Home coming only means something when you understand home. Before heading to the show, we spent the afternoon moving through Manchester. From the buzz of the Northern Quarter, we travelled further out to Gorton - the part of the city where Nemzzz grew up and a place that has remained visible throughout his rise. Gorton isn’t dressed up as a the birthplace of a star. It’s residential, familiar and distinctly local. But walk around for long enough and traces of Nemzzz’s story begin to appear. Locals pointed us towards places he’d spent time growing up, including the petrol station featured in the video for ‘8AM IN MANNY’, while other streets felt recogniseable from visuals such as ‘PTSD’. More importantly, people knew exactly who we were talking about. That made the premise of Spotify’s Hometown immediately make sense. Nemzzz hasn't simply returned to Manchester for a performance; much of the world surrounding his music was built here.

FROM GORTON TO HOMETOWN Later that evening, following dinner with fellow press and creatives, we travelled across Manchester towards the venue. A huge Hometown mural of Nemzzz appeared along the way; another indication that this wasn’t being treated as just another gig. Outside, fans were already queuing. Inside, Spotify had built a word around the artist. Red lighting, haze and a tightly packed crowd gave room the feeling of an old-school grime link-up rather than an overly polished industry showcase. At the back sat one of the night’s strongest details: a Hometown installation recreating the environment where Nemzzz makes music, complete with childhood photographs, notes and personal details. It brought the two versions of the evening together; the Kid from Gorton and the artist capable of commanding the room in front of us. The connection extended to the lineup. Manchester artists including Marlo, AK Milli, R Kid and Zeddy East, alongside WatchMotionLive, warmed the crowd before the headline set. Giving other homegrown talent the platform felt important on a night supposedly celebrating community; Hometown wasn’t only looking backwards at where Nemmzzz came from, but towards some of the artists coming through the city behind him.

Then Came '4AM' Nemzzz walked out and the atmosphere shifted instantly. The crowd knew the records bar for bar. During the set featuring tracks including ‘GASS’, ‘2MS’ and more, he looked completely comfortable in front of his hometown audience; at one point taking a fan’s phone and filming from the stage mid-performance. The night’s biggest surprise came when K-Trap joined him for ‘MAYFAIR’, before staying onstage for ‘WARM’. By that point, whatever distance normally exists between stage and audience had largely disappeared.

MORE THAN A RETURN By the end of the night, fans leaving the room were describing the show as one of their best and talking about feeling inspired. That might be the best most convincing measure of whether Hometown worked. The concept could easily have amounted to an artist performing in the city listed next to their name. Instead, the details surrounding the performance; Gorton, Manchester’s emerging artists, the recreation of Nemzzz’s creative space, the imagery around the city and, ultimately, the people in the room; gave the night context. Nemzzz may now be performing to audiences far beyond Manchester, but for one night the journey folded back on itself. From Gorton to the stage, surrounded by the community that watched the journey begin, this one really did feel like coming home. 14STROKE16 attended Spotify Hometown Manchester as guests of Wired PR and Spotify