Before Brooklyn hip-hop trio Flatbush Zombies had even taken to the stage there was an indescribable atmosphere in the air that you couldn’t quite put your finger on, and no it wasn’t just the copious smell of weed engulfing the venue.
In fact the only time it didn’t smell like a certain substance was when it smelt like actual smoke during the group’s third preview of their new material which was much more laid back then the majority of their more hyped and energetic set.
The Toff is rarely seen this packed, in fact one of the venue’s staff had mentioned that it had literally been booked overcapacity so you can only imagine the mayhem that was bound to occur.
As the Brooklyn rap trio took to the stage and belted out some of their old material from their highly acclaimed mixtape D.R.U.G.S pandemonium ensued, on stage and off. Juice, L.S. Darko and Erick Arc Elliott (the band’s main producer as well) had come half way across the world and they had brought everything that made them unique along with them; from their unheralded live energy to their witty on-stage banter, these guys are something we in Australia rarely get to see the likes of in a hip-hop gig.
The Zombies are seriously funny, with some of their on-stage gems including the likes of one punter screaming out “I smell drugs!” With Darko responding with, “Really, I smoke drugs?” Along with providing some genuinely sweet one-liners.
On their current tour the trio also showcased a whole heap of new material off their upcoming project entitled, Better Off Dead, some of which sounded like “Sandwitches” by Odd Future crossed with “Radical” albeit with slightly more mature themes and verses.
Another of the new tracks featured the profanities frequently and in fact it may as well have been called “Fuck” with such lyrics as “Fuck the the White House/ fuck Venus/ignorance is bliss.”
Of the trio all have their respective talents with Darko being quite the showman having become a notorious stage diver and by hell he does it well. In terms of rapping though, Juice is by far the best in the group. His freestyle talents combined with his smooth old school flow make him one of the most talented rappers of the new breed coming through.
One of the final songs of the night “Face Off” absolutely went off with hands in the air and bodies grinding mercilessly. For the majority of the set the Brooklyn boys rapped over a backing tape which seemed to work as it increased the energy on and off stage. The group’s most well known song “Thug Waffle” with its ridiculously hypnotic opening beats and military drums garnered an even louder reception, it was often hard to hear the rapper’s spit their verses the crowd was so damn loud.
Flatbush Zombies are a self made group in every sense of the word, they produce and release their own music and with rappers like Kendrick Lamar, A$AP Rocky, Tyler The Creator and Earl Sweatshirt selling out shows nationwide it was no surprise to see the Toff so jam packed and full of energy.
