Live at the Marquee review: Aitch delivers high energy set on Leeside

Hip-hop returned to a sold-out Live At the Marquee as Manchester rapper Aitch played a high-energy set to a raucous but well-behaved young crowd.

On a day when all of us on Leeside were mourning the loss of the great Teddy McCarthy, we were greeted by another reminder of that heady summer of 1990 as the “Ole ole ole’s” reverberated around the arena.

It’s a now customary chant at rap gigs too, for better or for worse, though most audience were born in a much later era, the mid 2000’s, when Aiken Promotions first started bringing big shows to the Marquee.

Those who the days of regular visits by Kanye, Snoop, 50 and Jay Z, are unlikely to have had their heads turned by Aitch, but there’s a new generation out there now, and these days UK rappers are flying high.

Stormzy, Dave, Central Cee, Skepta, AJ Tracy, Little Simz and many more have made big breakthroughs in the last 15 years, and Aitch is one of many who is moving effortlessly through genres such as hip-hop, drill and even R&B and pop.

Ably ed on the night by the hotly tipped Antslive, the Marquee was already jumping by the time I entered over an hour before Aitch took to the stage.

A beautifully sunny evening in Cork usually means more people outside the tent drinking while the is on, but this generation were inside and eagerly getting involved in the pre-show hype provided by Antslive and co.

More than one youngster I met was taking a well-earned break from the Junior Cert, which showed just how much this show meant to these music fans.

Aitch was accompanied by a live band, and he provided a high octane set featuring all his big hits and features.

“Keisha and Becky”, “Taste”, “Buss Down’ and many other hook filled tunes got the crowd going wild, and the handful of parents and older folk might even have recognised the homage to Manchester giants the Stone Roses (“Fools Gold” provides the backdrop for “1989”).

“Wonderwall” got a whirl too, but it was largely an unfussy gimmick-free set from a rapper who is only 23, but who had Cork feeling exactly like his song; “took the city and I made it mine”, put my shades on and rave like it’s 89”.

Hip-hop, sunshine and a huge gig midweek in Cork, what a start to the summer!