D-Block Europe pictures and review: Hip-hop act turns Marquee into Cork club night
Young Adz, of D-Block Europe, takes centre stage at Live at the Marquee during their sold-out Cork show on Tuesday night. Picture Chani Anderson.
It was a semblance of a club night at Live at the Marquee on Tuesday as thousands descended onto the Marina to welcome one half of D-Block Europe to the Cork City stage.
What is the only hip-hop act of a long line of big top acts, Young Adz performed some of the London-based duo's top hit singles without Dirtbike LB. Their song was also nominated for a Brit award for Song of the Year last year.
D-Block Europe or DBE have been around since 2010, after signing a deal with New York rapper Jadakiss. They have slowly been growing in prominence with a younger crowd.
D-Block Europe have since raked in some 5bn streams across various global platforms and are known for creating catchy tunes using Autotune and trap beats about sex, drug dealing, and owning luxury items.
Their Live at the Marquee concert is the latest in their tour, which has seen a surprise sell-out of both nights.
A trove of young teenagers dominated the audience as they snaked their way into the blue and yellow tent under pouring rain and floods.
Neon coloured dresses of pink and orange exploded at the venue; knee high boots and tan limbs were exposed as sweaty bodies jumped up and down under the tent.
Young lads in tracksuits and hats of various colours eagerly made their way to find the best spot in the standing area, ready to launch themselves into one of the many mosh pits that would maybe open.
Special guest Kairo Keyz opened for the duo. He was well-liked by the crowd as the deep bass from his tunes hyped and readied the audience for the big act.
Screens of Snapchat recording stuck out across the pit as the DJ for the night hyped the crowd ahead of DBE’s set.
Young Adz arrived on stage shortly after 9.30pm and performed to the crowd with magnetic energy who were ready to party. Strobe lights of white, blue, and green dancing in the air as the deep bass of their songs echoes across the tent.
"You alright, Cork?", Young Adz said after performing their opening tune as he apologised to say that DBE’s other half, Dirtbike LB, was not here.
This was very similar to their last Irish performance where Young Adz was visibly absent from Longitude's main stage last year.
Powering through most of the set list, Young Adz gave it his all to get the crowd into a momentum, while blaring some familiar favourites including , , and .
DBE will return for a second night at the Marquee on Wednesday with the question of whether it will once again be a one man show or a duo.
Kingfishr will then return for another sold-out night on Thursday. Summer gigs at the big top will then conclude this weekend with three nights of Michael McIntyre and his new show
