Rounding off a career-defining debut European tour with a show at Camden’s Electric Ballroom last night, we spoke to 14 of EsDeeKid’s biggest fans to mark the occasion
Liverpudlian MC-of-the-moment EsDeeKid cut a Nazgûl-like figure at the final leg of his debut European tour in Camden’s Electric Ballroom last night (November 5). Brandishing a sword in one hand and a rottweiler mic grip in the other, in many ways, the show marked a coup de grace on what has been a monumental two months. Since hitting the road in September, the masked rapper has skyrocketed from one to five million monthly listeners on Spotify and has had half of Europe rapping in his distinctive scouse accent – most recently including Gucci creative director Demna Gvasalia.
Taking place on Bonfire Night, it was only right that the tour went out with a bang yesterday evening, featuring surprise appearances from fellow underground UK rap stars Rico Ace, Sinn6r and Fimiguerrero, while EsDeeKid himself underwent an outfit change halfway through the show (both were all black). Sweat poured from the ceilings and slickened the stairways of the 1,500 capacity venue, while a queue encircled nearby Camden Boxpark hours in advance of doors as fans tried to secure a front-row spot at the event. The reason why almost everyone said he was special? His accent.
Still, while EsDeeKid’s heavy scouse fricatives and equally-distorted 808s might be his most identifiable traits, his music actually inhabits a unique sonic intersection. There’s traces of Drain Gang’s anti-pop appeal in producer Wraith9’s unsettling melody lines, but EsDeeKid’s delivery is heavily embedded in the lineage of Conglomerate-style UK rage, and UK rap more widely. Complicating matters further are the optics of EsDeeKid’s shows, which sit much closer to a metal gig in their black-clad attendees and frequent moshpitting. The result: outsider music has never seemed this cool.
In honour of this meteoric rise, we spoke to 14 of EsDeeKid’s biggest fans outside of the final leg of his debut European tour. Catch exclusive photos of the event in the gallery above.