“Welcome to my city!” roared veteran grime star Kano as the Royal Albert Hall exploded with joyous exuberance. This was effectively a homecoming gig for east-London rapper Kane Robinson, playing to his most devoted fans, but it was also something more.

His “welcome to my city” catchphrase is a despairing punchline on Good Youtes Walk Amongst Evil, a litany of everyday problems of poverty and crime in Kano’s home borough of Newham. But in this most august of settings, it took on the exultant tones of a conqueror’s boast. Much like Stormzy’s triumphant set at Glastonbury this summer, Kano’s sold-out show offered the opportunity for a marginalised pop sub-culture to take over a venerable space and demonstrate that it belonged there. Such was the exultant response, it was like a rave breaking out at the Proms.

Robinson threw everything at it, augmenting his usual line-up with a huge cast of extras. Dressed in shining white, he held centre stage as more and more musicians came on throughout the performance, the visual impact of an expanding ensemble lending focus to the widening parameters of Kano’s sound.

The audience apparently knew every line of every rap, so that the gig was in danger of turning into one big shoutalong – but, crucially, you don’t have to be a grime aficionado to appreciate Kano’s music. The 34-year-old has been on the British rap scene since his early teens, demonstrating the verbal skills and creative ambition to push grime towards ever richer musical terrain.