sparingly to start, sometimes even drowned out by the power of the band's two drummers. But by Feelings, a duet with rapper J Hus whose verses are covered well by a backing singer, Smith drops the wall. She beams mega-watt charisma through the track's lyrically chilly push-and-pull, and slinks between risers, glamorously at ease. Falling or Flying expanded her sonic palette with serrated guitar, unusual textures, and a theatrical sense of scale. Tonight even her older tracks benefit from this new ambition. Backing singers bring lush, Solange-esque harmonies to a reimagined version of February 3rd, and there's a rich, bassy funk to Where Did I Go? The double-drummers inject pure adrenaline into Go Go Go, a rock track with a new wave swing that seems to unlock something in Smith: the intensity suits her. By now, those belting vocals are bringing the room closer, rather than holding the audience at a distance, and when Smith's singers join her centre stage for a closing run through her poppier, non-album singles such as flirty Be Honest and straight-talking bassline hit Little Things, it feels like a house party instead of a point to prove. Shining and loose, Smith coos to the front rows. 'I won't leave it so long next time,' she promises, with the confidence of a star who knows she can have this whenever she chooses. Jorja Smith plays Manchester Apollo, 29 and 30 May, then touring.
