Tropico's 5th Birthday Party
On the evening of March 3rd Norwich had its first slice of summer in 2017. We're talking palm trees, good tunes and a rather delightful looking hybrid watermelon-cake type thing. Don't ask. Over the past five years the Tropico DJ collective really have been the purveyors of good nights out in Norwich. They've developed from the early days at Hideout (may you rest in peace) to larger events at UEA hosting guests as impressive as Frisco and My Nu Leng, and the likes of Flava D and Royal T. Their presence in Norwich has been something that has been almost impossible to ignore, and Friday's event at the Arts Centre with no headliners and no set times goes to show that it's not the big names that keep the Norwich youth coming back for more. These guys offer something completely different to your usual Prince Of Wales type evening. Ladies leave your heels at home kinda vibes.
In such a close knit community like that in our fine old city, the events thrive and live off the people who attend. It's clear to see this is a family affair.
The evening kicks off with those RnB tracks you forgot you love, unlocking and removing any barriers between the individuals on the dance floor - we all know we have Ashanti in common right? Being a sold out event, the venue quickly fills and hits capacity. The RnB tracks fade out into more favourites. There's a huge reaction to Childish Gambino's latest track Redbone. Pure bliss. The tracklists were so good it's as if they'd been studied for months, but I can't help but feeling after all this time it's just natural for these DJ's to have such great taste. Mixing old and new, all genres, all the tracks that ever stood out on that album you sweated for a month after it came out. A compilation, a greatest hits album for individuals with an urban taste in music.
The evening flows in a wonderful fashion (we would expect no less) bringing on the shockingly talented hip hop genius Jam Baxter, then onto presenting a birthday cake and singing a rather questionable rendition of Happy Birthday. It was late, and alcohol sales likely through the roof. It was emotional none the less. Soon after it was unfortunately time to finish for me personally, and I probably speak for others when I say that it wouldn't have been a Tropico without two particular tracks, Could You Be Loved by Bob Marley & Millionaire by Kelis. The end of the set showed both of these in all their glory.
This event was stripped back, and it worked so well. Naturally great, and run by naturally talented and characteristic men, Tropico may have things in the works for the future, but if you're not already, then I strongly advise you to watch this space. Congratulations Tropico, you've done it again. Until next time, Norwich will be waiting.
