Phoenix Street found itself hosting waiting fans interlocked in isolated arguments of which MC would be best of the night. Andre Jemal got a sneaky mention. Penny Purr got named dropped. All punters agreed that Scribe was an MC worthy of headlining a talented roster of performers.
The show started and cycled through MCs seamlessly. When one MC finished, barely a minute would pass before the next MC took over and moved through their set. Winston Anthony & Trix were well equipped to deal with the opening slot. They worked hard at taking the wallflowers from the comfortable nooks around the couches to the open space on the dancefloor. Andre Jamal, Ron Browz, and Deng Tebir all continued on the momentum of keeping the crowd entertained and on their feet. Melbourne favourite, Bangz made a brief appearance for a dope verse as well, keeping the night light-hearted and fun.
Penny Purr shined on stage. She is one of those MCs who has the blessings of a fantastic singing voice to compliment her rhymes. She used her voice to showcase tracks from her 2016 album Welcome to Purrgatory. It was a tidy set.
With the new faces among hip hop now finished working the crowd, it was time for the night to be passed onto the more seasoned performers. N’fa played the 1200 Technique classic Karma and Rubix Warehouse nearly had a meltdown.
Scribe started his set with Not Many as if daring the one-hit wonder crowd to leave after his ‘one song’. It was a statement, a moment where he seemed to say “If this is all you want, have it”. Everyone stuck around. They had to. They were mesmerized by the sense of timing, the confidence, and the rhymes of a guy who was worth the decade old hype.
The rest of his set consisted of tracks from his 2003 album The Crusader. A few years have passed since Scribe has had the chance to play in Melbourne, but he showed he hasn’t lost a step. There were no awkward interludes or missed lines, each bar was hit and finished with metronome timing. Cheers greeted the start or the ending of multiple songs, but Stand Up and Dreaming really seemed to resonate with fans. At the end of his set it was easy to see why this MC had held the Southern Hemisphere rap game on its knees.
By Jimmy Hall
Highlight: Scribe freestyling bars.
Lowlight: The homie that spilt his drink all over me.
Crowd Favourite: Stand Up.
