Spotify’s “Who We Be” Wins Q Award

potify last night was crowned winner at the annual Q Magazine Awards, held on The Roundhouse in Camden, London, within the Best Festival / Event category presented by Pretty Green Clothing.

Seeing off stiff competition from some of the UK’s most popular events including All Points East, British Summer Time, Isle Of Wight Festival, Latitude Festival and RIZE Festival, Spotify’s Who We Be was the international music platform’s first time as a nominee within the category. The award was picked up by two of the performers from Who We Be’s first live show – Stefflon Don and Bugzy Malone.

The inaugural Who We Be Live was held at London’s Alexandra Palace on 30^th November 2017, bringing together the best of hip hop, grime and R&B from the UK and beyond. The 10,000 person sell out show featured performances from Bugzy Malone, Cardi B, Dizzee Rascal, Giggs, J Hus and Stefflon Don with the showcase solidifying Spotify’s position as a key player within the live events category.

“We’re honoured to receive such a prestigious award for Who We Be Live and I want to thank each and every person who helped us bring the playlist to life in such an unforgettable way. The first show was a fantastic success that we’re all very proud of and we’re looking forward to showcasing the very best of hip hop, grime and R&B for many more years to come.” – Austin Daboh, Head of Shows & Editorial at Spotify UK

Spotify Presents ‘Who We Be Live’ 28th November 2018

Spotify today announces its biggest ever live UK show, Who We Be Live, taking place on 28^th November at London’s Alexandra Palace presented by Live Nation. In celebration of the very best in hip-hop, grime and R&B from the UK and beyond, this year’s event brings together an amazing line up of both UK and international artists together under one roof. Tickets go on sale on 5 October at 10am at LiveNation.co.uk.

This not-to-be-missed event will bring to the stage some of Who We Be’s most popular acts, including AJ Tracey, Craig David, French Montana, Ghetts, Lethal Bizzle, Not3s, NSG, Raye, Tory Lanez, who together boast over 1 billion UK streams and over 3 billion globally on Spotify.

Last year, Spotify kicked off its live debut with the very first Who We Be Live. The inaugural show sold out Alexandra Palace, and saw unforgettable performances from the likes of Cardi B, Giggs, Dizzee Rascal and J Hus. This year Who We Be expanded to two events, with a show at Birmingham’s O2 Academy in June, featuring Jaykae, Mabel, Lotto Boyz, Ms Banks, Sneakbo andYungen.

Austin Daboh, Head of Shows and Editorial in the UK said: “We’re really excited about returning to Alexandra Palace for the second instalment of Who We Be live. The line-up represents the very best of both national and international artists, and we are thrilled to be bringing a stellar line-up of artists together for this event.”

Tickets for Spotify Presents ‘Who We Be’ go on-sale to the general public on Friday 5 October 2018 at 10am at www.livenation.co.uk/

Massive Turn Out For Spotify Who We Be in Birmingham!

Spotify UK’s Who We Be event presented by Live Nation took place to a sold-out crowd of 3,000 at the O2 Academy Birmingham. Who We Be saw an insane line-up of some of urban music’s biggest acts, including Mabel, Yungen, Nines, Sneakbo, Jaykae, Ms Banks.

The Who We Be live event, which takes inspiration from the Spotify playlist of the same name, saw the best of street sounds music under one roof. A celebration of both British urban, grime and hip-hop talent, with superstar Mabel taking the stage, performing her hit song ‘Finders Keepers’.

The crowd also enjoyed the best of British talent with performances from Birmingham’s own Jaykae and London’s Yungen, who performed his hit ‘Bestie’.

A surprise performance from rising rapper Ramz tore the roof off O2 Academy Birmingham as he dropped his infamous track ‘Barking’, with fans singing along to every line. Rap duo Lotto Boyz and renowned producer Steel Banglez also joined the line-up at the city’s leading music venue.

We are very proud to support new and exciting urban talent. We brought together an amazing line up of artists together last year at Alexandra Palace and we did the same here in Birmingham tonight. The rise of Birmingham rap is unstoppable, that’s why we chose to bring Who We Be here, to celebrate the best of rap and grime talent in England’s second city. Thanks to all of the incredible performers and to the three thousand fans who celebrated with us tonight” – Austin Daboh, Senior Editor at Spotify