Clash Magazine reports from backstage at the Jazz Cafe Festival, where Birmingham rapper Kofi Stone drew one of the biggest crowds of the event during his hour-long set at the Plant Room stage. The performance, and a subsequent interview, highlighted Stone's rising popularity and the strong connection he has built with fans through his introspective, storytelling style of hip hop.

The Plant Room stage was reportedly overflowing with fans within five minutes of Stone's set beginning, drawing a larger crowd than the festival's headline act later that day. Fitting with his gardening-themed imagery, drawn from his track "Gardener Flow" and album "All The Flowers Have Bloomed," Stone performed in front of a row of plants and was joined by collaborator RUBII for "Chameleon" and by grime veteran D Double E for "Flowers Flow (Remix)". In the interview that followed, Stone spoke about his last-minute approach to setlists, his favourite songs to perform, and the meaning behind his recurring seeds-and-flowers imagery.