Plan B @ King Tuts

The recent debut album from Plan B (a.k.a. Ben Drew) drew comparisons with Eminem; by ironic coincidence the young east-London rapper takes to the stage as the megastar MC's collaboration Forgot about Dre booms from the speakers. The pair's lyrics cover similarly edgy subject matter as opener Kidz illustrates, Drew immediately fixing the crowd's attention with a dark tale of inner city youth; a 14 year-old's existence spattered with murder, rape and thieving. Rather than beats and samples, his own acoustic guitar forms the key musical backdrop to the vicious lines he spits, giving them an added poignancy; Drew's more sophisticated street poet than straight-up rapper. When breaking from guitar he prowls the stage mic in hand, the head-nodding, testosterone-charged audience following his every move, camera phones thrust forward, keen to capture the obvious poise of an artist determined to share the raw and brutal realities of his own existence. [Colin Chapman]