Sydney (mostly)
Sunday October 28th –
Sketch the Rhyme- rounding out October, here's an event worth being
tired on Monday morning for. All our favourite Sketch the Rhyme
characters: Jeswon, P-Smurf, Native Wit and Verbaleyes will be joined
by The Tongue and Dialectrix for a hip hop extravaganza like you've
never seen. This will be the recording of the pilot episode of the
new Sketch the Rhyme TV show so they need a huge audience. Bring
your mother, bring your brother, hell bring your dog, and COME ON
DOWN.
The Standard, Surry Hills 7:30pm
FREE EVENT
Thursday November 1st Word
Play- speaking of emcee games and fun with words, this is a new
format for an emcee competition. Rather than a standard “rap
battle” there are different rounds including pre-written, acapella,
and freestyle. Audience participation will play a big part in
judging so we need a big crowd for this. Also don't miss out because
in between rounds we've got performances by some of the best artists
in Sydney: EaRelevant and Barnzy, Hometeam, Mute MC, and DJ Prolifix.
The Roxbury Hotel, 7:30pm
tix $10 presale, $15 on the door
This is a charity event.
Saturday November 3rd -
Black Magic, State Advanced & Curtis C + more
This is the last show before our funny
talking, fast rapping cousin Curtis C ships back overseas to the land
of eternal snow (the one with the maple leaf flag and the heads that
disconnect when they talk). Don't miss out catching this class act
before he goes. He's got more skills hidden under his scarf than
most emcees have in their whole ensemble. Joining his brother State
Advanced, on stage they're an unstoppable team. Black Magic is
another Sydney group I've been wanting to see. If it was only those
two groups it would be a great night but that's not all! This is a
massive night of hip hop with a fabulous list of mainly local acts
including Beat Theory and Hometeam among others. Peep the facebook
event for the full list of artists and I will see you there.
Valve Bar, Tempe
tickets $10 at the door
Friday November 9th- Thundamentals
supported by Elemont- well if you're like me you'll be flying to
Brisbane for Sprung Festival and missing this show. Good thing I'll
be catching them in the Blue Mountains this Saturday (25/10). I
wouldn't miss the chance to see this group with their full horn
section. These kids have been keeping low profile lately, working on
individual side projects, so it's great to see them together again
and anything they do is not to be missed. The boys are so generous
and supporting of new music that they ran a competition to find local
support acts for each of their shows. All you had to do was point
them in the direction of some new music via a post on their facebook
page and they would check it out. After sorting through hundreds of
entries they came to the inevitable conclusion- we must have Elemont
for Sydney support. This up and coming young rapper from Wollongong
has been getting a lot of attention lately- he was recently invited
to participate in Sketch the Rhyme with the Big Village crew and he
will be competing in the emcees finals at Sprung Festival. All this
and we're still waiting on a mixtape.
Oxford Arts Factory, Sydney
tickets $20 through moshtix
Saturday November 10th- SPRUNG
FESTIVAL- now I know this isn't a Sydney event but it's certainly one
worth travelling interstate for and I think a lot of us will be doing
just that. This is the largest all Australian, all hip hop event of
the year. How's that for a lineup? My only problem is Thundamentals and
Spit Syndicate are overlapping. And who the fuck is Kerser and why
is he a headliner?
RNA Showgrounds, Brisbane
SOLD OUT
Horrorshow representing Elefant Traks |
Sunday November 11th- Elefant Traks
meet Dr Seuss- This looks like it will be an extremely special event.
A magical night where reality is twisted and dreams, however
strange, will blossom into reality. Who do you know who's a better
rhymer than Dr Seuss? No one obviously. And who could be better at
spitting those lines over a beat than the Elefant crew? They've got
almost the whole Elefant catalogue participating- The Herd,
Hermitude, Urthboy, Horrorshow, Joelistics, Sietta, Ozi Battla, The
Tongue, Jimblah, Uncle Ho, and Sky'High. It makes me sad that I will
still be in Brisbane for this because when the hell have you ever
seen elephants in the opera house? And I'm certain they will never
allow it again. All that rhyming and stomping around is sure to make
a mess of the place!
Sydney Opera House, Darling Harbour
tickets $23- $47
Monday- Tuesday November 12-13th
– RADIOHEAD- Now this isn't strictly a hip hop event but I think
it's worth mentioning as I have been waiting for this MY WHOLE LIFE!
Or literally since February when I got my ticket. And who doesn't
like Radiohead? Okay, okay I just wanted to show off that I'm going.
What are you doing on the day of the total solar eclipse?
