The Funkoars EP promotional tour ended with bang during their hometown show in Adelaide. The city known as the ‘home of Australian hip hop’ turned out in numbers on a Thursday night to be part of what promised to be a boom bap buffet.
The support lineup, which boasted the likes of upcoming South Australian artists Third Degree and Purpose, as well as Mr. Hill & Rahjkoncas out of Brisbane, made the gig even more tantalising.
The forever growing but still relatively small niche of hip hop heads around the country are known for being insanely passionate. This was reflected in the near capacity turnout not just for the Funkoars, but for each support act as well. From the get-go, Third Degree had the crowd bobbing, and even technical difficulties during Purpose’s set couldn’t smother the hype.
After teasing the crowd with the idea of going acapella, the show got back on the road when Purpose was joined by mates Motive, Prime, and Mr. Hill for a debut live rendition of ‘Regulate’. Mr. Hill & Rahjconkas relished their time up on stage, running and jumping around with a bizarre amount of enthusiasm that was highly infectious amongst the crowd. From the banging beats of ‘Back It Up’ to the eloquence of recent single and set closer ‘Telescope’, these two showed why they are so highly regarded by other artists in the hip hop community.
By the time the supports were done, the fans had reached fever pitch over the music. The rumblings amongst the crowd suggested that hip-hop royalty was next. When the nominated master of ceremonies for the night Funkoars as well as fellow Golden Era records member K21 were called to the stage, the room exploded with energy. It had all the ‘claaaaassic’ ‘Oars idiosyncrasies, with members Trials and Sesta both rocking their standard lack of footwear and Hons in his tightly crushed baseball cap.
It was 45 minutes of old classics, such as ‘The Hangover’ and ‘What’s Your Malfunction’, in company with brand spanking new tracks ‘The D’, while once again getting Mr. Hill and Rahjconkas up on stage to premiere ‘BMF’ (Bad Motherfuckers).
It had been promoted all week on social media prior to the gig that there would be something big and different to close the night. The finale came in the form of a 20 person-strong collaborative cypher. This was rap in its purest form, showcasing the depth and variety of Adelaide hip hop.
The Funkoars know how to have a good time, and certainly know how to put on a good show. Usually the most appropriate way to sign off would be to say “fuck the Funkoars”, as is so vocally chanted at their gigs. In this case, it was more apt to finish with the words of cameo guest and Australian hip hop enigma Suffa MC of the Hilltop Hoods, and say, “love the Funkoars”.
