‘Can I come to someones house for dinner tonight I spent all my money on ally pally production,” AJ Tracey tweeted on 11 October, four weeks before his biggest headlining shows to date. Fans duly fell over themselves to invite him to their evening meal, just as the west London MC, who has not been undersupplied with confidence, knew they would. More telling proof of his stature, though, comes at the first of two officially sold out (unofficially, there’s room at the back) Alexandra Palace sets.
Already a force in grime, Tracey – born Ché Wolton Grant – has spent 2019 diversifying and going mainstream with garage track Ladbroke Grove, an irresistibly hooky Top 3 single that has just marked its 36th week in the charts. Three more songs recently reached the Top 40 and his self-titled debut album hit No 3. Accordingly, tonight’s crowd is comprised not just of old hands who were there in 2015, when his quickfire, Skepta-inspired flow began attracting attention, but of suburban teenagers who came onboard this year. It’s for both groups that Tracey has “spent all my money”, turning a rap set into a sensory binge. There are acid trip graphics, a spoof 1950s BBC information film, pole dancers and even some minor pyrotechnics. A visitor identified as “my jeweller” comes on stage to present a bulky pendant to Tracey, with “Ladbroke Grove” spelled out in diamonds. He hands it over with a reverence that the rapper does nothing to discourage.
Meanwhile, sardonic ads play on the overhead screen, offering an “exclusive golden goat” for just £69.99. Should you want to place an order, a real phone number is displayed; disappointingly, it goes to an anonymous voicemail when rung. Surely the astute Tracey could have had it connect instead with a stream of his new single, Kiss and Tell, a collaboration with Skepta, who’s here tonight. Performed live, it is a lusty terrace chant, with both MCs shouting the chorus, “No, we don’t kiss and tell, nah!”.
The goat advert’s tagline reads “24 karat solid greatness” – a typically assured declaration that Tracey pulls off because it’s hard to think of many other British MCs who move so fluidly between grime, trap, drill, country and pop. But don’t think he doesn’t appreciate the success his talent has brought. “I’ve put a lot of effort into the show, and let me tell you, I feel like I’ve hit the jackpot tonight,” he says, gearing up for a gallop through the album track Jackpot. Yet despite the show of gratitude, this gig has the feel of a young artist announcing his candidacy for the title of Best UK Rapper. Cocksureness floods his performance. It’s in his swagger as he roams the stage-in-the-round, giving all four sides an equal share of him; it’s there when he – an avowed non-singer – bracingly sings part of the pop bop Wifey Riddim 3. It keeps him from relinquishing his top dog position, too, when sharing the stage with the more famous Dave, who turns up to exchange verses on Thiago Silva. The Streatham MC’s unannounced appearance induces screams but Tracey cranks up his energy-setting to 11 and outdoes him in spitting the tongue-twisting rhymes, which compare his greatness to that of the Brazilian defender Silva.
You might even admit that his iffy stab at country-grime, Country Star – augmented tonight by a live guitarist – is charming rather than silly. That’s his self-belief at work, and it will stand him in good stead as he continues his upward trajectory.
•At Capital’s Jingle Bell Ball, O2 Arena, London, on 8 December.
