Riff Raff, Auckland NZ, 2017

Riff Raff performing live in Auckland, New Zealand 2017. Image by Crawford Photography.

Riff Raff 
9th June 2017
Studio, Auckland, New Zealand.

Review by Bridget Herlihy. Photography by Connor Crawford.

Does Riff Raff really need an introduction? Possibly not. The US rapper has been described as eccentric, flamboyant, a rapper for the ages, and just plain bizarre. Yet considering tickets to his only North Island show sold out in mere hours, which prompted the gig to be moved to a larger venue, it is evident that Riff Raff has a dedicated NZ fan base.

Riff Raff has steadily built a curiously strong following since posting his early music endeavors on platforms such as My Space in the early 2000s, a following that continued to build with the release of his debut album Neon Icon in 2014, which was released on Diplo’s ‘Mad Decent’ label, and included signature tracks such as “Dolce and Gabbana’ and the comical ‘Tip Toe Wing In My Jawwdinz’. June 2016 saw the release of his second album Peach Panther, which features appearance from the likes of G.Easy and King Chip.

Featuring no less than five opening acts, this was an evening of pure unadulterated hip hop, rap and mad turntablist skills; and that was before Riff Raff appeared.

Unfortunately I missed the opening set from Jordan Lee and DJ Nodz, but arrived in time to watch Imagine This kick off a set of fine hip hop beats, with some funk and house thrown in for good measure, which well and truly warmed up the growing crowd up on a cold Auckland night.  Having released an impressive 23 EPs, Imagine This performed a diverse and impressive range of material that showcased his impressive vocals and lyricism.

Next up were PHD, who promised to do some “crazy shit” before asking the crowd who liked rock music, which was somewhat surprising as rock wouldn’t typically be on the agenda at a hip hop gig. Without further warning, DJ Scissorhands broke into an insanely good mix of Rage Against The Machine’s ‘Know Your Enemy’ that was next level, before jumping into a high energy set of pure, unadulterated hip hop courtesy of MCS T13 and Anime, who smoothly whipped the steadily growing crowd into a frenzy.

Auckland-based hip hop duo, Times X Two, aka Cad’r and Zee The Guy, had the near capacity near fever pitch with their fierce, and sadly all too brief set, which was full of heavy beats, and climaxed with a high energy rendition of their latest single ‘Way2Real’. It was a real pity that Times X Two weren’t allocated a longer set; these guys are definitely ones to watch.

Between sets the beats kept coming, the DJ playing a tight set of hip hop and R&B tunes both new and old from the likes of Missy Elliot, Eve, Ty Dolla Sign, Arrested Development, Tupac and Montell Jordan further working up the capacity crowd in anticipation of the man of the evening, and I must admit it was refreshing to see more hands than mobile phones in the air.

The imminent arrival of the man of the hour became evident as the lighting stopped up a notch, with DJ Afterthought hyping the crowd up as far as he could. Cue MC Kris Hollis, for a brief set, although at times the set lost momentum with more talk than music. At just over ten minutes long, Hollis travelled a very long way for a very short and not particularly memorable set.

Fashionably late, and looking like a throwback from the 90s, Riff Raff finally arrived on stage to screams of delight and sure enough everyone’s hands were in the air and waving like they just didn’t care.  Strutting onstage with his entourage and a suitably large cocktail glass filled to the brim, complete with an assortment of decorative cocktail umbrellas, he launched straight into a teaser of one of crowd favourite ‘Tip Toe Wing In My Jawdins’ which quickly segued into ‘Back From The Dead’ and ‘How To Be The Man’.

Keeping banter to a minimum, apart from periodic comments of “F**k yeah New Zeeeland!”, Riff Raff kept the hits coming between swigs on his cocktail, with ‘Only in America’ and ‘4 Million’. He also pulled out some new material, driving home the message that we should “block shit” from our lives by blocking people of social media and mobile phones. Sound advice in hip hop form.

The highlight of the set was undoubtedly a super tight performance of ‘Dolce and Gabbana’ which saw the crowd go wild, and it was about this time that shirts apparently became optional for a handful of punters.

Having teased it at the beginning of the show, Riff Raff proclaimed he couldn’t leave NZ without a full rendition ‘Tip Toe Wing In My Jawdinz’ , with one keen audience envelope member waving his Air Jordans in the air for good measure. And then just like that, without so much as a farewell, he was gone.

Riff Raff is undoubtedly a showman, and kept the crowd engaged with ease, although at times the accompanying backing track was louder than the live vocals. There is no doubt whatsoever that Riff Raff is unique; there is no other artist that comes close to his colorful swagger and sound. Given the somewhat comedic nature of some of his lyrics and video clips, one could be forgiven for suspecting that Riff Raff is an act in the same vein as The Lonely Island. But this isn’t the case. On this cold, wet Autumn night in Auckland, Riff Raff did not fail to deliver an energetic and memorable set, proving that he knows how to put on an entertaining show, although it was lacking in some of the outrageousness of his videos that I had quietly been hoping would take place.

Were you there at The Studio for this fantastic party-time hip hop show? Or have you seen Riff Raff somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below! 


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