On the back of two sell-out events at Hifi, Grime night Gassed returns with a huge line up at Beaver Works. 2015 was undoubtedly the year of Grime and Gassed showcases of which led to that spike in popularity. Generating a lot of hype with the announcement of UK tour dates, Section Boyz involvement seems to be a shrewd one, especially considering Leeds wasn’t a city they’d originally planned on visiting. Add this to the fact that household Grime artists P Money and Devilman, as well Bashment and Dancehall duo The Heatwave will also be performing and it appears a compelling line up. And with the exploits of a whole host of other acts too (detailed below) it promises to be a dope night of music and one not to miss out on.

 

I caught up with the Event Managers to gather their thoughts on Gassed, the Grime scene within Leeds and more.

 

First of all the line-up is looking heavy. How did you pull this off?!

This is our biggest party yet and the first at Beaver Works so we wanted to go in. Section Boyz are dominating the scene right now, they’ve put out two huge mixtapes (Section Only & Don’t Panic), won a MOBO and just sold out their first UK tour in a day. It’s Mad. P Money and Devilman are two MCs guaranteed to get the crowd gassed and The Heatwave, as anyone who has seen them will testify, always get the place moving with a blend of Dancehall, Reggae and Grime. We also have strong support from our residents Jamie Hartley, Manny Brown and Henri Mattisse. Plus Sam Hodkinson from UK Garage night Rewind, 8 Mana member Slammah and the boys at Subtone. We’ve also been able to team up with Spice UK who’ll be laying down some Afrobeat and Bashment in the bar with Leeds Student Radio.

 

London has experienced quite a bit of police interference with grime gigs and in some cases events have been cancelled. Do you see these being an issue with Gassed?

No, I think sadly in London there is a lot more pressure on promoters from the police and councils and you see a lot more club nights and venues getting shut down. There’s been a great atmosphere at all our events so far and we feel blessed to be able to expand to Beaver Works and book some top artists.

 

So, is this this then an opportunity for Leeds to stake its claim as a serious grime city?

Grime is huge in Leeds and there are already plenty of live grime nights here. Jammz run by Elijah and Skilliam is sick – always a good vibe and they often have big bookings. You’ve also got Eskimo Dance coming to the O2 Academy on the 18th March and we’re lucky enough to be hosting Room 2. We’ve also got big plans for our next few parties so yeah the scene in Leeds is very strong.

 

 

Niall Ballinger