Asake honored the victims of a fatal crowd crush at his 2022 show in London as he performed his first show in England’s capital since the tragedy.
On Sunday, Aug. 20, the Nigerian Afrobeats star headlined London’s O2 Arena, and the concert opened with a pointed and poignant remembrance for the two people killed, Rebecca Ikumelo and Gaby Hutchinson. Before Asake took the stage, the O2 crowd heard a poetry recitation accompanied by a video montage featuring footage of the 2022 concert and its aftermath, as well as some personal photos and videos of Ikumelo and Hutchinson.
“Fifteenth of December, 2022/Observe, respect, where respect is due,” the poet read, “I don’t know what you’ve been through, but/Let’s hold space for something true/A Brixon night took place we cannot forget/I know some feel loss and some regret/Some came out that night and ain’t returned/We need to hold this moment.”
After the reading and video ended, Asake made his grand entrance, descending on a helicopter as his song “Olorun” played. After making a safe landing, he launched into his 2022 track, “Organise.” (The full concert was livestreamed and is still available to watch on YouTube.)
There was, however, some pushback to Asake’s tribute from Ikumelo’s sister, Rachael. On Twitter, she called the tribute “insincere” and argued that she shouldn’t have to be “appreciative” of a remembrance “that even included footage of the stampede in which my sister passed.”
Tweeting directly at Asake, she also said, “My sister lost her life at your show and you haven’t spoken to a single member of my family since. But you can hold another concert in London less than 9 months later and play her videos as a ‘tribute’?” (Rachael clarified that the family had heard from Asake immediately after the tragedy, but not since then.)
A rep for Asake did not immediately return Rolling Stone’s request for comment.
While Asake expressed his condolences to the victims of the crowd crush after the tragedy, he has not spoken much about the incident, declining to discuss it in detail during a recent interview with Rolling Stone. Meanwhile, authorities are continuing to investigate the incident and are still seeking relevant information (there have been some reports that security guards working the show allegedly took bribes to let extra people in). The venue where the crowd crush took place, Brixton Academy, has also remained closed as its license is reviewed.