I had actually just ticked Unrest in the program because I remembered the video where he and Suspekt “freestyled” over their hit “Thinking of Others”. The idea was to stop by, hear a few tracks and then move on. But the sun was bright, the energy impossible to ignore — and suddenly there I was, swaying and completely engulfed.
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Disclaimer: Apropos Magazine received access or a review copy. As always, we share our own impressions — unfiltered.
Six stars
Let's just make it clear: Unrest is not just another Nørrebro rapper who could have been in the background on a Kidd music video. No, he owns the stage. He is exactly what happens when you take Danish rap a little too seriously, but still manages to spice it up with humour and love. The toes weren't curled like during Tessa's concert-slash-“ talk” -- on the contrary, it energized. And I think I'll get an appointment with a podiatrist later.
He has some tracks in his back. “Godthåsvej” and the aforementioned “Thinking of others.” -- but it wasn't the catalog alone that carried the concert. It was his live energy, the excess, the way he came onto the stage like he had already won. It's one thing to know the songs. Something else to get carried away with without knowing why.
His band -- black-clad, concentrated, fully present -- lifted it all. No fake moves, no ironic smiles behind the drums, just music. They stood as a framework of Unrest that could unfold. It was all tight, but never rigid. You could feel they were there for him, not just as backing but as an extension of his energy.
He went through his repertoire with self-assurance. Nothing about filling the gaps with indifferent talk or clichés. It was rap, it was singing, it was performed with presence. And though I couldn't reproduce a line from the concert, I found myself on Spotify later that weekend -- scrolling through his catalog and sultry “save” on more than one track. That, in my book, is the definition of a win: that you walk from a concert and want more, even if you didn't come to get it.
And then there was the culmination. The cheat code. Orgi-E from Suspekt came on stage to “Thinking of others.”. It was a moment when the audience imploded -- not just cheers, but pure ecstasy. I saw a young woman in front of me who had to be helped away by Samaritans and a glass of water. And I've rarely felt more related. For I felt exactly the same way: beaten to the floor by mood, warmth and music all at once.
Orgi-E didn't come alone. In his hand he had a young man who beamed so much that the joy could be seen all the way from Sorthatmuleby to Hammerknuden and back. It was touching, sugar-sweet -- but never too much. Because in that moment pure joy equalizes everything. All the talk of authenticity, gimmicks, or whatever you can stand and over-analyse in a festival audience. There was one who had an experience of a lifetime. And so did the rest of us, really.
Turmoil gave me everything I had hoped for—and more. He made me forget that I was standing without sunscreen on my neck and with an empty mug that I was actually on my way to the bar with. I just stayed standing. Suck it in. And when it was over, I was left with the feeling of having gotten far more than I came for. It's a rare gift -- especially from an artist you thought you'd already placed in a certain box.
Reflection:
A good concert is not just a concert. It's a suspension of time. It's when you forget what time it is and instead stand with a stupid smile and think, “I need to hear this again.” Unrest did exactly that. He stood in the sun, let the energy pounding out over the audience and lifted the whole thing even more with the Suspect moment knocking his legs away from under us.
