Though Hackney-born rapper Professor Green seems to have sprung from nowhere lately, he has actually been trying to break through for about five years. Signed twice and never making a splash in the charts, he has finally made his mark this year with top- ten singles and a gold certified album.

Both Green’s hits have been hip hop tracks built around established songs, taking advantage of the recognisable tunes and adding his own rhymes over the top. This is nothing to be sneered at; both Kanye West and Jay-Z have made careers out of doing this, sampling everything from King Crimson to the Annie soundtrack. Green has helped his cause by choosing two absolute belters to sample so far. His re-telling of Beats International’s Dub Be Good To Me makes great use of the sassy bassline and fluid grooves of the original, but adds cheekiness to it. His Need You Tonite does much the same, taking the spark of the INXS riff and adding flair.

Both these tracks sound great tonight as Green entertains a sold-out O2 Academy. Clearly buoyed by his chart success, he's full of beans throughout and gees the crowd up with great gusto. The singles, especially new hit Monster, get the whole place jumping and screaming along with every word. Green’s own compositions don’t have the instantaneous appeal of the samples; they're harder, grittier. City of Gold and Jungle are more like early Eminem or pre-soul Plan B than anything loved by mainstream record buyers. They don’t go down badly, but there is definitely less excitement.

Green is lively, quick on his feet and has his DJ rifle through a mass of tracks during the breaks in his set. He is, much like his songs, a cheeky addition to pop music and one with a bright future.