THE CASIO G-SHOCK AWARDS

Last night, Ghostface Killah and a surprise gang of rap royalty brought da ruckus to Covent Garden for Casio’s G-Shock 30th Anniversary Awards party. Held at the London Film Museum, the event kicked off with an intimate awards dinner hosted by DJ Nihal. As VIP guests and nominees enjoyed a three-course meal cooked by Bistrotheque (delicious duck BTW), the Radio 1 joker dished out the gags while Dazed judges Tim Noakes, Emma Wyman, Stuart Hammond and Susanna Davies-Crook handed out custom awards created by artist Anna Lomax. The winners of the £3000 bursaries were Deptford Goth (music), Rob Chavasse (art), Sarah Piantadosi (fashion), and Andrew Cotton (sport). But the highlight of the ceremony had to be when the inventor of G-Shock, Mr Ibe, gave a rousing speech about triumphing in the face of adversity before handing the “Spirit of Toughness” award to 19-year-old diver Chris Mears, who had overcome a ruptured spleen to gain a place in the Team GB squad at this summer’s Olympics. “I just feel so lucky to have won, all the nominees are incredible people,” he said accepting the award, which was voted for by the public right here on Dazed Digital.

The crowd then moved next door to throw shapes to DJ sets from The Queenz of Noise and Hanna Hanra, while slurping down chilled Asahi beer and ice-cold gin and ZEO cocktails. Model Clara Paget, fashion designer Louise Gray, R&B duo AlunaGeorge, Mr. Brainwash and The Big Pink’s Milo Cordell were amongst hundreds of guests who perused the expansive G-Shock exhibition, which showcased three decades of timekeeping innovation.

However, when the opening bars of “Criminology” thundered through the soundsystem, the crowd surged towards the far end of the museum’s basement to witness the arrival of the Wallybee Champ, aka Tony Starks aka Ghostface Killah. Accompanied by fellow Shaolin rhyme slinger Killah Priest, Ghost ran through a selection of Wu Bangers, from “One” and “Chez Chez La Ghost” to “Ice Cream” and “Fish”, causing possibly the first mosh pit in the history of the LFM. Ever the showman, Ghost revealed he had brought two friends with him, and from behind the curtain emerged NYC rap icons Jeru the Damaja and Brand Nubian’s Sadat X to run through a couple of their anthems. Everyone went buckwild as the legends strutted in and out of the crowd, laying down their classic verses. One lucky lady got a sweaty hug from man-mountain Killah Priest, a gesture that will no doubt be ingrained in her mind forever. 

As the venue cleared out and party goers headed off into the night with goodie bags that included G-Shock watches and the new issue of Dazed, we spotted a group across the Plaza chanting “WU TANG CLAN AIN’T NOTHING TO FUCK WITH.” Indeed. What a night!