By Charlotte Hingley
Racking up an impressive 20 million views, ‘Welcome to JD Street’ was one of the hottest and most acclaimed Christmas ads this year. Based in the fictional ‘JD Street’, the two minute clip depicts a glowing urban high street with a mystical atmosphere. Within it are scenes such as Maya Jama and Micheal Dapaah running a dog salon, Aitch and Shaybo cooking up Jamaican patties, and across the road Little Simz and Ms Banks having a chat over a milkshake.
Last week sportswear retailer JD brought the fictional street to life at their intimate Christmas event. The soiree featured live streamed performances from ArrDee, Central Cee, Shaybo and Young T & Bugsey. The event space and talent was curated by JD to champion the music culture that is shaping UK youth culture today. ‘Kicking off the night, Arrdee opened with the most popular UK TikTok track this year, ‘Body’. Young T & Bugsey swooped in second, following up with their hit singles ‘Strike A Pose’, ‘New Shape’ and ‘Don’t Rush’.
Shaybo was glowing as she flawlessly performed songs from her most recent mixtape Queen of the South, including ‘Doable’ and ‘Ya Dun Know’. The final act of the night was West London rapper Central Cee - his energetic performance kept attendees moving into the early hours, featuring hits from his critically acclaimed mixtape Wild West. Songs included ‘Commitment Issues’, ‘Loading’ and ‘Day In The Life’.
Guests could immerse themselves into JD Street through the small pop-up experiences littered throughout the event. Replicated from the ad, the set-up featured ‘Jerk & Dumplings’, a hot wings stall provided by Wingstop, ‘Juicy & Delicious’, the bar, ‘Jama & Dapaah’, a trim and nail salon and ‘Jammy Donuts’, provided by Crosstown. The event space and talent was specially curated to champion the music culture that is shaping UK youth culture today.
Photography: @jdofficial, Christopher Sleet
Words: @charlottehingley