Words and Photos By:
Brendan Lee
Tuesday April 3, 2012 – Australian hip-hop heavyweights Hilltop Hoods stormed through Vancouver, playing a sold out show at Venue last week – as part of an 8 city North American tour, in support of the group’s sixth studio album ‘Drinking From The Sun’ released on March 9, 2012. The bill also included Vancouver hip-hop collective Sweatshop Union as openers, and Vancity hip-hop heads showed up in large numbers in anticipation of a high energy night of partying and dope music.
Sweatshop Union took to the stage to an already buzzing crowd; eager to see the group of local emcees tear it up. As a collective, Sweatshop consists of a diverse range of musicians that all come together with the same mindset – to make great, honest music together, and this was conveyed in the Sweatshop’s performance, as its members seem to genuinely enjoy being on stage together. This chemistry makes for a well-choreographed live show and an overall impressive set. They played some new material off the group’s most recent release, ‘The Bill Murray Ep’ – including the title track, which was pretty dope and definitely kept the crowd rockin. They also played a couple of tracks off their new project ‘Leisure Gang,’ which features a couple new members and has an EP dropping soon. Sweatshop Union’s set kept the energy in the building elevated, setting the stage for Hilltop Hoods and pumping up the sold-out crowd.
MCs Pressure and Suffa charged the stage, along with DJ Debris, opening their set with “The Return” from Hilltop’s 2009 album ‘State of the Art.’ The two emcees then went on to play a few new tracks, “Good for Nothing,” “The Underground,” and “Now You’re Gone” –referencing a disdain for Pressure’s ex girlfriend, which garnered much approval from the packed room at Venue.
The esteemed group from down under continued on their high energy set with some older classics – spanning as far back as their 2003 album ‘The Calling,’ including “Dumb Enough,” the party anthem “Chris Farley,” and “Last Confession” – followed by the group’s newest single from ‘Drinking From The Sun’, “I Love it.” Hilltop Hoods are seasoned veterans in the hip-hop game and have been at the centre of Aussie hip-hop for nearly two decades, boasting four platinum albums in Australia. With all of this success, they have never strayed from their roots and embody every quality of what real hip-hop was and should be. Their live show is amped up and in your face, as Pressure and Suffa pace back and forth across the stage, interacting with fans, all while displaying serious lyrical prowess and steady flow on the microphone; they both definitely know how to work a crowd and play a memorable set. Pressure’s voice carries and demands attention, while Suffa’s style is more laid back – coming together with flawless on-stage chemistry to form a unique, well structured performance.
The energy didn’t diminish the slightest, as Hilltop continued to play more songs from‘State of The Art.’ The fan favourite “The Nosebleed Section” had the crowd in a frenzy, as heads sang along to every word, encouraged by Pressure and Suffa to get it right – which lead to them starting it over, feeding off the crowds energy. The duo kept it going with the breakup song “The Light You Burned” and the motivational track “Chase That Feeling.” Pressure and Suffa said their peace and left the stage to a captivated, yet rowdy crowd – not quite ready for the party to stop as its members insistently chanted “Hilltop Hoods.” After a short wait, DJ Debris came back out, rhetorically asking if everyone wanted more – the crowd responded with a unanimous roar and Pressure and Suffa returned to the stage for a few more songs. They played the anthems “Hilltoppa” and “She’s So Ugly,” capping off their impressive set with “Rattling The Keys To The Kingdom,” which was prefaced by an encouragement from the duo that everyone in the audience take off one article of clothing and wave it in the air. The crowd obliged, staying rowdy until the very end, in true Aussie hip-hop fashion.
Overall, It was a super dope performance from both Hilltop Hoods and Sweatshop Union. Vancouver hip-hop fans that missed out on this show will definitely be hearing about it from their friends and probably be left kicking themselves for sleeping on it. If you did miss out make sure to check out Hilltop Hoods next time they come through Vancity and also be sure to peep a Sweatshop Union show when you get a chance. Shouts out to Union Events for putting on the show, and contributing to Vancouver’s hip-hop scene.