Bilal « 25 Years of 1st Born Second »

On 9 December 2026 at Islington Assembly Hall in London, Bilal marks 25 years of his debut album 1st Born Second by performing it in full. A key voice in modern soul, the Philadelphia-born singer moves fluidly between jazz, funk, hip-hop and R&B, with a vocal range that shifts from raw grain to airy falsetto. Released in 2001 within the Soulquarians orbit, 1st Born Second helped redraw the lines of neo-soul and gathered collaborators such as J Dilla, Dr. Dre and Mos Def. Live, tracks like Soul Sista and Fast Lane regain their bite, stretched and recut by a band that knows how to leave space for groove and dynamics.

Since that first statement, Bilal has kept a steady dialogue with the hip-hop, soul and jazz scenes, appearing alongside The Roots, Common, Erykah Badu, Robert Glasper or Kendrick Lamar while shaping a catalog that refuses easy boxes. This concert looks back to where it began: melodies that linger, basslines that push forward, and a voice capable of turning a whisper into a burst of color, twenty-five years on.