While hip hop has been on a wavy trajectory in the past few years, plagued by sameness and algo-baiting TikTok trends, Australian fans have been relatively starved for good international rap concerts over the past twelve months. Even from a local perspective, we’ve only seen the likes of Hilltop Hoods, Kerser and Miss Kaninna doing the rounds recently.
November and December will, however, flip the script on the drought. We’re about to see a big burst of big-name international hip hop tours coming down under to see hip hop fans, through to the new year. Importantly, they aren’t just hyper-trendy, pop-adjacent zeitgeist rappers either. We’re talking the likes of The Pharcyde and Talib Kweli for fans of head-bopping golden era rap, and Salt-N-Pepa to tick off that legends list. Then we’ve got Baby Keem for the new heads and Dizzee Rascal for a heavy dose of nostalgia. And then we’ve got J. Cole.
J Cole
Topping the list is The Fall Off tour from J. Cole. To say the Carolina emcee has emerged as the Nas of the modern age is to repeat what’s been known for over a decade now. Cole has consistently reminded us that hip hop, above all, is about lyricism, emotion and depth, and with The Fall Off, he’s given us an exceptional display of what it takes to be mentioned in the upper echelon of rap. He’ll be bringing those cuts, along with a healthy dose of fan favourites, to venues like Sydney’s Afterpay Arena and Brisbane Entertainment Centre for what is likely going to be his last tour ever (or at least for a very long time). Check the tour schedule below and hit the link to see if there are still some last-minute tickets left.
Wednesday 25th November – Brisbane Entertainment Centre
Saturday 28th November – Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne
Sunday 29th November – Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne
Tuesday 1st December – Afterpay Arena, Sydney
Wednesday 2nd December – Afterpay Arena, Sydney
Salt-N-Pepa
It’s hard to overstate just how much Salt-N-Pepa did for women’s representation in hip hop. Long before the likes of Nicki Minaj and Cardi B were dominating the charts, Cheryl James and Sandra Denton were breaking down barriers with an unapologetically confident approach to rap that gave us some of the genre’s most enduring hits. “Push It” alone is enough to send any 90s party into overdrive, but there’s also “Shoop” and “Whatta Man” to remind us just how influential the duo have been. They’ll be heading down under as special guests on Boyz II Men’s national tour, alongside Bell Biv DeVoe, making this one of the strongest nostalgia bills we’ve seen in Australia for quite some time. It’s a rare opportunity to tick several names off the bucket list in one night.
Thursday 26th November – RAC Arena, Perth
Saturday 28th November – Mount Duneed Estate, Geelong
Friday 4th December – Afterpay Arena, Sydney
Saturday 5th December – Bimbadgen, Hunter Valley
Sunday 6th December – Sirromet Wines, Mount Cotton
The Pharcyde
While the East Coast and West Coast were busy trading blows throughout the 90s, The Pharcyde were carving out their own lane with some of the funkiest experimental cool hip hop we’ve still ever seen. The Los Angeles crew’s debut, Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde, remains one of the finest albums of the golden era, while their follow-up, Labcabincalifornia, gave us some timeless J Dilla production and the impossibly smooth “Runnin'”. Anyone who’s spent time digging through 90s hip hop will know just how important these guys are, and the chance to hear classics like “Passin’ Me By” live is reason enough to grab a ticket. They’re playing relatively intimate venues around Australia, which should suit their laid-back, jazz-heavy sound much better than a cavernous arena.
Sunday 29th November – Freo.Social, Fremantle
Monday 30th November – The Rechabite, Perth
Thursday 3rd December – Felons Barrel Hall, Brisbane
Friday 4th December – Felons Barrel Room, Manly, Sydney
Saturday 5th December – 170 Russell, Melbourne
Baby Keem
Kendrick Lamar’s younger cousin has had to work harder than most to establish an identity outside of his famous family connection, but Baby Keem has more than proven himself as one of the most interesting rappers of his generation. His erratic delivery and taste for unpredictable production have given modern hip hop some much-needed personality, with tracks like “family ties” and “ORANGE SODA” showing just how comfortably he can move between crowd-pleasers and more experimental territory. Keem’s Ca$ino Tour is coming to Australia in December, and given the energy he’s become known for on stage, this should be one of the more explosive shows on the calendar. He’s also playing several Spilt Milk dates, so there’ll be plenty of opportunities to catch him.
Wednesday 9th December – Festival Hall, Melbourne
Saturday 12th December – Spilt Milk, Canberra
Sunday 13th December – Spilt Milk, Gold Coast
Monday 14th December – Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane
Wednesday 16th December – Hordern Pavilion, Sydney
Saturday 19th December – Spilt Milk, Geelong
Sunday 20th December – Spilt Milk, Perth
Dizzee Rascal
Anyone who was paying attention to British music in the early 2000s will remember just how exciting Dizzee Rascal was when he first broke through. His 2003 debut Boy in da Corner was a landmark release for grime, bringing the frantic sound of East London’s underground to an international audience and earning him the Mercury Prize in the process. Of course, Dizzee would eventually become a much bigger commercial force with tracks like “Bonkers” and “Dance Wiv Me”, but there’s still something special about hearing “Fix Up, Look Sharp” and remembering just how fresh it sounded when it first dropped. He’s bringing his We Want Bass tour to Australia with Example and ArrDee, which should make for a massive night of British rap nostalgia. The Sydney Opera House Forecourt show is particularly tempting.
Thursday 26th November – Perth HPC, Perth
Saturday 28th November – Eatons Hill Hotel, Brisbane
Tuesday 1st December – Hindley Street Music Hall, Adelaide
Wednesday 2nd December – Hindley Street Music Hall, Adelaide
Friday 4th December – Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne
Saturday 5th December – Sydney Opera House Forecourt, Sydney
Sunday 6th December – Byron Bay
Talib Kweli
For those who prefer their hip hop with a bit more substance, Talib Kweli’s return to Australia should be right near the top of the list. The Brooklyn emcee has been one of the most respected lyricists in the game since the late 90s, when his partnership with Mos Def as Black Star helped usher in a golden period for conscious rap. His solo work has been just as important, particularly Quality and The Beautiful Struggle, which gave us some of the finest examples of intelligent, soulful hip hop from the early 2000s. Kweli has always been a formidable live performer as well, with the kind of breath control and command of the microphone that reminds you how much technical skill goes into being a great emcee. Catching him at somewhere like Sydney’s Oxford Art Factory should be a real treat for anyone who still holds that era of hip hop close to their heart.
Thursday 5th November – Max Watts, Melbourne
Friday 6th November – Crowbar, Brisbane
Saturday 7th November – Freo.Social, Fremantle
Sunday 8th November – Oxford Art Factory, Sydney
Feature image: HOTSPOTATL / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 3.0
