Live Review: Guilty Simpson, Katalyst, Marksman Lloyd

In a special Thursday night edition of Hussle Hussle, hip hop heads rejoiced in the third leg of Guilty Simpson and Katalyst’s Australia and New Zealand tour.

The local support was nothing short of the standards the event has reached over the past few months. Kicking things off on the ones and twos was Raaghe Ismail, keeping things low-key while the crowd slowly filtered in. Followed by Mei Saraswati, Mojo’s was treated with yet another performance that has made her a local favourite for her distinctive style of quasi-experimental R&B. Kicking on the night’s festivities was Marksman Lloyd, who heated up the mic with the wordplay that has earned him a support spot on Illy’s WA tour later this month.

Come the headline set, the crowd was brimming with beer and anticipation, and Stones Throw MC Guilty Simpson was nothing short of outstanding. Alternating between cuts from Ode To The Ghetto and O.J. Simpson, fans both old and new could appreciate his charisma on the microphone, be it over a J Dilla or Madlib beat. Keeping it tight for about an hour, the hardened yet accessible rapper engaged the crowd in a balance of performance and between-track banter that included props given to the liquid gold known as Emu Export. Although Guilty was on-point, Katalyst left a little something to be desired for his fans, as he barely did more than play the backing tracks for his collaborator. However, one good thing to come from their performance together was a set peppered with unreleased songs that the two have collaborated on for the rapper’s third studio album, due out early next year.

Given the poor weather and its designation on a Thursday, the night turned out to be one of the better international hip hop shows for a while. All the supporting acts hit the mark with their respective performances and as for Guilty Simpson? It just goes to show why Guilty is now a Stones Throw staple and was once a favourite of the late J Dilla. Katalyst may not have wowed the crowd with his prowess on the decks, but the pair’s unheard numbers from next year’s release were enough in themselves to cement his place as one of the best beatmakers Australia has to offer.