LIVE REVIEW + PHOTOS: HYPHEN AT SCALA, LONDON 07/05/26
On the 7th of May, London’s Scala played host to a hopeful high-voltage political rally filled with moshpits, and good vibes. This was the night Hyphen proved the doubters wrong by selling out the iconic Kings Cross venue, but the journey to that historic finale of his REBEL SCUM TOUR was paved with a super strong line-up of artists who had travelled from all corners of the country - and the globe in the case of MUDRAT. From the unapologetic "top vs bottom" rhetoric of MUDRAT to the joy of Gen and the Degenerates and the hybrid one-of-a-kind sound of Native James, this was a manifesto set to a high standard.
The night didn't start with a polite warm-up; MUDRAT took the stage by storm and immediately spiked the room’s temperature. The outspoken Australian rapper, singer and songwriter (previously known as Kvnyl) made it clear that getting to this London stage had been a massive journey in every sense of the word. 'We came a long way - are you gonna give it to me or what?" he demanded of the early crowd.
MUDRAT, who is now performing alongside The Mischief during live performances and on studio recordings, is an artist who doesn't deal in metaphors; they deal in in-your-face truths. "You can't ask them to give up their funds, you have to kill a billionaire", he proclaimed, cutting through the media-manufactured culture wars used to pit working-class communities against each other and immigrants. For MUDRAT, there is only one war: the one between the top and the bottom.
With the drummer delivering incredibly strong vocals from behind the kit and the guitarist dialling in abrasive and often comedic sound effects, MUDRAT was there to share that he truly hates rich cunts. Their performance of 'I HATE RICH CUNTS' - which saw Hyphen join on stage - was a strong highlight, giving us a teaser of the kind of energy to expect later. True to form, the frontman didn't stay anchored to the stage; he paced the stage and handed the microphone to fans to they could scream their own frustrations about the rich.
Another highlight was the song 'YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT POOR PEOPLE', a song that targets the hypocrisy of those who view poverty and the struggles of the working class as just an aesthetic or an afterthought. Amidst the screams, a powerful speech for a Free Palestine grounded the set in the bare minimum of speaking the truth, a bare minimum that MUDRAT believes is slowly fading away through inertia.
By the time they announced their secret, free, 70-capacity headline show in Camden for that Monday the 11th - an underground night where both Hyphen and the outspoken YouTube campaigner Gary's Economics would end up joining on stage to perform their joint track - the Scala crowd was fully recruited into their cause.
MUDRAT is a vital reminder of what DIY music is supposed to be: even if you come out of the mud, you can reach an incredibly high ceiling by simply starting with the absolute bare minimum - speaking out unapologetically against injustice. They aren't here to run the capitalist rat race - they're here to infest it and chew right through the wiring.
Following MUDRAT’s performance, Liverpool's own Gen and The Degenerates brought a necessary dose of "slutty resistance" to the stage. Having spent the last couple of years building a formidable reputation on the UK festival circuit - with standout sets at 2000trees, The Great Escape, and Kendal Calling, alongside high-profile tour support slots for Skunk Anansie - this is a band that knows exactly how to command a large room.
Gen is an electric, magnetic front-person, navigating topics like bisexuality, identity, and mental health with a mix of biting Merseyside wit and profound sincerity. "I thought there were some pretty attractive members in the audience" they joked, before launching into their latest single and challenging the crowd to embrace "the slutty part of the community as an act of resistance."
Before their track ‘Wahoo’, Gen spoke about how they used to use a lot of toxic coping mechanisms to deal with the harsh realities of life and that now they encourage people to get up and do something about it instead and that it’s all about positive actions. “It can contacting or meeting your MP, meeting your neighbour and local community, being in spaces like these and then getting shit done together. I’m sure you know what is currently happening in Iran and we wanted to share we are currently raising money", shares Gen, followed by an audience call to action to get involved and donate if they could. In a world defined by 'Anti-Fun Propaganda' simply gathering in spaces like Scala and finding joy together in community is an act of defiance in itself.
The band was in top form, pairing tight, post-punk grooves with hilarious self-deprecation. Between jokes pointing out their "token straight man" on drums and their label's annoyance at their lack of mailing list promotion ("We're not organised enough to email you guys anyway, I've got bribes, I've got stickers..."), there were poignant calls to action regarding human rights in Iran and the need to get things done together. They proved that while you're fighting the system, you might as well have the best night of your life doing it.
