![]() ![]() ![]() in 2009 his debut record, Flockaveli, peaked at six in the U.S., with follow-up Triple F: Friends, Fans and Family also making the top ten. Instead, he was allied to 1017 Brick Squad with fellow underground stars Gucci Mane and French Montana, and has gone from strength to strength since signing to Warner Bros. Waka Flocka Flame - not, you’ll be shocked to learn, his birth name - is actually representative of something that’s pretty rare in hip hop nowadays an artist who’s captured the attention of the mainstream without either steadfast adherence to current trends, or the backing of a high-profile hip hop label or movement. There’s no denying that he gives it everything. ![]() On a couple of occasions Waka is so out of breath he lets the songs play out, without rapping, something that apparently has happened at other shows. He pulls several fans onto the stage, on more than a few occasions goes into the crowd, rapping inches away from the audience who respectfully stand around him, and, on the whole, succeeds in creating a party atmosphere (part rave, part moshing). Despite some quite violent content in his lyrics (hearing a roomful of teenagers shouting them out can make you feel a bit uneasy) and going over some of rap’s most well-trodden themes (dealers, the hood, drugs, etc), it has to be said that Waka Flocka Flame knows how to rile up a crowd and get the room going. The rapper goes through some favourites from his ‘Ferrari Boyz’ mixtape, as well as ‘O Let’s Do It’, ‘Get Low’ (featuring booty acrobatics from female audience members invited onstage), and ‘Groove St Party’, among others. The crowd at the O2 are a nicely mixed bunch, although it seems that stateside at least, Waka’s audience are mostly white suburban teenagers, brought in to the music by the power of the internet. Hailing from Atlanta, Georgia, Waka came to fame in 2009 with his particular brand of high energy party-rap, which over the last years has ventured closer to rave music and EDM. Waka bounds onstage at the Islington 02, a seething mass of dreadlocks, tattooed arms and fiery delivery. He’s now set to release two new albums - both the much delayed “Flockaveli 2” and a new EDM record, “Turn Up God.” Since then, his career has unfolded in soap opera style - he made a record, “Ferrari Boyz”, with Gucci Mane before going on to become embroiled in a very public - and recently-resolved - spat with him, and his live performances have taken him everywhere from supporting Drake on tour to playing at the legendary Reading and Leeds Festivals in the UK. His debut record, “Flockaveli”, involved complex lyrical themes and genuine, unabashed aggression across the course of its hour-plus running time, and tracks like “Hard in da Paint” and “No Hands” made a name for Flocka Flame. ![]() That, in itself, leaves Flocka Flame in an unusual position his comfortable upbringing was likely never going to provide him with much in the way of material with which to base his records around, but then again, he’s never really been one to play the traditional hip hop game after all, how many rappers, like Flocka Flame did in 2011, would pose nude for PETA to protest the killing of animals for the purpose of wearing fur? Indeed, his mother actually managed Gucci Mane for a while, and is the CEO of a management company that has also, at some point, counted the likes of Nicki Minaj and French Montana amongst its clients. Flocka Flame was born in South Jamaica, Queens, New York, but raised in Atlanta after his family went on to settle there unlike many of his contemporaries, though, his isn’t quite a rags to riches tale. ![]()
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