Live Review: Rap City - Ghostface Killah, DOOM, Chino XL, DOOM

The Rap City tour came to Perth for the first time this year, headlined by none other than the man most commonly referred to as Ghostface Killah, alongside the supervillian of the rap world, Doom, and the 'Puerto Rican Rhyme Slayer'/body builder extraordinaire Chino XL. A line formed outside the venue as eager patrons waited to gain entry as the show began with a performance by local Mr Grevis. Following this was DJ Refute, who played tracks from Nas to Hilltop Hoods in a set filled with eclectic selections.

As Chino XL took to the stage the venue was still yet to fill up. The cocky lyricist's performance was true to form, except maybe his heartfelt tributes to late great artists such as Dilla and Guru seeming a little out of character. The MC's set mostly encompassed him freestyling over well-known beats such as M.I.A's Paper Planes and Radiohead's Creep, in which XL jumped into the crowd. The egocentric MC closed his set with the words “lyrics still matter”.

As the masked man himself took the stage, the room fell silent. Doom performed a short set, seeming to finish within what felt like 10 minutes. Consisting of tracks such as All Caps, Meat Grinder and Accordion, the underground superstar left the audience eager for more. The MC encouraged crowd participation throughout his set, promising the audience that he will come back to Perth before closing by chanting “peace, love and happiness” to the crowd.

By the time headliner Ghostface Killah arrived, the venue was almost full. On loan from fellow Wu-Tang member Raekwon, DJ Symphony dropped tracks from Nas, Biggie and M.O.P whilst screaming into the mic, “Fuck commercial radio!”. Then the moment the eager crowd has been waiting for then arrived, Killah opening his set with crowd favourite Ice Cream. The dynamic MC gave an energetic performance from start to finish, also loading his set with constant thanks to the audience for coming to the show. Dropping his own tracks such as Be Easy, and Wu classics such as C.R.E.A.M, Ain't Nothin' Ta Fuck Wit, and Protect Ya Neck, Ghostface left his fans satisfied they'd witnessed on hell of a Killah show.