I’m not the biggest fan of Jay-Z or 50 Cent. But I do have something in common with both of them. Talib Kweli is our favourite rapper. Out of all the more high profile artists out there that they could have chosen as their favourite, they chose Talib, a rapper that isn’t quite as famous in a commercial sense. But there’s no doubting his talent, and Jigga and Fiddy are right on the money. After joining forces with Mos Def as Blackstar and later releasing the classic album Quality, Kweli returned to Australian shores once again to promote the release of his latest album Eardrum. Also joining him for the ride at the Enmore Theatre was New Zealand’s Scribe and the Bay Area’s DJ Zeph and Azeem.

I arrived at the Enmore half way through DJ Zeph and Azeem’s set. It’s probably the first gig I’ve been to where the ground floor seating was taken out. I found this to be much better than gigs I’ve been to in the past: the extra space made it much more enjoyable, although I must admit I was a little worried that it would mean more people trying to do break dancing moves in those annoying circles – you know the ones that are cool at a festival or break dancing contest, but not when seeing a live act as they just take up way too much room. But thankfully, they all must have been in training for the Australian version of So You Think You Can Dance. Now back to the music. DJ Zeph showed off his skills on the decks, prompting Azeem to call him a monster as he scratched, juggled and cut his way through numerous tracks. Their hard hitting combination of fat beats and Azeem’s flow on the mic got the crowd suitably warmed up. They played their song Play The Drum, which Azeem casually mentioned appeared on an episode of Entourage. Getting the crowd right into it, their set was short but memorable. And I don’t know if it was just me, but Azeem looked like the long lost brother of Captain Kirk from The Roots.

Next up was Scribe. Bouncing on stage wearing a t-shirt that said ‘Not Many’, he opened with his hit of the same name. Something about Scribe was a little off for me. Having never seen him live before, I couldn’t exactly pinpoint what it was about his performance that I didn’t like. Performing a range of tracks from his debut album The Crusader and his new album Rhymebook, he seemed just a tad slow. His delivery was still sharp, but his movement around the stage seemed tired and lacking. Vocalists Ladi6 and Tyra Hammond joined him onstage as backup. Ladi6 showed that she could cut it on the mic, while Hammond managed to outshine Scribe on his track Say It Again.

Scribe showed some humility, thanking fans for getting him to where he is today, and interacted with the crowd, winning them over with a joke about the Rugby World Cup. Something that bugged me though, was that two other ‘new’ tracks from Rhymebook had very similar beats to Not Many. Admittedly, I’d gone into the gig with a preconceived notion about Scribe. People criticise him for rapping in an American accent, and while that didn’t bother me so much, I found myself picking apart other things in his performance, which maybe was a little unfair as he seems to be a very genuine guy. In the end I enjoyed his performance a little more than I thought I would.

Now onto the main act (none of this co-headlining bullshit). Brooklyn’s finest MC Talib Kweli strolled onto the stage with DJ Chaps, opening with NY Weather Report. The atmosphere in the Enmore noticeably shifted up a notch. Something about Kweli is so charismatic, his stage presence commanding the attention of every single person there. Watching his breathless delivery, his flow was tight as he rattled off verse after verse. Dropping I Try next, the track seemed to be lacking the presence of Mary J Blige, and exposed what seemed to be some apparent sound problems in the Enmore. The sound seemed a little muffled, and while Kweli could be heard, at times it was a little indistinguishable, not to mention the numerous times feedback could be heard through the system.

Talib then took it back to the old school, performing a number of old school tracks from the golden era, such as Planet Rock, Dance to the Music and The Message, complete with old stock footage of break dancing featuring the Rock Steady Crew. Revisiting his Reflection Eternal days with Hi-Tek, Kweli busted out to the familiar beat of Too Late, and performed the best tracks from his stellar new album, including Say Something, which included an a Capella in the middle that showed just how good he is at spitting on the mic. His delivery of the Will.I.Am produced Hot Thing got the crowd going, as did the fierce intensity of Listen!!!, and the choir sounding Hostile Gospel.

Having done many a collaboration with his contemporaries, Kweli put some of them on show, including Liberation and Funny Money from his album with Madlib, a portion of the Kanye West track Get ‘Em High and of course, Re:DEFinition by Blackstar. It was good to hear some of his old tracks from The Beautiful Struggle, such as Never Been In Love, and Lonely People from The Beautiful Mixtape. My only gripe is that I’m pretty sure I only heard one track from Quality, although I’m quite happy he saved his biggest hit (and in my opinion, Kanye’s best ever beat) Get By til last. His rendition of the song tore the roof off, with everyone bouncing up and down with their hands in the air and visuals on screen showing prominent figures in African American history, such as Rosa Parks, Nelson Mandela, Muhammad Ali and Bob Marley, people who did their bit ‘just to get by’.

This was the third time I’d seen Talib Kweli live. The first was at a gig at a small New York university and the second was at the Good Vibrations festival. This gig, however, was head and shoulders the best I’ve ever seen him. He owned the stage, and standing alongside him he made Scribe seem look a little lacklustre. With his latest album being his best work in years, and his live performances as tight as they are, this seems to be a good time to be Talib Kweli. Easily the best show I’ve been to this year. The only thing needed now is a Blackstar tour with Mos Def, a show that would definitely bring out the best alliance in hip hop.