The penultimate slot belonged to Native James, a genre-fluid alchemist hailing from the Midlands who is rapidly becoming one of the most exciting prospects in the UK crossover scene. Having previously decimated stages at heavy-music landmarks like Download Festival and the chaotic melting pot of Boomtown, he arrived at Scala with the aura of an artist who has seen the future and decided to build it himself.
His sound is a hybrid of grime, punk, and metal-inspired riffs. If you haven't seen him live, the first thing that hits you is his impressive vocal dexterity. James can pivot from a rapid-fire grime flow to a soul-shaking scream that puts a lot of seasoned deathcore frontmen to shame.
Treating us with his new unreleased track ‘Never Been Scared’, his classics ‘Hammer’, ‘Power’ and tracks from his latest EP CONFESSIONS OF A SINNER (2025) such as ‘GTFU’ and ‘YOU’RE NOTHING’, James proved that the traditional boundaries of the alternative scene are completely obsolete. The way he commands both the metalheads and the hip-hop heads in a single crowd is a spectacle in itself. The energy in Scala was physical, a swirling mass of bodies reacting to the weight of his basslines and riffs. I found myself listening to him on loop the moment I left the venue - Native James is, without a doubt, the sound of the future. Go catch him on stage now before he blows up even more!
Finally, the man of the hour. Hyphen took the stage to a hero’s welcome. For a former investment banker who famously walked away from the corporate grind to pursue uncompromising music and shine a spotlight on mental health, selling out Scala was the ultimate vindication. It was a massive middle finger to the doubters who told him his blend of indie-rap and punk wouldn't translate.
The set kicked off with a brilliant curveball - a cover of the Backstreet Boys' 'Everybody (Backstreet's Back)' - instantly dismantling any "serious artist" pretension. From there, it was a masterclass in modern British commentary. Songs like 'This Is Great Britain' and '3 Pound Pints' hit the room through shared experience, capturing the frustration of a generation watching their culture and their pockets erode under inflation and corporate greed.
Hyphen paused to deliver a moving speech about his early 20s and his struggle with depression: "The reason people come to these shows is to find hope, and I strongly believe in hope... I didn't think I'd make it another day, but I'm still here. Shit does get better." This flowed straight into the survivalist anthem "Stay here on earth" grounding the political frustration in personal resilience.
"I am the product of my parents, two Indian immigrants who moved to this country and they are the exact same people that built this shit," Hyphen declared to a roar of cheers. "My dad is an NHS Doctor, my mum is a teacher... these are the people that Reform want to deport. London, my parents are at the show tonight, please make some noise." This was another beautiful moment of immigrant pride, followed by a lighter touch: "If you see my dad, buy him a drink, but not too many because my mum will get annoyed."
The night reached its ideological peak when Hyphen discussed the 3.5% rule. "If you could get 3.5% of the population actively engaged in non-violent civil disobedience, you can change the world", he explained, urging the crowd not to feel hopeless against the billionaire class. To hammer home the point, he called for MUDRAT to return to the stage. "There are way more of us than there are of them... who wants to see MUDRAT again?".After that, they also performed the socio-political protest song 'Gary's Economics' - a song that takes its name from and pays tribute to the theories of Gary Stevenson, a former city trader who now advocates taxing wealth rather than work.
As the energy shifted into heavier, more aggressive tracks like his latest release 'HYDRA', the room was surprised by yet another brilliant cover of Blur’s 'Song 2'. If there was any critique to be made, it was the glaring omission of 'Go Back'. Honestly, I spent the whole night waiting for it as that would have gone crazy live in a room with that much emotional charge, but hey! Hopefully next time!
But ending on the high of ‘Marching Powder’ (pun intended), Hyphen celebrated the fact that despite the grime of the world, we’re all still here. During the track's second run-through, the stage transformed into a total free-for-all as all the opening artists - MUDRAT, Gen and the Degenerates, and Native James - joined him for one final, chaotic dance together. Seeing them all up there together was the perfect visual for the night's message of unity and joy.
The 7th of May at Scala was a vital reminder of what music can do when it stops trying to be polite. It was sweaty, political, and profoundly human. If this is the direction we’re heading, then there is plenty of reason to be hopeful.
Photos by Imogen Bird
Words by Vlad-Paul Ghilaș