MAVI Performs Latest Project ‘The Pilot’ to Intimate London Crowd [Show Review]

A typical Tuesday night at Dalston’s Next Door Records sees guests sipping cocktails while flicking through their eclectic vinyl selection. This week, however, hundreds lined Stoke Newington Road, hoping to get inside before capacity was reached. As the floodgates opened, DJ duo DOT TV (Kieran Dotwav & Tebi TV) drenched the basement with tastefully curated boom-bap and abstract hip-hop cuts. Notes of Roc Marciano, Westside Gunn and Earl Sweatshirt warmed an already sweltering crowd.

A push in the back let me know the Mayor was in the building. As the crowd parted, a fuchsia-pink, Corteiz-laden MAVI made a beeline for the stage. Visibly itching to perform his new work, MAVI wastes no time before getting into The Pilot, his latest project and a prelude to his upcoming album titled First in Flight. This 24-minute snapshot navigates sobriety and newfound fame whilst leaning into a surprisingly more trap‑focused palette.

MAVI, photo by @willsaunderss

Performing the project in full for only the second time since its November release, MAVI delivered it front to back, word for word, each track as passionate as the last. Despite some stylistic changes, this artist has stuck to his roots, making the songs you gotta read. Opening with the line “I’m the best dressed, on my therapist couch” is crushingly personal yet equally braggadocious, a perfect introduction to this beautifully transparent piece. This confessional track transforms an intimate basement show into a therapy session.

Our second track, “Triple Nickel,” sees the first collaboration between MAVI and MIKE, a partnership that’s been a long time coming. The track feels like a rendezvous at the summit of a mountain they’ve both been climbing for the last decade. A victory lap for two artists at the top of their game.

In between performances, MAVI answered some incredibly candid questions from an eager fan in the front row; his comedically blunt responses acted as a cue for the next track to start. Hidden in the midst of bass-heavy cuts like “G-ANNIS FREESTYLE” and “Landgrab,” MAVI’s trademark introspective lyrics shine through. “Potluck,” featuring Smino, wraps up the tape, revisiting the struggles introduced in the opener with a new, more accepting perspective, a result of the confessional nature of “The Pilot.” Smino’s contribution sheds light on the shared struggle of finding time amongst the craziness of life.

MAVI pays homage to his past by performing some fan favourites before curfew. “Sense” from his iconic debut album Let The Sun Talk is just as lucid and gutwrenching as it was on first listen. This minute-long glimpse into the soul of a twenty-year-old MAVI paints an unreserved portrait, leaving you both inspired and conflicted. The opening line alone, “Breathing out of love for respiration,” is so incredibly provocative.

Before leaving the stage, MAVI exudes gratitude for the fans and for DOTWAV for making the night possible.

MAVI, photo by @willsaunderss

MAVI, photo by @willsaunderss