As some of you may or may not know, this gig guide started about a year an a half ago as a reference for myself and my closest friend, reflecting what I put into my phone calendar. It reminded us of the shows that we wanted to go to for the month and allowed me to make little comments about artists that I liked and why we should go see them. There was and still isn't any other sites that list solely hip hop events for the Sydney community. As it has grow I have tried to include as many events as possible that I think people would be interested in and I often include background or items of interest about the artists or the event. To this day I still use the site myself to decide what I'm going to do on the weekend. I hope it helps you as much as it helps me and if it does that you share it with your friends as well so we can all benefit from this resource. I am open to any gig suggestions that you would like me to include, just message me via facebook or email. I also do weekly segments on Hardcore Classic radio which is broadcast on 2ser 107.3, and those are updated to the Hardcore Classic soundcloud account as well. Anyway that's some background for you, enjoy!
Let's finish off October in style...
Thursday 30th
True VibeNation
Beats and horns, melodies and raps, this trio of two Zimbabwean born twins and their Kiwi mate always put on an amazingly engaging and energetic live show. They've got a style you won't find anywhere else in Australian hip hop and you just can't peg it into one category.
If you haven't seen the human drum machine yet, this just might be your chance.
Tattersall Hotel, Penrith
9pm-late
Free
Friday 31st
His brand new album “Sheplife” has been hitting Australia right in the heart. The man has incredible talent, and he just quietly knows it. He doesn't need to flaunt his heavyweight status, he just makes good quality hip hop that reflects his inner thoughts and represents where he's from. He's doing the tour with Hau, and it will be interesting to see what local supports he gets up. One thing I do know is that we will definitely be getting a live performance of Sarah Connor's winning entry for the “King of the Town” competition.
Goodgod Smallclub, CBD
Vent
Hey laaaaaaadies, this month it's Ladies Night at our favourite monthly hip hop jam. And, no, this isn't some kind of silly promotional ploy to try to bring all the fly ladies in with some cheap drink specials so the menfolk can ogle them. This is an actual femme fetale takeover! These females don't need their own night because they can sure as hell stand up right alongside the men, but really why the hell not?? We've got the biggest line up of emcees this night has ever seen. Ladies reppin' from Sydney, Newcastle, Canberra, and the Central Coast. It's a huge, huge night of delights featuring: MC Thorn & Ivey, MC Trey, Sarah Connor, Dawn Laird, Ines, Madam Wu, Lomas & Madman, Iresh & Bella, Coda Conduct, Miz Lush, Skhitlz & Twoslie and Sahar; don't forget that as always there will be an open mic cypher at the end, that is if you dare follow any of these women with skills on the mic.
Valve Bar (upstairs Agincourt Hotel)
930pm-late
Free
November
Saturday 1st
Souls of Mischief
This iconic group of hip hop innovators and pioneers blazed the way with their now legendary debut album '93 Till Infinity. Following their departure from Jive Records after that album, the creation of independent label Hieroglyphic Imperium Records in 1997 was also seen as inspirational to many fellow artists. Their first time in Australia since 2006, the group is touring their brand new album There Is Only Now. This album continues their legacy as pioneers and innovators- it is created as if it is a radio show hosted by Shaheed of a Tribe Called Quest with collaborations from Busta Rhyme and Snoop Dogg among others. In addition to that, it was recorded solely on a 2'' analogue tape using only acoustic live instrumentation. The group recorded all together in one room in one take using no computers or drum samples. They really have created a unique piece of art.
Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst
Doors 8pm
Tickets 51.20
Deadbeat n Hazy
As a continuation of your Halloween celebrations, Wasted Years will be putting on a 1999 themed Halloween party. It's the last day of the dead before the millennium, time to get gruesomely wasted! Hitting up the hip hop room is our favourite stoner rap group, DBnH with their chillingly spooky "Ghosts" EP launch (finally!), and what a perfect release day! They will be bringing their favourite thieving rappers Beat Thieves along to kick off the party right.
