What we learned at Spotify’s second Who We Be event

Last night, Spotify threw the second instalment of their Who We Be event, taking to Alexandra Palace once again for a sold-out show.

Dummy went down to experience the show where, as well as the headline acts, there were a number of surprises in store – performances from Stefflon Don, JME, Krept & Konan, Ambush, Geko and Tempa T.

The event, named after the streaming service’s influential playlist, booked talent in the realm of hip-hop, grime and R&B and was a roaring success, selling out all 10,000 tickets.

Huge US hip-hop acts like French Montana and Tory Lanez made stage appearances along with some of the best of British at the minute – AJ Tracey, Chip, Craig David and Ghetts.

Here’s a few things we learned:

Spotify know how to put on a show

The production was super slick with great sound and lights, huge screens and the right balance of Who We Be and artist branding. Didn’t Apple used to do cool stuff like this?

The streaming service got the vibe right

The message was “we’re all about the artists” rather than “please subscribe to our streaming platform”. And it worked – most of the artists were more than happy to big up Spotify on stage.

Not only is the event named after a playlist, but it flowed like one too

Lots of artists, short sets, quick changeovers, underground anthems and huge hits. Who We Be is all about the track and not the album.

AJ Tracey can more than hold his own on a bill of veterans (Lethal Bizzle, Craig David) and superstars (French Montana)

“I’m young and independent so please support me by streaming my music,” he said just before leaving the stage. We should all go and do that.

Jme is very well-loved

Coming on during Lethal Bizzle’s set, dressed all in black and still wearing his backpack, he got one of the biggest cheers of the night.

Craig David is a national treasure

Playing all the hits plus covers of Robin S’s ‘Show Me Love’ and Stardust’s ‘Music Sounds Better With You’, David’s set was like one big singalong before finishing on the feel good anthem ‘I Know’. He even did his own DJing.

French Montana’s ‘No Stylist’ is a huge, huge hit and is showing no sign of slowing down

It received a giant reception when Montana dropped it right at the end.

Who We Be is a music brand to be reckoned with

It was surprising that there wasn’t any merch…

Subscribe to Who We Be here – and check out Dummy’s weekly-refreshed Spotify playlists here.