“Came into the game, knew nothing bout the game in which I came into”

Yes, that’s an old lyric but a good one to reflect on. Although Avelino has been about for a while now it’s still been a relatively short career. Yet in such a short space of time, he’s gone from relatively unknown to having a huge following. Off the back of a hugely popular mixtape in FYO Avelino is shortly releasing his latest project “No Bullshit”. Yesterday Avelino hosted an intimate launch party previewing the project in full throughout a DJ mix as well as performing two of the new tracks as well as some classics. The two new tracks performed were “Gr8tness Intro” and “U Can Stand Up” both very different songs but very much still displaying excellent lyricism and wordplay.

Beyond the album was the art provided by Dangerman which depicted the tracklist, some lyrics from the project as well as a painting of the album cover. It was hosted at the sick Omeara venue near London Bridge. It was small enough that it was intimate but big enough that it allowed for the rooms to never feel too crowded. This was due to the layout with an upstairs bar and relatively large main room where the performance was done as well as hosting a FIFA 18 set up. Omeara gave a great service with the drinks flowing throughout the night and the guests were plugged with an wide array of delicious foods courtesy of Absurd Bird who came through with a variety of wings, chicken strips, fries, and waffles.

The night started out fairly slowly with a DJ set going on and a few media people. But gradually the place started to fill especially after Avelino himself arrived. A star-studded cast came out to support Avelino with appearances from past collaborators Stormzy and Etta Bond as well as Ms. Banks, One Acen as well as producers Splurgeboys and DJ Semtex…to name a few.

As the buzz in the venue grew Avelino came out and stole the show as expected at around 10 pm. He started with Gr8ness Intro – if you’re a fan, Avelino this will be right up your street. The song pairs well thought out wordplay and lyricism delivered over a solid rap production setting the project off to a grandiose start. The second and arguably more exciting song performed was U Can Stand Up. The song almost had a hint of a Wretch vibe to it, it mixed softer melodic vocals with exquisitely crafted rhymes over a slower more uplifting sounding instrumental that had almost reggae vibes. The show went on with the great Late Nights In The 15 before the Semtex and crowd requested encore of FYO was performed much to the enjoyment of Avelino as well as the crowd.

As the protégé of the legend that is Wretch 32, I think it’s inevitable that the two will be compared. Seeing as Wretch has just released a project as well I think it’s a fitting time to ask how the Avelino is doing, especially since they went toe to toe on the Young Fire, Old Flame project . Lyrically as from the start of his career, Avelino seems to be on form to be as great if not better than Wretch one day and if he keeps delivering the stellar performances he is that day may not be far off. In terms of developing his sound, Avelino has shown that he can be diverse in the past but this project seems to be an experiment working towards polishing that diversity even further. Overall I would have to say that Avelino is doing great in his own right and in light of being the prodigy of Wretch 32 showing that he more than deserves the co-sign and comparisons.

All in all, the launch party was an incredible experience. Based on what I’ve heard it means you can have high expectations for the No Bullshit project which drops tomorrow (27.10.2017).