Sydney Entertainment Centre
If you're going, then you've been
waiting on this for months!
Me and Cathy reppin' the One Day Crew! |
Friday November 16th -Spit
Syndicate supported by Seven and Mr. Hill, and Jackie Onassis- The
last stop on the tour to promote their new single “Beauty in the
Bricks” the whole album entitled “Sunday Gentleman” will be
hitting us early next year, with another summer tour possibly on the
cards as well. Each presold ticket purchased enters you in the comp
entitled “Food Safaris” where the boys take you out to dinner
before the gig. Sounds like an excuse for the guys to go out some
new beautiful women every night. Maaaaaybe?
Annandale Hotel, Sydney inner west
tickets $18.50, doors at 8pm
Broken Thought Theory |
Friday November 16th
-Empire Rising supported by Broken Thought Theory and High Noon-
Looking for alternative plans? Spit Syndicate doesn't quite grab
your attention. Want to see some real hip hop in the building?
Empire Rising is a funky combo of a rock band vibe with hard hip hop
lyrics and electro dance beats. But honestly I'll be there to see
Broken Thought Theory. If you haven't had the pleasure of checking
out this trio yet, I have to warn you, you're pretty much going to
shit your pants. I'll leave the rest to your imagination but truth
is you really need to get out to this. High Noon is going to blow you
away as well. Get there early! This crew is known for drinking out
the bar before showtime.
Oxford Arts Factory, Sydney, 8pm
P-Smurf and Ellesquire rockin' the Annandale |
Saturday November 17th- P. Smurf's
'Smurf Village' Mixtape Launch- This is the night I'll be looking
forward to all month. P-Smurf has become a real influential
character, taking a lead role in the Sydney hip hop scene, just like
in his imagined world where he's Papa Smurf and all the other emcees
are just his little blue minions. We know him well for his work with
the Daily Meds and Reverse Polarities, now let's see what he can pull
of with no back up. The support acts are insane for this show. We've got heaps of Big Village characters jumping up to do their part. Plus Broken Thought Theory! Two best crews in Sydney all in one place, it's going to be a mad house.
Annandale Hotel, Sydney, 8pm
tix $10 presale includes free hard copy
of 'Smurf Village' mixtape + free beer on arrival/ $15 at the door
Thursday November 22nd –
Tuka's 'Feedback Loop' album launch supported by Rapaport, and Tenth
Dan & Grub- Tuka has been a busy man these last few months. Ever
since the Thundamentals did their Like A Version cover of the song
“Brother” all eyes have been turned to them with great intensity.
Tuka delivers a highly passionate performance in that song which has
singled him out as the Sydney rapper to watch out for. He's at the
top of his game. His style is impeccable. He's got a quality about
him, a passion, a softness, a quirkiness that's impossible to
replicate. He lays it all out there and like it or not you have to
accept that it's genuinely who he is. His style can't be pinpointed
to just hip hop. There's a lot of singing it it, especially on this
new album. Ever since he showed us the first single from his
sophomore solo album, “Just To Feel Wanted” we've been salivating
for more. The teaser video for “Time and Space” blew me away.
He ranges from silly to deep sincerity all in the same song, and the
hook is catchy as fuck. Tuka's certainly got it all going for
him this year. Whether by himself, with the Big Village crew, or
with Thundamentals you'll certainly be drawn to whatever he does
simply because it's genuine and real. You can see it in his eyes.
Annandale Hotel, Sydney, 8pm
presales $10, may include free drink
and unreleased MP3 of “Time and Space” (but I'm not making any
promises)
Thursday November 22nd –
Brother Ali with Sean Price and Mantra supporting
In a cruel twist of fate, the legend,
the man, the myth himself, Brother Ali of Rhymesayers fame, one of my
very favourite rappers of all time, is performing on the same night
as Tuka's launch, which will be absolutely amazing. Now I have to
make an executive decision here and go with the rapper I'm much less
likely to see any time soon, and haven't yet had the pleasure of
seeing in person. He made a brief stop here with Atmosphere back in
2008 and we haven't seen him since. Brother Ali has got a style that
just completely blows me away. I have so much respect for this man.
There will never anyone who sounds like him. Not only is he skilled
but he's also socially concious. He's not afraid to tackle the real
nitty gritty issues facing America today. As a citizen of the world,
this man is certainly a leader. My only complaint is that he hasn't
brought his label mate, Grieves with him, but I think we're lucky to
get two Rhymesayers shows this year. Don't miss this, quality hip
hop in the building.
The Factory Theatre, Marrickville
$50 + ticketing fees