Mantra @ The Evelyn Hotel, Melbourne (11/10/2013)
Melbourne MC Mantra launched his third studio album Telling Scenes at the Evelyn in Fitzroy on a balmy Spring evening, a Friday no less, and it was delightful for all involved.
First up, young Melbourne kid and super exciting talent Dylan Joel brought great flow to his sweet-as-pie tunes.
Next on the mic was the bearded, turban-wearing L-Fresh The Lion, who astounded with mature lyrical finesse executed with a whole lot of swag and soul. His politically motivated hip-hop is akin to the likes of Mos Def, and on-stage the man exudes calm control.
L-Fresh stepped gracefully aside for an eager MC to momentarily hijack the mic and strut his well-rehearsed rap – at least until he'd exhausted himself and the patience of the producer behind the decks.
Mantra casually took the mic to roaring applause from loyal fans and immediately owned at energising his audience. The good vibes flowed freely from the man upfront to the crowd, who at the Evelyn are not so much 'down below' as on the same level as the artist.
Material covered in the live set was a good dose of Telling Scenes, and some well-worn crowd-pleasers such as Got Me Wrong. Tracks spun and sampled on the night included Missy Elliot and Talib Kweli's anthemic Get By.
Kylie Aldous, a guest of Mantra and a lady singing the blues, stole the show for a moment in time with stellar vocals. On stage with the MC for the duration was percussionist and backing vocalist affectionately dubbed Netty, who struck a dynamic figure with a bouncing fro and kept the sound fresh.
Peeps like Mantra and Spit Syndicate (who played the same stage at the Evelyn a few weeks ago) are tearing up the scene, and it can't be long before Aussie Hip-Hop comes of age.
A special part of Mantra's live show is the paper plane ethos. For those of you playing at home, scratching your head and thinking about origami, at the door on the merch table is blank paper, a marker and instructions.
When Mantra tells his fawning fans to hand over theirs so he can freestyle with their words as inspiration, down swoop them planes, scribbled with topics including Unicorns, UV Protection and Badonkadonk (which, it turns out, is hard to rhyme with).
On Aussie hip-hop (which was written on a paper plane), he articulated that it doesn't matter if it's Aussie or not, what matters is if you like it. In his off-the-cuff freestyle, he said it doesn't exist yet to the extent that it will.
Mantra possesses a sweet combination of confidence and humility to back up spades of raw talent. Indeed, you may say these qualities are distinctly Australian, and what sets us apart from the States. All things considered, Aussie hip-hop is lucky to have MCs like Mantra leading its charge.
Rebecca McCann
First up, young Melbourne kid and super exciting talent Dylan Joel brought great flow to his sweet-as-pie tunes.
Next on the mic was the bearded, turban-wearing L-Fresh The Lion, who astounded with mature lyrical finesse executed with a whole lot of swag and soul. His politically motivated hip-hop is akin to the likes of Mos Def, and on-stage the man exudes calm control.
L-Fresh stepped gracefully aside for an eager MC to momentarily hijack the mic and strut his well-rehearsed rap – at least until he'd exhausted himself and the patience of the producer behind the decks.
Mantra casually took the mic to roaring applause from loyal fans and immediately owned at energising his audience. The good vibes flowed freely from the man upfront to the crowd, who at the Evelyn are not so much 'down below' as on the same level as the artist.
Material covered in the live set was a good dose of Telling Scenes, and some well-worn crowd-pleasers such as Got Me Wrong. Tracks spun and sampled on the night included Missy Elliot and Talib Kweli's anthemic Get By.
Kylie Aldous, a guest of Mantra and a lady singing the blues, stole the show for a moment in time with stellar vocals. On stage with the MC for the duration was percussionist and backing vocalist affectionately dubbed Netty, who struck a dynamic figure with a bouncing fro and kept the sound fresh.
Peeps like Mantra and Spit Syndicate (who played the same stage at the Evelyn a few weeks ago) are tearing up the scene, and it can't be long before Aussie Hip-Hop comes of age.
A special part of Mantra's live show is the paper plane ethos. For those of you playing at home, scratching your head and thinking about origami, at the door on the merch table is blank paper, a marker and instructions.
When Mantra tells his fawning fans to hand over theirs so he can freestyle with their words as inspiration, down swoop them planes, scribbled with topics including Unicorns, UV Protection and Badonkadonk (which, it turns out, is hard to rhyme with).
On Aussie hip-hop (which was written on a paper plane), he articulated that it doesn't matter if it's Aussie or not, what matters is if you like it. In his off-the-cuff freestyle, he said it doesn't exist yet to the extent that it will.
Mantra possesses a sweet combination of confidence and humility to back up spades of raw talent. Indeed, you may say these qualities are distinctly Australian, and what sets us apart from the States. All things considered, Aussie hip-hop is lucky to have MCs like Mantra leading its charge.
Rebecca McCann