Brisbane was positively melting on New Years Day as we stepped out of the air-conditioned bubble of the car into a sweltering 38 degrees with 90% humidity. Brisbane’s Botanic Gardens seemed to be holding that humidity and intensifying it, making the conditions similar to a tropical jungle.

Over on The Esky Stage enclosed by rainforest plants on all sides, it was hot as hell. Amazingly, even the sound seemed to hang in the space- it couldn’t travel because the air was so thick! However, I spite of this heat, the South Rakkas Crew got the party started with a sound system style that suited the atmosphere. Although these guys come from Florida (via Jamaica), even they seemed to be feeling the high temperatures. Playing a mixture of hip hop – old and new – electro, and some sweet dancehall styles, they really got things warmed up with a chill vibe, although the sound just didn’t seem right. For some reason, The Esky Stage never really got the sound happening though lots of people were into it and didn’t seem to notice. The South Rakkas Crew certainly had some really dope blends and mashups of classic tracks and kept the vibe up.

At The Main Amphitheatre Stage, Numark was warming up the crowd. Here, the sound was excellent, and with some nice shade towards the front of the stage, this was proving to be an enjoyable part of the festival. It was a sight to see people getting down to some tasty funk and soul tracks with Numark displaying his amazing skills in his music selection with plenty of tight mixes. He seemed to be fattening up some of the tracks with new beats – an Al Green blend with new beats sounded particularly good. As he picked up the pace a bit, Public Enemy roamed in the background setting up. Their MC also started hyping the crowd for some hip hop action. Numark continued laying down the classic party hip hop anthems with great finesse, and the dance atmosphere really started happening. Numark churned out Tribe, Gangstar, Nas, Wutang – all the good shit that gets the heat rising for a quality hip hop show. Unfortunately, while Public Enemy were testing their mics and instruments, some how Numark’s sound was turned down so we could barely catch him as he launched into one of his trick sets. A wiz on the MPC and other gadgets, it really was unfortunate we weren’t able to hear it. Nevertheless, the crowd was in a frenzy as Public Enemy got ready to bust it.

With DJ Lord standing in for Terminator X on decks, he commenced the set dropping some hard going beats and scratches. With two of the members onstage clad in full long-sleeve camouflage gear, they must have been hot, but they didn’t seem to break a sweat as they continued to churn out their noxious rhythms. Amidst the drums, guitar and bass, a character cavorted about in a skeleton costume. As he ripped off the mask Flava Flav was met to a roaring crowd and he commenced rapping insanely to the throng of spectators. Certainly, Flava dominated the stage from the start with his wild charisma and his messages on life from death to politics, God and peace. While Public Enemy’s music often comes across as political and serious, there still remains a positive light to their message. It almost seemed as if Flava was reverently preaching with plenty of enthusiasm propelling the rhythmic patter. After an introduction of Chuck D, the stage exploded with Bring the Noise. Chuck was solid, his patter cool in comparison to Flav’s heat, the variance proving a perfect compliment for the onstage battle of words and rhythms. Taking us on a journey back to 1988 with their album It Takes a Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back, their sound was huge, with the live instruments and DJ beats forming an immense wall of beautiful sound as the vocals carried clearly across the wash. Flava’s freestyle performance was well received, especially when he came down into the crowd and rapped from there. Public Enemy finished with Fight The Power and Flava closed with one last sermon using hand signals for peace, togetherness and power. Jointly, Flava and Chuck D’s performance confirmed them as one of the great duos in the world of MCs as they exhibited pristine vocal quality on the mics. Collectively, Public Enemy remain as absolute legends in the world of hip hop, and music in general.

After the power and quality of Public Enemy, it seemed hard to keep the party going. Mr. Scruff had unleashed an excellent performance during Public Enemy’s set on another stage, and The Surecut Kids seemed to come across well with their funk and club rap. Back at The Esky Stage, Sampology and Tom Thum were fighting with some sound issues though I found their performance had an interesting approach. With some nerdy stuff thrown in, like the PC vs. Mac battle, and MPC vocal samples vs. real life vocals, their set proved to be likeable to the crowds below. They definitely show great potential as a duo with some work needed on unity – though the sound issues may have been the reason behind this. Indeed, Sampology shone through on from behind his turntables with his scratching spot-on. Tom Thum’s vocal scratch emulations complimented Sampology’s scratching beautifully.
All in all, The South Rakkas Crew and Numark’s sets were amazing with Public Enemy dominating the day. The shows from this festival delivered, and for such a huge, hot day after seeing in the new year, BBQ Beats went down very well.