Wasted Years, Darlinghurt
8pm-late
Tickets $15 (on the door)
Side by Side Against Racism
Here's a night that I can definitely get behind, that we need more of, the people standing up for what is right. There will be spoken word, standup, hip hop and folk music. Our main man Provocalz from Koori radio will be telling it how it is.
Lentil as Anything, Newtown
Doors 630pm
Free
Wednesday 5th
Snapback
A weekly Wednesday night party which boasts "Good times for Bad Bitches." It celebrates females in hip hop with the best local female DJs and the baddest female emcees in the game. This will be a special Newtown Festival edition- expect to hear everything from MoTown and Soul to the newest Hip Hop and Trap.
Newtown Hotel, Newtown
7pm-late
Free
Thursday 6th
Lady and the Amp
This is a night of hip hop, spoken word, jazz, and comedy- all from a group of mega-talented ladies. The last edition was so successful that they had to bring it back again for the Newtown Festival week edition (Newtown festival has a week now?! Full festival week program
here.)
Line up includes Vanessa Casperz (beatboxer), Sarah Attfield (poetry), Diolita (spoken word), Lorin Elizabeth (spoken word), Madam Wu & Elise Graham (hip hop), Little Haus (pop/hip hop), Coda Conduct (hip hop), and Holly Friedlander (poetry)
Sponsored by Young Henrys brewery, so you're guaranteed some yummy, yummy cheap bevos.
Waywards, Newtown (Level 2, 324 King St)
From 8pm
Free
Friday 7th
Freshly Squeezed
This is the monthly hip hop party that everyone has been talking about, and not just because the toilets got bombed the shit out of on the first night. But seriously, we should count ourselves lucky that the Lansdowne is hosting hip hop nights again and that they happily invite us back each a bunch of ruffians and scoundrels like us back each month. This will be the final party for the year as P.Smurf will be busy with the Daily Meds tour and the Big Village Christmas party next month.
This month's line up includes: Astronomy Class, Kween G, Tycotic, and Jah Tung plus more..
Hosted by P.Smurf and Rivals
And PS tagging the toilets in venues isn't cool in case you didn't get that.
The Landsdowne, Broadway
7pm-late
$5 (on the door)
Wax Wars
The Crown St Cut Collective Turntablist Family bringing Wax Wars back and what better venue that the boutique hip hop joint in Surry Hills which we all love? Melbourne turntablist J-Red will be warming up the crowd with a special Wax Wars set, and then it's time for BATTLE! Round one consists of last year's third place winner Heavy Hands vs Morphangaz. It will be a real fight for the crown this year and you won't want to miss the first battle. There will also be live art throughout the night by Days One.
Play Bar, Surry Hills
8pm- midnight
Free
Saturday 8th
Level30 Saturdays
Rise of the Rap Groups- the first in the series of new weekly underground rap parties from the Level30 Promotion company.
Line up includes: Flip the Script, L.F.M., Wooncrew, Hard Evidence with DJ Jimmy New,
MC Skhitilz and Emcee Miz Lush
Hosted by Gabreal
Hustle n Flow Bar, Redfern
7pm-late
Free
DJ Raine Supreme and VJ Spook
A feast for the ears and the eyes, these two will be turning Play Bar into a musical theatre with the best old school hip hop tunes with video accompaniment. AVDJ'ing is not simply playing a video to accompany the music. It is as complex and time consuming as DJ'ing itself in that clips are dug through, and then the visuals run through the same feed as the turn tables, with fades and other visual effects added into the mix which accompany the music in just the right way. Brought to you by Channel Zero, this will now be a monthly event that you don't want to miss.
Play Bar, Surry Hills
6pm-midnight
Free
Swaze B-Day Bash
Whether he's a friend, an acquaintance, a Facebook friend, or just some guy that you've seen from across the room before... it doesn't really matter! It's Swaze's birthday party and everyone is invited. Sydney Def Jam DJ's Rus and DJ Maniak will be spinning the tunes and there's plenty of room for everyone to have a good time. So swing past this joint and check it out, you may be seeing more action at this venue in the near future.
