Tierra Whack
21st July 2022
Powerstation, Auckland, New Zealand
Review by Bridie Chetwin-Kelly, with photography by Max Foley.
Walking into the Power Station for the second time this week I would have assumed the dress code for this evening’s show was Camp. That’s just the very eccentric Tierra Whack fans. A small crowd started to gather for SWIDT who regardless of the disappointing crowd hit the stage with a crash bang announcing “We are the most electrifying SWIDT”. I was excited to see them as I had never seen them perform and they didn’t disappoint, the crowd did. I call justice for them as they deserved a lot better from the audience who didn’t seem to know who they were or their particular style of rap mixed with a side of tongue and cheek.
Spycc mentions how good it is to be back after not being able to perform for so long and how important this part is to the creative process, but regardless, they really haven’t lost their allure as one of New Zealand’s top if not best rap collective. They opened with ‘312’ and by their sixth song ‘Little Did They Know’ the crowd relaxes and finally gives SWIDT the praise they deserve. They end with a mix of Lady Starlight by The Superman Lovers which we didn’t know we needed so badly then finally, ‘Kelz Garage’ which frankly is one of the best songs to come out of New Zealand in a long time.
The crowd slowly grew to a almost half full venue and a DJ dressed in green took the stage and boldly announced her name was DJ Killsing and this was her first time in New Zealand, she was nervous but proceeded to launch into one of the best hype sets I have ever witnessed, she pulled out all the bangers, Panic at The Disco, ABBA, Kid Cudi, Vanessa Carlton, Kanye and whatever has ever trended on TikTok.
We were instructed to chant Whack and out of nowhere, she just appeared. Dressed in a very camp black and pink floral overcoat, and bright orange hair, the colourful crowd made sense. She opens with a few bars then proceeds to find out who’s birthday in the crowd it was and launches into 50 Cent’s In Da Club. The show goes on like this, in between the bars there’s a proper show, she’s comical, a born performer and has the crowd captivated and laughing along. She performs bars from Pretty Ugly which has the crowd whipped into a frenzy and Cable Guy. It doesn’t take long to realise she is pushing the boundaries of what we know to be rap and hip hop and she has loyal fans a plenty here, the opposite side of the world from her native Philadelphia.
She’s opening for Tyler, the Creator tonight in Auckland and you can see why, she’s a new age rap superstar.
Were you there at the Powerstation for this brilliant hip hop gig? Or have you seen Tierra Whack perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Note: Ambient Light was provided passes to review and photograph this concert. As always, this has not influenced the review in any way and the opinions expressed are those of Ambient Light’s only.
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