Kid Ink & Tinie Tempah, Auckland NZ, 2017

Kid Ink & Tinie Tempah

1st March 2017
Studio, Auckland, New Zealand

Review by Sarah Kidd. Photography by Leah Victoria.

It was to be the battle of the UK vs the US tonight as major Hip-Hop acts Kid Ink and Tinie Tempah featured in an incredible double billing at The Studio in Auckland.

Getting in was just half the fun with a rather slow moving line – due to fastidious checking of ID’s by security – that stretched half way down the street. Once inside however, the sweet sounds of NZ’s own DJ Sir-Vere filled your ear canals as he deftly moved behind the turntables spinning tunes. Almost instantly you released that your body temp has climbed by at least 3 degrees and that everything, and I do mean everything, was covered in a light film of moisture, which made for some interesting scenes when people tried to run across the floor to the bar.

By the time the house lights went down, and the anticipation levels went up for the appearance of Tinie Tempah, there was barely any breathing room around the almost sold out venue. A UK DJ appeared on stage and with that heavy British accent started the hype for the entrance of Tempah. Playing tracks from other English artists (including Stormzy’s track ‘Shut-Up’ which had the whole venue shouting out ‘Shut-Up’ in their best English accents) he had the crowd almost salivating when Tempah suddenly appeared on stage. Dressed in a stone wash and embroidered denim jacket over a white t-shirt and sunnies, Tempah was greeted with howls of approval as everyone surged forward to get a better look at the artist who last played here in support of Macklemore and Ryan Lewis in 2014.

Tempah is the London born son to Nigerian parents, kicking off his music career in 2005 at just 17, the highly educated (mama didn’t raise no fool) Tempah has already collected several Brit Awards for his work and has had more [Rap] UK No.1’s than anyone else including Dizzee Rascal. First song of the night ‘Earthquake’ is basically sung by the fans, easily drowning out Tempah as he looks on in awe at the sea of people in front of him. “Auckland, this is the first night of the tour and what an incredible place to start” Tempah shouts, eliciting even more cheers. Tempah would take us through a fast paced and intense set list over the next 60mins, ensuring that the energy level was turned all the way up at all times. He constantly interacted with his fans, often calling out “Auckland” as if to remind us just how much he really loves this city.

At one point half way through the set, Tempah’s DJ for the night encouraged Tempah to change his shirt for a new one and give his ‘sweaty, wet t-shirt’ away to a deserving lady. Needless to say that the sight of Tempah shirtless certainly had many of the girls swooning as he proved that he has talent in more than just the arena of music. With a fresh t-shirt back on the onslaught of music continued, with tracks like ‘Written in the Stars’ and ‘Girls Like’ stirring it up. Following ‘Text from your Ex’ Tempah displayed some tongue in cheek humour by sampling in ‘My Boo’ by Ghost Town DJ’s, the song made famous by all the YouTube running man challenges. Tempah then debuted a new track, it’s opening lines and bass undertones far darker than his usual work. By this point his second t-shirt had come off and was going to stay off for the rest of the show. Coming into the home stretch, Tempah was obviously going to go out on a bang, hitting us with massive club hit ‘Drinking from the Bottle’ followed by ‘Tsunami’ – Tempah explaining that during the chorus he wanted everyone to jump from one side of the venue to the other. As the familiar beats dropped, Tempah led the way across the stage and the crowd followed, making for what looked like a giant game of human frogger. Tempah finished his set once again rapping the first verse from his new song and with a scream of “Who’s ready for Kid Ink?’ he was gone.

A short drink and rest room break followed while the house lights stayed down and the audience appeared to change shape as Kid Ink fans jostled for a better position towards the front. Hailing from LA in California, Kid Ink also started his career off in 2005 at 19, however he began in the realm of making beats and producing tracks under the moniker of ‘RockStar’ which many of his old school fans still know him by. After fully immersing himself in rapping at 22, he has built an illustrious career with over 60million hits on YouTube and his first album ‘Up & Away’ [2012] smashing iTunes records by debuting in the Top 5 Hip-Hop albums charts prior to release and minus any traditional promotion. Kid Ink also had his own DJ to get the party started and he soon had the crowd pulsing with his heavy bass and trap. The Studio took on a darker vibe as the music throbbed; the fans adopting a far more serious tone compared to the party atmosphere of Tinie Tempah.

Kid Ink strode out onto the stage closely followed by a second in command for the night. Dressed in a long black woollen coat with a wide leather trim and extended collar (heat exhaustion anyone?) he surveyed the scene before him through his aviators. The microphone went up to his lips and the opening lines of ‘Noodles and Ramen” swept over the heads of the front row. A few songs in and the jacket was off, and Kid was down to a black sleeveless shirt and gold chains. Both he and his onstage guest worked the stage like pro’s ensuring that everyone (especially the ladies) were with them all the way. Working through tracks such as ‘Blunted’, ‘Hotel’ and ‘Hell & Back’ Kid Ink proved just why at the tender age of 30 he is already at the top of his game, collaborating with such artists as Diplo, Ty Dolla $ign, Meek Mill and 2 Chainz.

‘My Main Chick’ elicited squeals from all the girls in the room as well as some notable dance moves, Kid Ink often verbalising his approval of the all the NZ talent in the room, “I see you girl, I see you”. Many of the tracks were sample versions only, in order to accommodate an impressive set list within a short amount of time, but when the full tracks dropped they held the audience right through til the end. As expected – and not surprisingly due to the fact the venue had by now turned into a Swedish bath house – Kid Ink’s shirt came off towards the end of the show, displaying his rather impressive collection of tattoo’s (he is said to have well over one hundred now) as well as an enviable set of abs. Closing the show with ‘Be Real’ and ‘All the Way Tatted Up’ there was no encore from Kid Ink and crew but a hell of a lot of appreciation for the love shown by the Auckland peeps.

So who won? Hell son, with that banger of a night – everyone!

Kid Ink & Tinie Tempah perform live in Auckland, New Zealand 2017. Image by Leah Victoria.

Were you there at Studio to witness this hot and steamy show? Or have you seen Kid Ink or Tinie Tempah live somewhere else? Tell us about it in the comments below!