Potter Payper's 'Filthy Free' Tour Manchester Show Is A Spiritual Homecoming

A Potter Payper concert is two extremes. It’s either loud, as fans rap lyrics passionately with word for word without hesitation or they allow a silence to exist for Potter to be heard, and they take in a generational artist in motion.

Having only just released his mixtape Thanks For Hating two weeks prior, last Thursday the East Londoner performed his Manchester show at Academy 3 on his Filthy Free tour, which will see him grace not just UK stages, but Parisian and Dutch too.

Standing in line in the cold for the sold-out show that stretched from the doors to near the Dog in Bowl on Oxford Road, you can feel the genuine connection and love that Potter’s fans have for him. A fan from Leeds, spoke about a past encounter with the rapper from three years ago.

The show, was a moment of celebration and evidence for a rapper who is rooted in the UK rap scene and has over the past four years seen a resurgence to the joy of fans of the culture

By the time we entered a darkening wide room, filled up with weed smoke and lit by stage lights and the yellow and red flickering flames. The space was filled with people who warmly took in the support act Trapsick and the shoutouts to the imprisoned rapper KayMuni.

Opening with the sound of electric guitar rifts instrumental on ‘Real Back in Style’, Potter walks out to the sound of screams.

The hardest thing coming into the show however, was estimating what would be left out and what songs would appear when he has released two projects back to back, as well as projects in 2021 and 2020 respectability

And that’s an acknowledgement and recognition of Potter’s career to date.  The depth of it, despite that he has only recently started to get mainstream acknowledgement. He performed songs off of the Training Day trilogy to the joy of the crowd that included ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, ‘Midnight in Ilford Lane’ and ‘Trapstar’.

Everyone’s phone lights came out for the soulful rendition of  ‘Purpose’, which summed up a moment, and the previous mentioned ‘Midnight on Ilford Lane’,  Potter sits down on a chair, a towel on his face staring at the crowd in wonder, and we stare back

 Not having the opportunity until now to tour his debut album due to serving a prison sentence, it was the first time hearing the contemporary classic Real Back In Style.

He makes light of it, joking “Thanks to everyone who brought my debut album when I was rotting and incarcerated”, before sincerely adding “you continue to change my life.”

‘Corner Boy’ is performed against the bright red and blues lights and the screen of a local Niro Express as he stalked across the stage. Whilst he is an explosion with hard toned on ‘Blame Brexit’ and  cools on ‘How can I explain’. At the end he flows effortlessly with his distinct casual flow on ‘White Ash’ and ‘Gangsteritus'.

Manchester rapper Aitch came out to perform alongside Potter for ‘Merseyside’ remix as the crowd watch one of their own on the stage.

As the evening draws to a close, the Piano instrumental plays to the melody of ‘Purple Rain’ and we’re back in 2013, as everyone begins to sing along – it’s a perfect way to end.

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