Cauliflower Hotel, (123 Botany Rd) Waterloo
8pm-late
Free
Sunday 9th
Newtown Festival
After years of having to do their own renegade performance outside the festival, finally Daily Meds have been asked inside to perform on the main stage (1:40pm)! They will be joined by Sydney hip hop OG's Astronomy Class (4pm) Sydney's largest and longest running festivals which usually sees over 80,000 attending each year. Newtown is an open and accepting community which is highly environmentally conscious. The food and fare, music and workshops make it truly a summer event not to miss.
Camperdown Memorial Rest Park, Newtown
9am-5pm
gold coin donation
Friday 14th
Quadir Lateef
Sponsored by the Universal Zulu Nation Australia, "the Beast from the East," Mr Quadir Lateef from Buffalo NY will be here in Australia for the first time. Check out this. And tell me that you won't be there, I mean really. With support from Mistery, DJ Riley JM, Izzy and DJ Maniak, and T.Wreckz.
The Annandale Hotel, Stanmore
From 8pm
Free
Saturday 15th
Benji
Controversial western Sydney rapper with the iconic voice, Benji, from the PK crew has just released his new album "I'm Not an Addict" and he's throwing a listening party to celebrate. You will hear the album in full along with the classics, and some dope hip hop tracks. DJ Skae will be on the decks and there's an open mic to boot, so get down for a great night.
Hustle n Flow Bar, Redfern
7pm-late
Free
Bohemian Grove
This is a contemporary art exhibition which runs till December 2, it features art by some prominent artists including Days One. There is a mix of illustration, design, fine art, and street art. This live art and music event on the opening day will certainly be hip hop themed.
DJs 2 Buck, DGGZ, Chasm
Live Art by Ben Marriot and Irene Feleo
Mr Falcons, Glebe
11am-late
Free
Friday 21st
Stayfly Turns One
Stayfly Sydney is a collective of female artists from multiple mediums based in Sydney. It was built for the purpose of fostering a positive creative environment, building connections and friendships, and having fun! Over the past year Stayfly has anchored itself firmly in the Sydney hip hop community, with informal ties to most of the female emcees, DJs and graffiti artists. This one year anniversary will be a huge one with all the girls involved. It's an art exhibition and concert. There will be rapping, DJs, singers, photographers, graffiti writers, and artists of various mediums. It will ncluding performance by Sarah Connor, Dawn Laird, Coda Conduct, Ines, Madam Wu and much, much more..
JAM Gallery, Bondi Junction
7pm-3am
Free
Wax Wars
Crown St Cut Collective Turntablist Family presents the 3rd round of Sydney's most intense turntablist contest. This time we will see DJ Cost (Cooking with Caustic) go head to head with U-Wish to see who will move on to the next round. As an added bonus, there will be a guest showcase from NSW DMC champion Broke. Not only that but Caustic and Mumbles will be live on the MPC and Rotes will be painting. It will be a night of pure Hip Hop that you won't want to miss.
Play Bar, Surry Hills
8pm-midnight
Free
Saturday 22nd
Shan Frenzie
An extremely talented Deejay that's been around the world perfecting his craft, he makes his triumphant return to Sydney for a night of Funk, Soul, Boogie, Broken Beats, and Hip Hop. He's been rockin' sets in New York, San Francisco, London, Berlin, Dubai, Greece, and Manila using only 45's, and this night won't be any different. He'll be supported by C-Man, and Juzzlikedat.
Play Bar, Surry Hills
6pm-midnight
Free
Sunday 23rd
Rock the Gate (conscious hip hop room)
Lock the Gate Alliance is a coalition of people across Australia including farmers, traditional custodians, conservationists, and urban residents who are uniting to protect our common heritage- our land, water, and communities- from unsafe or inappropriate mining for coal seam gas and other fossil fuels. It encourages land owners to "lock the gate" and not make deals with these companies.
