Live Review: B Wise, Turquoise Prince

The grand old Lansdowne Hotel, with its prime location, is the perfect junction to hold a hip hop show that brings together the diversity of Western Sydney with the vibe of the Inner West. Where City Road meets Parramatta Road, the clientele would combine to generate a feeling that personifies a love of hip hop and good times.

Following on from a buzzy BIGSOUND, Turquoise Prince with all his personality in tow, graced the stage to a growing hyped crowd. You never quite know what you’re going to get with this electric performer, but he bounced between being an Usher-like crooner to a brash, spitting MC. He oozed confidence on stage playing through his tracks ranging from the LTC days to the newer ones, Lighter and Sunday Sesh. We got a sneak peek of a new track as well, Gypsy Love. He’s an exciting performer to follow and with a voice of an angel that can back up the bravado, not to mention charisma for days, the Prince is here to stay.

A beautifully diverse and representative crowd were on hand to give Western Sydney rapper, B Wise, his first ever sold out headline Sydney show. Warmed up suitably by DJ Klasik, Wise hit the stage to a big reaction bouncing straight into Journal Entry, the opening track from his debut album on the opening show of his launch tour for Area Famous.

When he asked the crowd if it was their first B Wise show, only a few put their hand up, with a huge group obviously regulars of the artist, belting out lyrics to older tracks from EP Semi Pro and further back to his mixtape days of 2013 with Long Neck Brown Paper Bag. Prince Akeem still stands up as a banger of a track and a common introduction to the artist.

Following the nostalgia trip, things really heated up, including the room with DJ Klasik protesting, “My body’s not made for this heat.” Anfa Rose was the first guest to be brought out, covering his lines from The Code before Wise declares, “It’s ok to be different and do whatever you want every single day,” and dives into Actin’ Different. Feel Something brought the crowd back to a sweaty dance, hands in the air, lyrics belted out with an incredible energy taking hold.

The cover of Under The Bridge didn’t seem to really fit into the set, with the crowd trying unsuccessfully to keep the chorus flowing. The positive vibes in the room were evident though and Wise was noticeably overwhelmed by the love. Go Grrl prompted his mum to be brought up on stage as the downtempo song inspired closer dancing.

Then the real party started. Manu Crook$ and Lil Spacely jumped on stage to perform their collaborative track Best Years and then young local, The Kid Laroi, took to the stage. The 14-year-old sprayed water over the front of the crowd as he bounced around with artists ten years older. It would have been a huge experience for him but you never would have known, seemingly fitting right in.

It was an impressive set, although the flow was broken up by the number of people on stage occasionally making it tricky to continue on and the heat making things tough. It all wrapped up with The Key and a sense that B Wise is only just beginning to showcase the breadth of diverse talent in this country. The combination of hip-hop, a love of music and a sense of community stayed with us as we ventured out very late into a wet spring Sydney night.