A$AP Rocky performs at the Wireless Festival at Crystal Palace Park
(Picture: James Manning/PA Wire)As it turns 17 years old, there is no doubt that Wireless Festival is maturing. What was once a weekend of rap and hip-hop in London has now morphed into three separate events – two in London and one in Birmingham – hosting eye-wateringly top-drawer international artists over a fortnight. The party, which kicked off at Crystal Palace, served as a reminder of the increasingly pivotal role that the UK, and especially its capital, has taken in the global urban music scene.
‘If you’ve got a song with London in it let me know.’ That was J Cole, Saturday’s headliner, telling a predictably ecstatic crowd that he’s always on the lookout for fresh material about the city. Shameless flattery, perhaps. But as he brought out special guest BIA to sing their joint bop London, packed with slang and references to Shoreditch, it suggested this was more than a surface-level obsession.
