Last Night's Sold-Out Kurupt FM Gig Showed They Are Way More than Just a Comedy Show

West London’s finest comedy crew/pirate radio station Kurupt FM – stars of the BBC Three show, People Just Do Nothing – have been touring their 'Champagne Steamrooms' gig up and down the country this past month, and last night, they concluded with a packed out homecoming show in North London's KOKO.

From the offset, the whole thing was decidedly Kurupt. On the way into the venue, a shifty looking guy with a cockney accent approached me and said, "Orite mate, need sam tickits for Champagne Steamrooms?" and it was hard to tell if he was a genuine tout or some hired actor sent to loiter round the doors by the Brentford crew, to give their fictional clubnight some IRL authenticity.

They took to the stage for nearly two hours to smash out 2-step classics and swig cheap champagne in front of a sold out crowd of weeknight bed-by-12 ravers. From Chabuddy, aka "UKIP's Nightmare", building up the hype around a potential “very special guest”, only to then introduce himself as that guest, to DJ Steves hanging suspended from the rafters on a broken harness for the first ten minutes in silence, it was a car crash from start to finish, but in the most perfect way. One of the private booths even seemed to have a hen night in it. Greatest idea for a hen night, ever imo.

When man like Decoy stepped up to curate a dancehall and reggae section, it peaked with 1,500 people (including one guy waving both his crutches in the air in appreciation) singing Damian Marley’s “Welcome to Jamrock”, altered to a chant of “Welcome to CAMDON!” Say what you like about them being a BBC Three comedy show, but Steves can cut a mix like Mistajam, and Grindah and Beats know exactly how to get a room gassed.

MAAAD NIGHT LIVE ON STAGE WITH @KuruptFM AT @KOKOLondon THE CROWD WAS GOING OFF! pic.twitter.com/hVH12QCUg9

— DJ Luck & MC Neat (@LucknNeat)

February 4, 2016

But KOKO really got moving when they started inviting out some real special guests to collaborate onstage. First came 90s UK garage mercenaries MC Neat and DJ Luck who performed “With a Little Bit of Luck” live (watch above). Next, a salvo of grime dons, with Newham Generals turning up to roar "Dem man are hard!" from their Breakage collab track. Stormzy himself wandered soon out, only arriving once MC Grindah had tried his own doctored attempt at “Shut Up”. And that’s before mentioning the fact that Big Narstie was the secret support act, serving up forty five minutes of havoc before Kurupt even appeared. Basically, it was just like when Kanye did KOKO and invited Boy Better Know et al, but with more garage, more laughs, and pictures of Brentford on the backdrop instead of religious iconography.

@Stormzy1 surprise at @KuruptFM last night at KOKO pic.twitter.com/gC3jjaRX52

— Grace Baker (@grace8aker)

February 5, 2016

Kurupt themselves wrapped it all up with a stage invaded performance of their rowdy banger "Get Out The Way".

If you weren't at KOKO last night for @KuruptFM, well… maybe next time pic.twitter.com/e6OP6WTAR9

— Arun. (@arunchamba)

February 5, 2016

In all seriousness though, Kurupt FM and their People Just Do Nothing BBC Three series often gets written off as just a laugh – which it is – but when you see major names from the scene going out of their way to be a part of their live show, it makes you realise how important new UK comedy shows like this, and the recent YouTube hit Hood Documentary, really are – inspired TV shows about cultures of which the writers would consider themselves a part. The result is a strand of new comedy that finally treats British youth culture – past and present – with the reverence it truly deserves, pulling at its fabric with well-placed satire, but in an involved and respectful way. Basically, we’ve come a long fucking way since the crass shithousery of Keith Lemon’s Bo Selecta and the punching down approach of Ali fucking G. Kurupt FM and the rest are irrelevant.

Here's a selection of pictures from the night by Vicky Grout:

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