The Wickedest — Caleb Femi

An immersive epic taking place over one night at an underground London house party, conjured by a multi-hyphenate sensation.the ting popped off last night the DJ spun a tornado into the dance& when we were in the eye of the music the hand of God shook the room like a snowglobe& fifty pound notes rained on usThis is how Caleb Femi invites readers into the Wickedest, the longest-running house party in the South London “shoob” scene. Cinematic, immersive, enchanting, and celebratory, every interaction —from the one-on-one intimacies to the swell of the party’s collective roar—refracts through this collection of poetry, visuals, and materials sourced from the author’s real life. The result is a parameterless excavation of a single night on this dance floor, this moment in time. It tracks the minute-to-minute beauty, spontaneity, and real, sustained togetherness of a great party.The Wickedest dissects the very nature of a party, mapping the magic and the mishaps, the spaces and the sounds, of one unforgettable night. Femi, who became a sensation in the United Kingdom with his last collection, Poor, captures the best that parties can offer, those brief moments when we release ourselves from the weight of reality and float free. He documents the erasure of nightlife spaces across London and the experience of navigating the red tape that relegates low-income communities of color to the margins. Here, house parties can become a revolutionary gathering, a collective act of resistance. The Wickedest contains the bliss and the brilliance of the very best parties, channeled through one of the most exciting and multitalented artists in a generation.