Rock the Gate is a fundraiser for this organisation which will take place at the Enmore Theatre on this day. Tickets cost $77 and it will include prominent Australia groups Pete Murray, The Herd, and Ash Grunwuld plus many more. The event will expand into a vibrant street party encompassing all the surrounding venues. Each venue will host a different themed night. The hip hop room set list is as follows:
3:00pm Stef
3:30pm Sweat Collectors
4:00pm Coda Conduct
4.30pm Maatzi
5:00pm Gravity Champions
5.30pm Felon & Provocalz (FELON 167 Inc & Provocalz Silverback)
6:00pm Prince Naeem
6.30pm Mighty ASH
7:00pm Yum Yum
7:30pm Spectacles
8:00pm Cooking with Caustic
9:00pm Madame Wu & Elise Graham
9.30pm Sarah Connor
10:00pm Charles Øblivion
The Sly Fox, Enmore
3-11pm
Free
Speech Therapy
In a truly cruel twist of events, this interesting and unique event will take place for the last time. Over the last year we laughed, we cried, and we cried from laughing. We got to know personally many of our favourite rappers through intimate spoken word sets and stories. For this final instalment we will see some of our favourites return along with some fresh faces. Line up: Joelistics, Ozi Batla, Tom Scott, Omar Musa, Ellesquire, Joe New, and Nikkita.
Hosted by The Tongue
Work-Shop, Redfern
3-9pm
Tickets $30
Monday 24th
Renegades of Monk
An extra special and unexpected bonus to the month, Munkimuk's all star funk and Hip Hop band will be performing live for their Sydney album launch as part of Corroboree Sydney. This funky live band is all legit, they've got no need for samples, in fact they'd love to BE sampled. Munkimuk is a legend of the game and if you've got the time this would be a treat to witness.
The Rocks Boatshed, Circular Quay
630-8pm
Free
Wednesday 26th
Beat Street 30th Anniversary Screening
Believe it or not is has been 30 years since this hip hop movie brought all the elements of hip hop to the big screen. It's a beautiful documentation of New York City at the time and a classic film that every Hip Hop aficionado cherishes. After the film DJ Frenzie will be on the decks and a break dance competition will take place with some fantastic prizes up for grabs. Not only that but there will be DVD and vinyl giveaways for a lucky few.
Play Bar, Surry Hills
7pm-midnight
$5
Friday 28th
The Pharcyde
This is a side show before they headline the Outside In Festival which is on the Saturday at the Manning Bar, Sydney Uni Campus. They will be joined by Mike Relm of San Francisco for a true audio visual experience. He turns a classic mix into a masterpiece.
Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurt
8pm-late
Tickets $40 (first release) or $47 (second)
Citizen Kay
Demokracy Tour- the mini album which was released on Nov 7th including the singles Freedom and Yes! He has opened for Wiz Khalifa, Danny Brown, and Public Enemy.
Supported by Brave, Victor Lopez, Myth & Double, El Jistos and more
The Roller Den, Erskinville
7pm-late
Tickets 18.90
Got Beef?
The rap battle league based out of Adelaide is celebrating their 4th birthday with a 3 day party across Australia and Sydney is up first.
Line up:
Johnny Trash/ Promisques (Melb/Syd) vs. Real Deal/ Rone (USA/USA)
Harjot Singh (Syd) vs. Skandal (Melb)
Emfasis (Syd) vs. Doddy (Adl)
Maniac (Syd) vs. Dolzy (Syd)
Unfaded (Syd) vs. D-Bax (Melb)
Performances by:
plus a live cypher
Real Deal (USA)
Hyjack (Syd)
Promisques (Syd)
Harjot Singh (Syd)
and DJ Blitz
Wanna see some past battles to get in the mood? Check the
Youtube.
The Tunnel Night Club, Kings X
8pm-midnight
Tickets $15 (or $25 on the door)
Vent
Support your local hip hop community! This is a monthly night for underground local artists and rising stars. This is a place to meet and chill with other like-minded, hip hop oriented people to socialise and organise. There is always an open mic cypher at the end of the night for anyone who's so inclined to jump in on. Very relaxed, friendly, and fun environment.
Line up TBA
Valve Bar (upstairs Agincourt Hotel), Ultimo
9pm-late
$10 (on the door)
Twisted
Your favourite stoner rap group, Deadbeat n Hazy will be hitting the Townie along with the boombap brother and sister duo, Bustacap. Not to mention Rolling Stone's "artist to look out for," Maatzi. Make time for some heavy beats and deep trippy raps.
