Buck 65

“Nuke the whales” declared bespectacled Canadian, MC, Buck 65 – not something you are expecting to hear at a hip hop gig. Myself, I had been waiting for the day to witness a hip hop artist bordering on the right-wing line. I think that was about as close as I’ll get.

So, at the tres cool Basement, located in the heart of Circular Quay, we were fed all the usual lines about how the war sucks and our children’s future is bleak – thanks to Buck’s credible support acts –the inspired, MC Immune and the flamboyant, one-woman hip hop showdown going by the name of Catcall. But I still got my glimpse into what is usually considered taboo in the world of rap.

First act, MC Immune, was fairly predictable: a white trash dude, who punctuated most of his songs with “yo”. As an afterthought, the set was concluded with a “story, narrative bomb” that left us all nourished with food for thought, to say the least. I had to hand it to Mr. Uber-Cool Immune though; he was rather charismatic and inundated with stage presence. Might I suggest a possible pursuit into the art of performance poetry as a back up plan?

Under the seedy red lighting of the Basement emerged a tiny, tousled dark haired woman in cut off jeans and a grey sweatshirt. I think she amazed us all with her amazing exuberance and the ability to hold the spotlight in her own respectable way. And she was certainly well-received as she flung herself about the stage, often indecipherable, as she called out to “Just Take It” and urged us to “Come on Girls”.

In any case, she was heralded by the main man in question, Buck 65, who apparently acquired his name from his father.

He marched onto the stage, blinking into the lights and announcing to his enamoured crowd: “They’ve asked me to come here and rock the living shit out of you.”. As you can imagine, this statement was met with incredible furore from his adoring public.

And to his credit, he did, actually, rock the living shit out of me, thereby meeting the needs of his impending mission. The guy is a one man spectacular. He mixes his own stuff, chants his clever lyrics at a rapid pace, and even leans towards the flamboyant, providing moves to his words and sporadically showering himself with glitter.

The tour was strategically worked around his new album, Situation, (as it always is), providing ample opportunities to work in up and coming singles into the set list, such as, 'Fifty Seven', which was empowered with a militia-like edge and 'Way Back When'; whilst still providing for the faithful fans with his classic numbers, such as 'Indestructible Sam'

And so I loved the MC wordsmith that was Buck 65: the only MC brave (or stupid) enough to rap: “Che Guevera, rock star – fuck off!”. You know what I say? Amen to that, nuke the whales! (But, hey, don’t really…please)

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