Live Review: Yung Warriors, Whitehouse

“Sure, we should be putting people in prison for abusing children, but we should be doing it to both black and white people.” This is Whitehouse frontman Grant Saunders, aka Sonicnomad, talking about the Federal Government's Northern Territory intervention. This intervention seems a world away from Fitzroy's Laundry Bar on a freezing Melbourne winter's night. The whole point, though, is that it actually isn't.

It's tough to convey the sheer funkiness and sense of, well, good times, with which Saunders and the rest of his outfit disseminate and communicate this kind of information in song. Close your eyes during a lot of the tracks and you'd swear Saunders was channelling James Brown. There are bass lines to absolutely swoon for, beats to make you jump sky-high and even a didgeridoo used in a decidedly untraditional way. The narrative here evolves over the entire set like a great, grand novel written by an angry-yet-super-smart and technically gifted young man. Songs are long and rambling and usually involve world-class humanist insight. But the undercurrent here is all political chutzpah – funk educationalism, you could possibly call it – and the sheer importance of stupid white guys like your correspondent hearing this message is impossible to overestimate.

There are tapes of Malcolm X played between – or possibly as introductions to – songs, and the closing number is an extravaganza of crowd participation and showmanship. Saunders obviously has a good time bringing his message to people, and it shows in a decidedly un-preachy way, which is good for everybody involved.

Yung Warriors are up next, probably Australia's most important young hip hop band. They've really honed their skills since Inpress last saw them only 12 months ago and the room packs instantly like word has already gotten around. Co-frontman Tjimba Possum Burns is a force to be reckoned with, the rhythm of his voice and super-clever rhymes instantly informing the space. Yung Warriors consists of two singers and a bloke on an Apple. This is music with the impact of a sledgehammer, delivered by truly dedicated artists who, most importantly of all perhaps, truly believe in what it is they're doing. The evidence of this is palpable and the results nothing short of breathtaking.