Town Hall Hotel, Newtown
8pm-late
Free
Saturday 29th
The Chop Round VIII
This is a monthly night meant to celebrate an aspect of hip hop that is not often in the limelight- it's for the beatmakers. This is to show appreciation for anyone banging out beats in their bedrooms, putting in all those long sleepless nights chained to the computer and the mpc. But this isn't just a listening party- it's a live show! This month's fresh beats will be brought to you by two of my favourite Sydney beatmakers- Scotty B The Assassin and DJ Prolifik the Gifted. Raine Supreme and Benny Hinn will be workin' it on the ones and twos.
Play Bar, Surry Hills
6pm-midnight
Free
Daily Meds
When I first came to Sydney about 3 years ago now, Daily Meds and Big Village were one of the first crews that I came to know well. I loved them not only because their music was real but THEY were real to what they spoke. From late night into early morning parties at Hibernian to tearing the roof off hotel rooms in Katoomba, it always felt like the current of revolution was ever present- like we were right on the brink of something, at the forefront of change. The parties weren't there to distract us from our goals but to tie us together inseparably, to bring us one step closer to that state of Oneness. That state that once achieved will bring not only self actualisation but also equality and understanding across race, religion, and culture.
P-Smurf is right up there with the best emcees this country has to offer. Both he and Mikoen speak on some heavy political issues on this record which is meant to kick Australia in the arse and tackle our problem of indifference to the real struggles suffered by our country's own supposed "lucky" inhabitants. Let's remember, it's only a lucky country for some.
I once described this album as "old, old school, new school." I'll let you think about that one for a second, no really, take a minute or two to ponder. But anyway, I was high on DMT at the time so don't take my word for it, it really has to be experienced to get the full picture, so you can order it
here. And then come along and let's make this night something special, let's connect again.
Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst
8pm-late
Tickets $15
Sunday 30th
One Day Sundays
It's starting to warm up now, the sun is staying up later, and the party never really died down on these nights over winter, so we can only imagine what it will grow to in these warm afternoons, they might have to start turning people away at the door. Or can you imagine it, people lined up outside like a nightclub, just hoping that someone will give up their spot. It's certainly the most happening place in the inner west on the last Sunday of each month- and with good reason. Hip hop at it's finest- the DJ, the graff, the food and beers, the friends, and hot chicks galore. It's one of the only hip hop events that you don't have to drag the women along to.
One Days DJs plus guests P-Money and Shantan Wan Ichiban
Vic on the Park, Marrickville
1pm-late
Free
Don't forget these great nights happening every week......
Wednesdays
7/11 Cypher
Come down to the only hip hop themed bar in the city for a cypher led by Izzy from Izzy and the Profit. It's a great chance to boost your freestyle skills or just chill and hang out with like minded peers and have a few sneaky drinks on a school night! There are great drink specials, and you can even play the Playstation!
Hustle and Flow Bar, Redfern
7-11pm
Free
Thursdays
The Jump Off
I will usually have in depth details above for the acts which are booked each week, but this is just a reminder that you can catch quality hip hop acts
every Thursday in the inner west! Hosted by this city's best hip hop DJ Raine Supreme and Ran-dee host of Hardcore Classic on 2ser (Fridays 8-10pm). It's a very relaxed environment with food available early on and a large outdoor smoking area in the back.
Newtown Hotel, Newtown
Fridays
This is an incredibly diverse and interactive night which is different to anything else happening in Sydney hip hop at the moment. It features a resident jazz band jamming on stage all through the night. A selection of singers and emcees will drop in when they see fit, spontaneously creating beautiful harmonies and verses. You never know who will shoot through on the night! It's not exactly an open mic but if you're feeling the vibe and you want to participate feel free to make yourself known. With a late start this night is becoming the go-to place to continue the party after a gig.
Foundry 616, Ultimo
11pm-late
Free
Well that's the very least of what I can give you for now Sydney, there is certainly more to come!!
Stay super classy Sydney, I've got nothin' but love for ya!
xxx
