Words by George Gray

Photos by Joel Anning

As soon as the NamesBliss Lively Tour was announced, we knew here at ASBO that it wasn’t to be missed. Although he’s been cooking up rhymes since primary school, few names have exploded on the UK scene this year like Bliss has, and for good reason. 

I find one of the rarest things in music these days is stumbling upon something that feels genuinely fresh. Something clearly cultivated from a plethora of inspirations but with an individually defined sound, and when I heard Bliss drop Iniesta Flow on Balamii it felt like one of those watershed moments. 

I wasn’t alone, through his mixture of live performances, social media, cyphers and collabs with the likes of Red Bull, Bliss has acquired a broad and loyal audience since he became active in 2018. It’s almost surprising that it’s only now that he’s been nominated for best breakthrough MC/Vocalist at the Best of British DJ Mag awards. 

This being said, for many 2024 has been a year defined by his signature vocals and fusion style with influences across Hip-Hop, Grime, Jazz and more. So when we got access to review his Lively Tour date at the Island in Bristol, it’s safe to say we were pretty gassed.

It was my first time at the Island, but the subterranean setting provided an environment of intimacy and mystery. As the crowd slowly filled the venue, passionate conversations of music and culture flowed through the space.

Before long this attention was fixated on the stage. Bristol boys Lexus P, Patch, and Jem VB jumped up and started laying down some serious flows. Filled with sentimentality and an undeniable wave of local support, they confidently delivered. Their last guest with some crazy soulful vocals to truly warm up the crowd. 

Next up were Dockside Radio down from London who’ve been blowing up through their bi-weekly live TikTok shows. The CR0 crew headed up by Floetic hit the stage with purpose and well-balanced chemistry.

Each MC out of the quartet: Floetic, Rome, Pozzy and Sabodi, bringing an individual tone and layer that tied together so seamlessly. A guest vocalist on one slower track was not to be forgotten either with a rich soulful style that had the audience engrossed.

That was without even mentioning Dockside’s JTea on the decks who laid down track after track with beats that seemed to ever hype the crowd. No wonder Dockside has called him “probably the best DJ in the world” – switching the mics off his beats between themselves with relentless energy. 

Before long it was time for Bliss. As he emerged on stage the crowd suddenly swelled, the warm-up MCs joining us right amongst it in the front row. The venue’s intimacy felt palpable, with everyone gathering forward to listen intently – if Bliss considers himself a storyteller or poet his ease in captivating an audience like this is probably why.  

One foot on the stage and he’s already expressing his love for Bristol, the crowd roaring in appreciation. Then, as if he were a close friend Bliss takes a seat and proceeds to tell us the backstory of the tour. A comical story of how a football injury nearly left it cancelled at the last minute.

“The tendon went shooom gone, but cause the riddims slap man can sit down and stand up” he playfully teased the crowd and we fell right into it, straight into the wordsmith’s palm. It’s reciprocated though as Bliss gets the crowd involved at every possible moment. As he drops into conversation with the crowd, a Happy Birthday, his love for Coconut Water and even his philosophy behind the music.

The audience knew almost every tune back to front, repeating the bars as Bliss was spitting them. You could argue no track hit harder early on than HB Freestyle, a metaphor for the way Bliss is championing the UK rap scene right now. “Stop saying UK rap’s in the gutter” gaining a “tricycle” of wheel-ups in his own words. 

Back and forths of his distinctive Lively linked the set tune for tune, with wheel-ups on repeat. Wifey Riddim, Different Calibre and so many all getting reloaded.

Few MCs could rival Bliss’ ability to switch up pace and flow so quickly whilst maintaining such a personal feeling to his lyricism. That’s when Melvillious, fellow Left-field member jumped in with a cold delivery and a clean performance of Chat to Dem with Bliss.

As the set began to come to an end Bliss delivered Iniesta Flow. A fitting instant reload for the song that caught our attention in the first place. “There’s always new levels” a relaxed Bliss tells us, as if he were telling us chunks of wisdom from his living room. It was time for one more and what else other than I Told Him.

The crowd fell hushed as Bliss took a seat, all eyes fixated on the storyteller. His delivery of the tune so full of emotion and grit, that no one could look away. Bliss himself even admits that it comes from “a feeling of reality that even hits him immediately after its performance”. With that, the crowd erupted, as he brought it all to a close.

Overall, the night was a showcase of MCing mastery from start to finish. Countless wheel-ups, lyricism laced with philosophy and a brilliant audience. Bliss has to be considered as more than just a rapper, rather an artist taking forward the ancient tradition of lyrical poetry. The question for the future isn’t what impact nights like this have but rather how much they’ll have.