If you had told an industry professional 10 years ago that thousands of people would travel from all over the country and pay good money to attend a festival based purely around Aussie hip hop, they would have laughed you out the door.
Now, watching a mass of loyal fans gather in an arm-pumping army of appreciation, it’s hard to imagine the movement getting any bigger.
For the second year running, this November, hip hop heads from just about everywhere dusted off their basketball shirts and made the necessary arrangements for the annual pilgrimage to Brisbane for Sprung.
It’s generally an unfortunate reality that being placed at the top of a festival timetable means an artist will draw less of a crowd – but looking at the mass of enthusiastically bobbing fans that turned out for Adelaide duo Mase-n-Mattic, you would never have guessed it was still before midday.
Their performance of crackling, refined hip hop however, more than justified their strong fan base.
Following them was Victorian emcee, and Hilltop Hoods labelmate, Briggs, who has built up a loyal following over the years. Sprung saw him at the top of his game, delivering a selection of his best work with typical charisma.
Outside, the focus was more on the underground, with the Real Talk Emcee Comp followed by Dwizofoz. He could be found yelling, “if you love hip hop say SUCK MY DICK” into the crowd – apparently, they do – before breaking into a song dissing an ex-girlfriend.
He brought what looked like every underground emcee in Brisbane onto the stage for a verse each during his final track, in what was actually a rather touching vision of solidarity.
There was some decent talent on display here too, if you could get past the preaching about what ‘real’ hip hop is.
Taking place on the same day as the annual ‘Supernova’ event (Brisbane’s version of Comicon), this year’s festival was coincidentally being held directly opposite the RNA Showground – so when a Stormtrooper was spotted wandering around you could have assume he’d gotten lost.
That is, until he reappeared with a host of other Star Wars characters for Seth Sentry’s performance.
“Is this a little over the top?” the laid-back rapper joked, gesturing to the assembled cast of sci-fi characters behind him.
It’s hard not to love Sentry – he’s just a big kid. Sprung saw him get rid of his usual technique of firing Nerf gun bullets into the crowd, instead employing a water pistol as a weapon to soak the audience.
He was joined in his assault by his exceptionally talented (and frankly adorable) DJ Benny, and fellow Melbourne emcee Grey Ghost.
Up next was Mantra. You have to wonder if the silver-tongued rapper is ever frustrated, as other artists across the country become household names, while he is comfortably one of the best in Australia without the same acclaim.
Watching him leap loose-limbed all over the stage though, it was hard to imagine someone looking like they were having any more fun. His vocals have so much rhythmic variety; it was barely noticeable when the DJ cut out for him to deliver a series of stunning a capellas.
Vents followed, brining party-master Trials and DJ-of-the-moment Adfu with him from Adelaide for a demonstration of the raucous, energy-burst style that has become a speciality of the city.
Outside, Seven stumbled onstage through the rain, swigging from a wine bottle and brandishing an inflatable dolphin: the Gold Coast version of Capt. Jack Sparrow.
He delivered an infectious set of dance hip hop with fellow emcee Mr. Hill, with variations from demented jumping to stoned-out-of-your-brains swaying. All tastes have been catered for here, provided your number one priority is partying.
TZU, as expected, were one of the highlights of the day, and completely at home on the stage – an ease granted to them by years of experience and a thoroughly enjoyable back catalogue.
A first for the festival, they pulled out an acoustic guitar and silenced the DJ for a beautiful rendition of You Am I’s ‘Heavy Heart,’ before breaking out an electric a few minutes later – showing off their typical versatility. Theirs was a performance that more than satisfied old fans, while doubtlessly solidifying some new ones.
You know a hip-hop act is going to be good when they walk onto the stage complete with a horn section – as the formidable Sydney trio Thundamentals did.
Their casually confident delivery belied the by now massive crowd spilling out of the tent, as they worked their way through a deliciously unpredictable set.
Their AV show was also one of the most impressive, showing hyper-saturated clips of hula hoops, sloths, and space-age imagery.
The pace was taken back a notch outside, as Spit Syndicate enthralled the crowd with their quieter, more poetic variety of hip hop to fall in love to.
It’s a style they do well, with Horrorshow being perhaps the one artist who do it better – so it was all the more perfect when that act’s emcee Solo surprised fans by taking to the stage and performing an emotive rendition of old-school classic ‘Choose None.’
It’s been a while since Melbourne native Pez was a mainstay on the Aussie hip hop scene (something he himself acknowledges,) but he clearly hasn’t lost any love in the meantime – or talent.
It’s easy to forget when absorbed in the charm of his easy-going persona that he’s actually a seriously good rapper, but fans were left in little doubt of that today.
There may be artists that have more spark on record, but live, there’s no one in Australia more enthralling than Pez. He finished with a trifecta of his hits: ‘These Days,’ an extraordinarily moving performance of ‘Shine,’ and of course ‘The Festival Song.’
If there was any question of Illy’s rising popularity and talent as an artist, it was well and truly put to rest at Sprung.
It was completely unnecessary for the Melbourne emcee to sing the words to his most popular songs (‘It Can Wait,’ ‘Cigarettes’ and ‘Pictures’) – as the crowd was more than capable of doing that for him. The enthusiasm was just as potent for his more obscure stuff, like his Friday Flip of Avicii’s ‘Levels,’ and his cover of Pixies’ ‘Where Is My Mind’.
His use of an actual drum kit as opposed to a machine brought a refreshingly analogue quality to the show, and provided a heart-shaking pulse to the slower songs. But, thankfully, M-Phases was present and working his magic behind the turntables as Illy jumped all over the stage – he would have been missed were he not there.
The Aussie pride was palpable amongst the 7000-odd hip hop heads gathered under the tent for the headlining, super-tight unit of professional chaos that is the Hilltop Hoods.
Showmanship almost isn’t necessary when you have a repertoire as well-loved as the Hoods do – but they brought it in spades anyway.
A version of ‘Still Standing’ so fast, and so impeccably performed, you would have thought it was doctored if it wasn’t live was contrasted against an intriguingly slow start to ‘Hard Road.’
‘Nosebleed Section’ was prefaced by a recording of the original song sampled in it, while ‘Speaking in Tongues’ was enhanced by the heart-warming speech espousing equality that came before it.
Then there was the finale, the perfect finish to the entire festival that saw every artist on the bill pour onto the stage for a powerful performance of ‘Rattling The Keys To The Kingdom.’
Sprung was so special because it wasn’t merely a linear progression of artists, but an inter-weaving of all of them.
Hardly any act performed alone and even those who weren’t even listed on the bill decided to show up anyway and do a guest verse or two.
It was awe-inspiring to watch this collective of Australian talent gathered on the one stage, in a tribute not just to themselves, or to the fans, but to the entire genre and everything it has achieved.
The entire event could be summed up in the opening line of ‘Rattling The Keys…’: We came and we conquered.
Be sure to check out our epic photo gallery of Sprung Hip Hop Festival here.
