It’s not often that Australian hip hop fans have the pleasure of attending a concert that features two international artists that have had such a significant impact on the worldwide scene. But last weekend they were given that chance when the American’s Most Wanted concert brought together the likes of Bone Thugs and The Dogg Pound for two huge shows at the Sydney Olympic Sports Centre.

With support from M.A.S.K, Sera, Toasta, KillaQueenz and Savage and hosted by MC Fuzz, the line up was locked in to ensure the crowd would be rockin’ right all night long. The show started roughly at 7pm while the crowd was still filing in and the venue was mostly empty, but nonetheless the opening acts took the stage and gave it their best to ensure the crowd was kept entertained and ready for the main acts to come on.

The Australian support acts all kept the crowd hyped up as best they could, with a little help from New Zealand artist Savage of course. Savage in particular rocked the crowd with a couple of his own hits from his collaborations with the Decepticons, as well as other tracks he is responsible for like Swing and Moonshine.

The Imperial Assasins then took to the stage and fronted a crowd that was already strongly anticipating the beginning of the main show. They performed a couple of their tracks that weren’t so commonly known, and while the punters were still lapping it up you could tell the crowd was eager to move onto the main acts at this point. As everyone began to grow restless, RBX came on stage and proceeded to steal the show. Besides entertaining the crowd, he ripped into his former friend Xzibit and let the audience know how their relationship had changed over time. After a brief set he also let everyone know that he is Snoop Dogg’s cousin, but the crowd couldn’t have gotten any more hyped up than they already were as they waited for the main acts to hit the stage.

Though the room wasn’t packed, you could feel it in the air that those who had turned up were intent on enjoying the show to the fullest, no matter what. Soon as The Dogg Pound took the stage, Kurupt and Roscoe quickly proceeded to set the stage alight. With support coming in from DJ Lt and Gail Getti (one of Kurupt’s up and coming artists), all attention was now focused on the stage as they rocked the crowd for the duration of their set. Performing stand out cuts from the latest Dogg Pound album including Cali Is Active and Sittin on 23’s, as well as some of their classics off the Dogg Food album.

The last support act to hit the stage before the main attraction of Bone Thugs were a group of female MCs by the name of the KillaQueenz. They’ve been building a strong buzz in the Sydney hip hop scene and after performing at the after party on Friday night, they got invited personally by Bone Thugs and their management to feature as an additional opening act. For a relatively short set that was only four or so songs deep, they managed to get the crowd even more hyped up for the next attraction to hit the stage.

Bone Thugs definitely made for an epic climax to the show, with the audience jumping out of their seats as they performed classic cuts from their first album. But the effect of not having all the group members present could be felt, as the Bizzy Bone sections of the songs were missing from the performance. But a brief medley of all the songs featuring Krazie Bone was a great addition to the set and the crowd went crazy as they performed, with numerous dedications to fallen hip hop colleagues who weren’t here to witness their success ( Eazy-E, Tupac and Biggie ).

They rocked the stage for a little less than hour, finishing off strongly with cuts like Crossroads from their classic album E 1999 Eternal. The night ended with the concert wrapping up as quickly as it had started, with the room vacating quickly as the crowd headed off to the after party downtown. All in all, it wasn’t the perfect performance you’d expect from the two such well renowned groups, but it was an effort that managed to keep the crowd happy. Till next time.