Friday night (May 9) saw a line-up of hip hop fans stretched down the street, outside Oh Hello in Brisbane.
Inside, Pete Rock and DJ Premier made their entrance on stage, greeting a full club who welcomed them to the sound of a saxophone. Respect and reverence for these two meant warm vibes and a packed room packed.
Click here for more photos from the show.
Everyone was waiting for the moment to get down. It didn’t take long.Ten minutes in and Tribes’ ‘Award Tour’ was dropped with Premier on the mic: “Chinatown, Spokane, London, BRISBANE!” All hands present were now up in the air.
Photo: © Emelia Ebejer
For the next hour-and-a-half, the two selected tunes which were obviously important to them, but also familiar to and loved by the crowd. What may have been well rehearsed, came across as unpredictable. They would sometimes take their time, letting tunes play out… Then suddenly, cut samples over the top, before sharply mixing in and out of a totally different track: hip hop, rap, ‘80s, ‘90s, 2000s. Then sax... Funky, soulful saxophone interludes.
There were many massive moments. Mobb Deep’s ‘Shooked Ones Pt 2’ interrupted by Michael Jackson’s ‘Human Nature’, which went into ‘It Ain’t Hard to Tell’. Nas’ ‘Life’s A Bitch’ was mixed straight into Method Man and Pete Rock’s ‘Half Man Half Amazin’ straight into KRS One’s ‘Rappaz R N Danga’. It all equalled hectic.
Photo: © Emelia EbejerAt one point Premier announced: “You know I had to do this for you” and dropped ‘Above The Clouds’ by Gang Starr which as you would expect, caused a huge crowd reaction. He further paid respect to Guru playing ‘You Know My Steez’, ‘B.Y.S’ and later with ‘Full Clip’.
Illmatic”s 20 year anniversary also received a tribute medley, complete with Premier on the mic: “I’m in a Brisbane state of mind” as he did the late Big L, with a medley of tunes including D.I.T.C.’s ‘Way Of Life’ and ‘Day One’.
Photo: © Emelia EbejerOver too quickly, their set ended with both men on the mic calling to the crowd: “... Say ‘funky soul’… Say ‘funky soul’…”. The crowd responded and it was clear, this was how they planned it all along. The night ended just how it started, with saxophones, soul… funky soul. Plus a reminder of the roots from where these two legends, and indeed hip hop itself, came from.
