Having grown up with the honour of witnessing DJ Kool Herc at the indelibly momentous Bronx block jams of the early 70’s – where large hoards of enthusiasts would gather to boogie and break to the sounds dispersing from the acoustically expedient parks of the housing projects; to battling Lord Finesse in ‘89 as one of the scene’s most reputed battles. In amongst this, Percee P the spitfire linguist and hip Hop luminary has indisputably etched his kudos
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Percee sent the buoyantly well-calibrated crowd into a frenzy, playing his exclusive (for) Melbourne show at the Espy, in the commodious confines of the Gershwin room which catered fruitfully for Percee’s lyrical detonations. For a performer such as Percee, no props and ornate décor is necessary. The simple features and crisp sound quality seemed to have been exceptionally more accentuated than prior occasions and with the prodigy of DJ Staen1 (3x Aus DMC champion) from Adelaide gracing the decks, the night was superlatively consummated.

Observing Percee’s brilliance, I noticed several idiosyncrasies which motivated my intrigue. First I noticed that Percee has a gift uncanny to the plebeian MCs that percolate prevalently. It’s like the words catapulted themselves before the intent to pronounce them was there, a kind of lyrical kick-boxing where each blow hits with precision. Hence I call it spitfire rapping. His exuberant dispensation amuses the ears and invokes a reverent awe upon the listeners, regardless of them having heard him before. Mastery speaks for itself.
The man is undoubtedly a lyrical icon and it would pay no tribute for me to summarize the man’s comprehensive career, but I encourage anybody reading this to take the time to peep it out for their own hip hop tuition. For those conversant with Percee P or hip hop purists in general his deeply imbibed mystique would have fostered for their appetites. And so it did. Those who missed out will have to hope optimistically that a recording of the gig will surface and even so it will be lacklustre in comparison with the real deal.

With the vintage and unsurpassed production of Madlib at the helm of Percee’s contemporary sonic escapades (having been signed to Stonesthrow Records in ‘03) it is irrefutable to say that the man is immaculate when it comes to indomitable musicality. Rendering self evident favourites on the night such as Put It On The Line, Watch Your Step, 2 Brothers From The Gutter (excluding Diamond–D obviously) just to name a few from the piquant smorgasbord offered with fervency, Percee’s dynamic dialogue and wondrous wizardry will reverberate with me for months. His compositions culminated around quarter to three, with a satiated and intensely inspired exodus of fans sprawling out of the matchbox like side-room. Inexplicable Homage to Percee P!