Live: Lil Wayne

Hammersmith Apollo, London

The hottest name in hip hop since Jay-Z, the tiny if muscly New Orleans rapper is rapidly transferring his American success over here. Wayne boasts "I am your great superstar entertainment for the night," only to follow it up with a sloppy show that makes the same mistakes as many rap gigs.

A tooth-loosening bass is so loud you can't hear most of Wayne's lyrics, while most of the second half ditches his backing band to become a showcase for the new rappers on his record label. It's not what people have paid £32 to see.

Wayne is charismatic and energetic. But there are a lot of tedious shout-outs - to God, Tupac, his fans - and cheesy "I say 'Ho', you say 'Hey'" crowd participation games. It ruins the flow of the high-points, like Wayne's guitar-playing on Rock S***.

He'll need to up his game if he wants mainstream British success. Overall? I say "Half", you say "Baked"...

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