Word on the Street- Spoken Word & Hip Hop

This is a night where you can come, jam and eat some delicious food whilst watching a cosy show of poetry while listening to hip hop and chilled vibes from our DJ Shorty.

carefully picked every month, two of the best in spoken word & hip hop talent, headliners perform lyrics like you havent heard it before.

Open mic for all. Sign up on arrival.

Hosted by one of Londons popular female rappers Shay D.

Headliners: TOM GILL (Manchester) & MARK GRIST

Tom Gill

Tom is an award winning spoken word artist and songwriter born and raised in Salford, nowadays based in London.

A UK National Poetry Slam Champion, Tom developed his passion for storytelling as a resident artist at Camden’s prestigious Roundhouse. He has had spoken word pieces commissioned and televised by national networks Channel 4 and Sky One, as well as featuring on eclectic stages across the UK from Lovebox and Latitude Festivals to Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club and the Royal Albert Hall.

Mixing wordplay, wit and lyricism alongside original acoustic songs, Tom combines raw passion with humour to create a fresh, poignant style of storytelling.

His debut solo theatre show GROWING PAINS was commissioned by Battersea Arts Centre in 2016, premiering at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival to critical acclaim. The show transferred to the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester, before going on to tour the UK in 2017/2018 with the shows script being published by Playdead Press.

Tom has been developing brand new work, which he'll be sharing at gigs across London throughout 2019.

Rap cypher over instrumentals played by DJ Shorty to round off the night!

Mark Grist

Mark Grist is a poet and battle rapper based in Peterborough, UK, who rose to prominence when his Don't Flop rap battle against Mancunian MC Blizzard became an internet sensation.

Grist performed in various musicals and productions whilst at school, including many performances with the Bristol Youth Theatre (he later went on to co-direct the company). He studied American and English literature at the University of East Anglia before becoming an English teacher. Grist began using rap techniques to teach his students about poetic devices and other elements of the English language, inspiring them to take a stronger interest in the subject. He formed Dead Poets, a double act that fused spoken-word poetry with hip-hop, with fellow Peterborough MC Mixy in 2008, touring the United Kingdom and performing at the Edinburgh Festival in 2010. After deciding to try out rapping in the Don't Flop battle league, Grist's battle against MC Blizzard received coverage in the British media, garnering 3 million internet views in the process.

Hosted by London rapper, Shay D Rap, Rebel Simpson & DJ Shorty on the decks playing some hip hop and rnb vibes!