Once again Melbourne Zoo hosted their unique outdoor event Roar Sounds on a warm Thursday night after the success of last week’s feature act, Eddy Current Suppression Ring. While the big cats were being fed in their enclosure and the stage crew setting up for the cool cats to come most punters were trekking back from an after hours zoo walk and getting comfortable on the grassy green with a BYO picnic for a night of Hip-Hop beats and flow.

For their last installment in the Roar Sounds summer concert series the evening kicked off with Alexx the Kidd spinning some tracks to warm up the crowd. Next up Phrase and his crew made up of drums, bass, keys and DJ Flagrant demonstrated the new school of live hip-hop and the crowd was quietly impressed with the live set of this up and comer MC. The achievements of Phrase in such a short time made for an interesting set mash up and included plugs for his new album Burn It Down. He rapped his way through, Skylight, Push Up, All Good and even had special guest Jade – œMacca’ MacRae rip up some vocals.

As dusk settled the punters chilled out during the intermission and then bursting onto the stage was the enigmatic Resin Dogs MC owning the stage with energy likened to that of a spider monkey. Seasoned elders of the Aussie Hip-Hop scene, The Resin Dogs, took centre stage and their solid energy impressed not only the locals that kept roaring in the background but also the hip-hop devotee’s that the boys had encouraged to the front and centre lawn to join them for a dance. Their realistic and raw fusions of hip-hop, dance basslines and catchy lyrics have stood the test of time to remain current and the boys perform a tight live show. The crowd knew the catalogue of songs credited to the airplay on Triple J and the single from the current album, Definition was performed alongside, Set If Off and Peace and Love.

These local hip-hopers are always a positive, even though their lyrics feature abrupt swearing and clichéd hard line situations at times. The energy of this live show was a credit to Aussie hop-hop and crowd participation was encouraged. At times the lead MC got everyone in a chant of – œshit hot..shit hot!_ before apologising to the little kids in the crowd oblivious to the lyrics.

The positive energy was enhanced with the performance of guest MC, N’fa formerly of 1200 Techniques fame. N’fa did not lose his form or flow at all and brought a strong energy to that of the darker themed song, Cause An Effect. The gathering crowd got moving to the simple and strong catch cry of, – œThrow ya hands in the sky with me. Put em up!’ There was even a round of high fives from the crew to the front of the crowd.

With the still lions roaring in the background, The Resin Dogs left the stage after a set that featured 10 years of back catalogue and fresh releases. The overall vibe was very chilled and could have easily been mistaken for a mini festival in someone’s backyard. It was a great atmosphere of young hip families bringing the kids along, hip hop fans, couples on dates and mates having a quiet one after work enjoying the quality performance and the awesome selection of drinks and gourmet food on offer. Kudos to The Resin Dog boys for travelling down from Bris Vegas and for the Melbourne Zoo crew for helping wayward punters not to get lost in Zoo at night. Thank goodness the lions were fed before the sweet hip hop flow and BYO fun started.

CHECK OUT THE PIX HERE