By Elisa Kobayashi

To the bewilderment of many grime fanatics here in St. Andrews, this year’s RAG week welcomed the godfather of grime Wiley himself, and ended with big head of the game Big Narstie for its finale. (Thanks Chris!)

Winning the 2012 and 2013 Urban Music Awards for Best Grime Act and collaborating with big names like Professor Green and Ghetts, Big Narstie is one of the leading MCs of grime, originally from Brixton, London. Yet the second night yielded much less of a crowd compared to Wiley, perhaps for his unfortunately lesser known profile in St. Andrews. However, as a big fan of grime it is safe to say, that despite the relatively small audience Big Narstie and the other artists did not disappoint.

For the supporting acts: the night opened with an energetic performance by the up and coming Seattle based rapper, St. Michael. Having just released his first official album, “Black Swan Theory”, St. Michael kick started the night with up-beat ambient hip-hop with chilled beats. (Check him out on soundcloud below. Here’s a personal favourite of mine…)

Also performing the same night was the widely known American rapper Chuck Inglish, known also for being the half of hip hop duo The Cool Kids withSir Michael Rocks. With simple and clever beats, reminiscent of the hip hop scene back in the 80s or 90s, the authentic and powerful vibes set as a perfect meeting point and balance for St. Michael’s chill ambience and Big Narstie’s filthy grime tunes.

The crowd hit full swing as soon as Big Narstie took to the stage, spitting genuinely quality verses throughout his entire hour long performance with a variety of songs including the garage big hit “When The Bassline Drops” made with coproducer Craig David and a lot of heavy grime beats.

(listen to his garage hit here): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NXtO3tm2aQ

It makes sense why Big Narstie has a solid fan base. Though a big name grime MC and presenter, he surprised fans after the show, cheerily taking photos and talking to many of the students. It seems Big Narstie and the other artists had as great of a time as the students, all of them showing up to after parties around town later on that night.

All in all the night was a success. Thanks to Big Narstie, Chuck Inglish and St. Michael, the streets were brought to St. Andrews and the bruvs were happy to be in their natural habitat for a night.