Reviewed on Friday August 21

Being an Aussie hip hop fan can be hard. While recent crews like One Day and Big Village have done heaps to legitimise the genre, in many ways skip hop is still finding its feet. Not to mention the stigma associated with the Australian accent is a difficult hurdle to overcome. So it’s refreshing when up-and-comers of the New South Wales scene aren’t afraid to push things that little bit further, while paying their dues to the staples that make hip hop great.

If you’re wondering what that means, Dawn Laird has the answer. She’s an adherent to the classic boom-bap sound but the beats are grimier, the raps are harder. Spitting vitriolic punchlines with emotional intensity, Laird takes aim at her enemies as much as she turns the microscope on herself.

S.kape is a much different type of MC. Laughing as his band busts out its first track, his vibe is laid-back, but what he lacks in venom he makes up for in charisma and diverse rhyme schemes. The Sydney-born artist isn’t afraid to learn from American icons, switching from the exultant party anthems of Childish Gambino to the cool drawl of Joey Bada$$. What’s great is that he absorbs their styles, but eschews the arrogance that is intrinsic to the US scene. S.kape leaves graciously, after cheering for Coda Conduct to take the stage.

Facing one another while they deliver witty exchanges of rap bravado, Coda Conduct epitomise great hip hop duos. Clearly switched on, the pair blister through multi-syllable raps that are reminiscent of TZU’s self-aware sarcasm, poking fun at clicktavism by aping the rhetoric of protest songs. It’s fun, and they write such excellent hooks that the crowd enthusiastically joins them for the tongue-in-cheek call-and-response.

There’s something about Coda Conduct that has inspired their fans to fervent idolatry. Bootleg T-shirts are everywhere (made by stapling the band’s photo to a shirt) and the floor is heaving as the MCs rap straight from a classic hip hop medley into a heavy club banger. It ends the official set, until the chants come for more and they whip out the only other song left in their repertoire; a remix of the iconic theme to Round The Twist. It’s a cacophonous sing-along, and the finale demonstrates that Erica Mallet and Sally Coleman have not only got the smarts to push the genre forward, but the pride to keep it Aussie as well.

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