I really am a moaner when it comes to my great city - coming back from the Lucktung clans in Mauritius, Canada or France, I despair getting off the plane and mope around for a few weeks like gollum, bitching about anything and everything in L-Town. But sometimes, London is just the place to be.
It is so bustling, so diverse, never quiet - and the sight of a FREE! concert at Trafalgar Square never seizes to draw in the thousands. This week welcomed the anti-gun, anti-knife crime, anti-domestic and global conflict etc (you get my drift) London Peace Concert 2008; and looking at the ravers around the fountains and landmark lions, dancing to the live sets by Natty, Kano, and sexy SEXY Ayi Jihu - I was definitely happy to be home (at least until the dreaded Underground crawl back to E7).
This was one of my first on-location reports for Ctrl.Alt.Shift, and I was more than happy to get back to my music journalism roots alongside my sidekick for the day, photographer and friend Lawrence Carlos. Our fondest memories will probably be hooking up with our fellow East London boy/rapper Kano, and of course, stuttering like slightly nervous schoolboyz in an interview with the lovely Ms Jihu... Here's the review:
Ctrl.Alt.Shift @ London Peace Concert 2008
On Saturday, September 13, 2008, 19-year-old Oliver King-Onzila was stabbed to death outside a bar in South London. The news was distasteful, shocking, and yet depressingly predictable. On the same day, in the same city of Olivier’s death, an event was held in a plea for cease-fire.
Collaboration. Reconciliation. Celebration.
That was the message at the London Peace Concert as thousands congregated at Trafalgar Square to make a stand against violence in the capital. The chant of ‘enough is enough!’ was lead by reverend, chief executive of the Peace Alliance and founder of London’s Week of Peace, Nims Obunge.
Angry and scarred by permanent memories of burying kids struck down by knife and gun crime, he stated: “We must work together, to teach the kids their value and to take responsibility for our actions. But this work for peace must go beyond a week.”
Indeed the mass of talent showcased at the concert affirmed that there are many young acts in this country that require support, deserve to be heard, and need to be harnessed as present and future role models.
A talent contest was followed by a line-up of music artists including Ayi Jihu, Akala, Fun*dmental 03, Nate James, Ironik and Kano, who all announced their presence in the fight against war in the city. Contestant and rapper JP wore a T-shirt that read ‘Put the knives down, Put the guns down’.
Performer Natty said: “People need to stop talking at the kids, and start listening to them.” Headliner Kano reiterated: “People need to grow up and realise there’s so much more to live for. The parents, the schools and the government all have a part to play in making a difference.”
Read the full article here
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