Muph & Plutonic are three-quarters of the way around their national And Then Tomorrow Came album tour and thinking on it, the fact that Australian hip hop acts are in demand to do a national tour is brilliant. It might not be everyone’s cup of gin and juice but the lines are disappearing (if not erased) as musical and creative expression is embraced in our diverse music scene and culture.
Bookended by DJ Bonez, hip hop teddy bear Raph Boogie kicked off the night and his solo performance career. Smiling through what must have been a terrifying breakdown in his sound system, Raph gave us a warm welcome to his style. The tracks were his own – not always on the money, but sophisticated and thoughtful with clever hooks – while his rhymes were quintessentially Aussie flavoured. Only on this continent will you hear references to your ‘best friend cutting your lunch’ while the self depreciating MC agonises over how soon is too soon to call that special girl. The highlight was definitely The Boogie Bump which, while leaning a little bit too close to novelty, was held in kick-arse place by an infectious melody, fat beats and an A1 vocal delivery.
From leg up to shout out, the next guests were later thanked by a jubilant Muph: ‘What a trip! My fucking idols supporting me in my home town!’ The Grouch and Eligh (from USA’s Living Legends) reminded us when we all fell in love with hip hop in the first place: there is still something authentic, for me, about hearing this kind of spoken word in an African-American accent. Armed with an ipod, The Grouch remote-controlled the uncomplicated beats: appreciating the crowd’s love of diversity, he hand-picked tracks, dropping in samples from Nirvana and Coldplay, while he and Eligh showed themselves to be the real deal, commanding the stage and amping the vibe up to the next level. As wicked as The Grouch was, the man of the moment was pocket-rocket, Eligh. With a synthetic, nearly robotic tone, that dude is FAST. It was incomprehensible to me that anyone could rap that quickly and still be coherent, yet he owned it.
They bounced off and the red curtain was drawn. A written request from the artists that there was ‘no tagging and bombing’ had failed to specify that the soft furnishings were to be handled gently. The ecstatic front row stuck their heads underneath the drapes, threatening to pull it off the castors.
The men of the hour appeared shortly after and to my immense delight, bought a drummer for the live Muph & Plutonic experience (I wish I knew who he was, he was terrific). While Raph, The Grouch and Eligh had to contend with a sound system that wasn’t too kind to their track formats, our boys had the full shebang and it made all the difference.
Muph took to his mic stand, looking every inch the tippsy dude at the RSL who gets on stage after the band has gone, right down to the endearing Aussie Man trait of swinging his hips side to side in an attempt at finding the groove. Explaining to us that the Living Legends had taught him to be himself, it wasn’t long before Plutonic found Muph’s groove for him and we were all thankful that the MC had found that Living Legends record.
By the time they paid tribute to the sounds that had inspired them— Size of the Soul —and made it to Walking Tightropes the stage was a furnace-hued cooker, the mirror balls were rocking off their axis and the crowd was going off its head.
Precise, funky beats from the kit and a passionate, and inspired, Plutonic on decks: the homecoming party was on. Humble and full of heart Muph’s rhymes were poetry in motion. He called Raph back out and Mr Boogie rose to the encouragement of a charged crowd who had arms in the air, heads counting the beats and booties shaking like demons. The atmosphere was electric, the love in the air tangible. Muph’s angular, extroverted persona was a perfect match for Plutonic’s cool, fun and smiling style. They were beaming their pleasure at being in front of a (surely/nearly sold out) home crowd and we were all feeling it.
Pete Lawler, of Weddings, Parties Anything, was a dapper inclusion—would have been a good idea to sound check his mic before everything was full tilt—in his three-piece suit and fedora. He cut quite a figure and bought in a fantastic element. Flamenco guitars serenaded the poignant prose of exposure and I found my new favourite party song in Beautiful Ugly, while an Obese-hoody-wearing dude kicked out lightening-quick old-school hip hop moves to it in the back stalls.
Heaps Good was bought to a dynamic new level live, with the drummer having a thrashing blast and Muph grinning like the Cheshire Cat: no one was immune to his amazing vibe and when he pronounced it as ‘the best show of my life’ everyone believed him. A rock/jazz/funk drummer, a renowned producer, a sweet-pea Raph Boogie, two music-loving rap legends, a smooth lounge-looking guest vocalist and an MC who wears his heart on his microphone. A night of commentary, antagonism, reflection, love and musical history, all wrapped up in a dance floor.That’s Aussie hip hop, peeps.
