Ezhel: London Fame for the Turkish Icon at Indigo at The O2

Written and Captured By | Morris Shamah

Ezhel, 32-year old Turkish icon, is known for his blend of counter-culture and street life lyrics and his experimental style mixing rap, trap, and reggae. He’s a prominent figure in the Turkish hip-hop world, but he’s been residing in Berlin since 2019, stating that he cannot return to Turkey as he believes he would be arrested upon entry to the country. 

Brought over to London by Divaa Events, Ezhel headlined the 2,000 capacity Indigo @ The O2 on Saturday night. Indigo is a smaller, nightclub style venue just across the way from the O2 Arena, which is ten times the size and was simultaneously hosting Bring Me The Horizon. The queue for Ezhel wrapped around inside the O2 complex well ahead of doors, the Turkish hip-hop crowd staking their space among the mass of London metalcore and punks.

See more photos of Ezhel HERE

Ezhel took the stage shortly after the scheduled start time of 8:30pm, where he proceeded to perform for nearly two hours. Backed simply by a live drummer, a DJ, and a fantastic set of lights and smoke, Ezhel commanded the club, stopping only to say a few words or if he needed to open a fresh can of Fosters. Ezhel was charismatic and grateful, calmly basking in the support of his crowd while he delivered his show which was entirely in Turkish. 

It was clear to all that Ezhel was thankful to be on stage in London that evening, and the sold-out capacity crowd was just as thankful to be there as he was. The front row came complete with signs of love and support for the latest album, 2020’s “Made In Turkey.” Further back along the floor and up in the balcony it seemed as if everyone was live-streaming – if you weren’t filming yourself singing along, you were filming your friends singing along. All throughout the night there was a balance in play between the white lights on stage illuminating Ezhel, and white lights from phones illuminating his crowd. A symbiotic relationship of joy in the presence of one another, of celebrity both macro and micro.

Photos By | Morris Shamah