Tap House 72, Carmarthen
Fri 9 Feb
Tinchy Stryder, he of the ‘Star In The Hood’ lifestyle brand craze which peaked some time around 2010, was one of the grime originals, and lined up alongside Wiley and Dizzee Rascal as part of the first incarnation of Roll Deep. In an interesting historical curio, he also teamed up with the Chuckle Brothers in the 2014 charity single To Me, To You (Bruv).
While there’s no cast-iron guarantee that Tinchy will have Barry and Paul in tow for this, what you can expect is hits, and plenty of them. For better or worse, Tinchy was part of the wave of rappers from the grime scene who, eager to break break free from the underground, courted the Top 40 with big, polished hits like his own N-Dubz collaboration Number 1. While he’s not got the same critical cache as the likes of Wiley and Skepta, he certainly does have a back catalogue you can whistle along to.
So whether you want a big helping of nostalgia for 2009, a more innocent age where the notion of Donald Trump as President was confined to an obscure episode of The Simpsons and ‘Brexit’ was just a name floated in an Aldi focus group for its new Weetabix rival (perhaps) – or you’re just eager to see the boy Tinchy’s new direction, this one’s for you.
Tickets: £10. Info: 07522 267919 (KD)