Mykki Blanco

Mykki Blanco play Headrow House on Wednesday 4 November, with doors opening at 19:00. The night is presented by Super Friendz, and the venue is at Bramleys Yard, 19 The Headrow, LS1 6PU.

Blanco is a rapper, poet and activist who blends lyrical bravado with pop and hip-hop influences, all wrapped around a bold celebration of queerness. They've spent years working across those different roles — rapping, writing poetry, and speaking out as an activist — and the music tends to pull from all of them at once. The pop and hip-hop elements aren't just background; they're what Blanco builds their songs on, and the lyrical side is where the rapping and the poetry come together.

Their 2022 album, Stay Close to Music, was a bit of a shift: it was the first time Blanco's singing voice took centre stage. If you've mostly known them as a rapper, that's the record that brought the singing to the front. It's a good place to start if you're coming to this as a first-timer, as it shows a side of their work that wasn't as present before.

Headrow House is a room with a capacity of 200, and there's an age restriction of 14+. Tickets are £21.85, and with doors opening at 19:00, you've got plenty of time to get sorted before the set starts.