GZA, Metro Theatre, 7 Jan 2012

The what: It was billed as ‘New York’s Finest’. Jean Grae, Pharoahe and the GZA at the Metro.

And what is a hip hop show without a cancellation? Word, and in this instance it was Rahzel who didn’t make it, as usual there was no reason given but the replacement was Mr. Len whom I casually missed.

And what is a hip hop show without a bogan crowd? Word, and in this instance there were plenty of westie lads who did make it, who’s bumbags casually slung over their shoulders were as nonchalant as their blatant disregard for the no smoking signs.

And what is a hip hop show without a schedule that the performers don’t stick to? Word, so when Jean was 30 minutes late it was expected. She’s tough as nails and spits razorblades like it ain’t no thang. Holy shit she’s angry. If possible I would have given her a hug and tried to win her a giant teddy bear at Luna Park. But she’s got skillz, mad rhymes and an East Coast booty as big as the Bronx. And these are all good qualities to have. Cool chick.

Pharoahe was quite the pimp, dressed in a Miami coke baron outfit he stole Common’s vibe. And then some genius punter (refer to bogan crowd above) jumped on stage and started to yell at him. Big burly dudes intervened, Pharoahe ducked offstage and was back a few minutes later. Thanks Sydney crowd. When he did make it back he flew into Simon Says and you can guess how that went down.

And then it was The GZA’s turn taking the hype that the previous acts built on and not delivering in full. There was the intro to Liquid Swords but he pulled a Ghostface and did a 45-minute medley of busting out the verses of all the big songs off that album. There were also lesser known tracks such as Animal Planet and the usual Wu tracks performed. W’s were raised. It was good but not great, considering his fantastic show at the same venue two years previously this was a letdown.

Verdict It’s always a gamble with hip hop shows. You can’t always get it right; there’s either deadshit acts, awful crowds or a shitty promoter. This however was as good as any other show. The good outweighed the bad and the result was an adequate evening.

Jean Grae
Pharoahe Monch
GZA