Boom. Boom. Boom. My eyes are closed. I can feel the vibrations of the subwoofer pulsate through every single vein in my body. I open my eyes and look up to find DJ Maxwell is still paying his full attention to the sound desk in front of him, smiling as he nods his head along to the flashy music. It’s already 9 PM but the headlining act is nowhere to be seen. By the time that the support act, rapper Provoker, jumps on the stage, I have decided it is best for me to move further away. Not because I am not enjoying the view, but because I am starting to be afraid that the insane strength of the bass may eventually tear my limbs apart. 

As I find a less crowded spot in the back, Provoker begins to rap rhythmically over a sample of Black and Yellow by Wiz Khalifa. He does not shy away from his Aussie accent, but instead, uses this to emphasize the flow of his words in his rhymes. At various moments, the MC double-times smoothly over chart-successful samples, such as I Just Want It All by Kid Ink. He manages to capture the audience’s attention when he asks everybody to applaud at a pace that will create a beat. “I have not done this often” he says, but then vigorously freestyles over the audiences claps as if he could do it in his sleep. The quirky crowd of the Max Watt’s halls continue to indulge in the sounds of Provoker, in an unspoken agreement that Naughty by Nature will be fashionably late today. 

At 10:30 PM though, the American hip hop trio from New Jersey, Naughty by Nature take, or more like, euphorically jump the stage. Trench, Vin Rock and DJ Kay Gee have clearly matured since their origins in 1988, but their rendition of their first successful hit, O.P.P still hypnotizes the crowd with its funk-influenced drum patterns.  All members are dressed in old-school hoodies and baggy pants, taking us back to an era where Hip-Hop was the voice of the voiceless. 

The energetic performance of member Trench excellently delivering every word in classic Naughty by Nature songs such as Yoke the Joker, Hip Hop Hooray, and La Di-Da-Di is reflected quickly in an excited crowd that is now wildly dancing along to every sound escaping the speakers. Clearly though, the rap group has their audience’s movements under control, encouraging the sea of people to keep their hands up, and their bodies moving from side to side. 

Every rhythmically-structured rhyme escaping Vin Rock’s lips, makes the words sound as though as if they were put together like a puzzle piece. That is even though, for Everything’s Gonna Be Alright he might as well be doing nothing at all, as every member of the audience seems to have no problem chanting the song on their own. As Wickedest Man Alive begins to play, Trench decides to rip his shirt at the sleeves and pull it down, instead of taking it off. Nonetheless, his sunglasses remain firmly where they belong. How very Hip Hop of him. 

Of course the next song, Down Under, is received with ecstatic emotion from the crowd. This outgoing mob seems to be drowning in their melancholy as the songs take them down memory lane, almost forgetting how insightful, thought-provoking and honest the lyrical content of Naughty by Nature is. Vin Rock even takes out a minute of the concert to honour the victims of various sad, sad events that the world has witnessed within the past week. He explains that, “We got way more in common than we got differences.” It is this ability to use their songs as a “movement that can save the world” that helped the trio win a Grammy award for the best rap album back in 1996. 

As someone who receives genuine satisfaction from rapping along to old school hip hop (badly), I must say I was euphoric by the time I got home. My head was still nodding along to Hip Hop Hooray as I was brushing my teeth. My eyes may have been closed as I exhaustedly fell into my bed, but the now relaxing beats of Naughty by Nature’s set sang me a lullaby, and I could hear them follow me into my dreams. Boom. Boom. Boom. 

- Tara Zupp