:: De La Soul - Prince Of Wales Hotel, St.Kilda - March 2006

By: Saeed Saeed

You can always tell a lot about the headline band by the type of audiences they attract to their gigs. You would have thought that hip hop luminaries, De La Soul would draw all the hip hop heads with their singlets and baseball caps. But instead the crowd was a mix of the aforementioned hip hop aficionados, rockers, tourists and not to mention a couple wearing gothic apparel. It was to be a long night for De La Soul announced that they will take the stage at quarter past eleven..and this was a Wednesday night!

But I didn‘t need to worry for the supporting acts that night were two of Melbourne's most loved artists. NFA was first to hit the stage and delivered a very solid set that was comprised entirely of his solo material. NFA had to remind the crowd a couple of times that he was the MC behind Melbourne's most successful, but now defunct, hip hop outfit 1200 Techniques. But that didn't matter for his solo material had the crowd bouncing. 'Make Moves’ and the chanting ‘Left Right Left’ were standouts and he concluded his set with his latest dance floor friendly single ‘Cause and Effect’. NFA proved that he has enough charisma as a solo MC and judging by the songs performed and more importantly the crowd's response his debut album will be highly anticipated.

The amazing True Live were next and they managed to do what they always do, leave the crowd with their mouths open. They are simply one of the best live bands in the country and their ‘hip hop with a classical music heart’ went down a treat with the audience. ‘Question This’ was a storming call to arms while ‘TV Show’ had the crowd pogo-ing along. With gigs and festival appearances planned around the country this year, True Live are going to have a busy and I predict a successful 2006.

But it was all about De La Soul and they hit the stage with sheer enthusiasm and performed all the hits. De La Soul did not tour Australia on the back of an album. They hit the road because that‘s what they love to do, a major distinction between them and other hip hop artists. They have been in the game for 17 years and they still deliver their earlier hits like 'Pot Halls In My Lawn’ and ‘Me Myself and I’ with exuberance. Posdnuose and Dave were in fine form and their verbal gymnastics kept the crowd jumping alone, while the always lovable Maseo kept the beats moving from behind the decks.

The Long Island trio didn‘t always stay in the past for they presented songs from their latest and more rawer release The Grind Date and also a good selection from their underrated 'The Stakes is High’ and their hit single ‘All Good’ from their AOI series of albums. They finished the show by asking 20 willing women to stand on the stage with them and lectured the crowd about respecting women when it comes to hip hop and not view them as merely groupies.

That's De La Soul for you. Not only are they the best hip hop party band but they are the like your favorite uncles, always there to make you smile but never scared to teach you something. Here's for another 17 years, uncles!