Another night at the Espy, another old school hip hop act. So far this year we’ve seen Public Enemy, EPMD and now De La Soul. I don’t know that I am sold on the venue, but I can’t fault the talent that seems to be gracing the stage.

I entered around 10pm to catch Mafia playing some nice chilled hip hop in the front room. There was a smallish crowd and the volume was at a ridiculously low level. I understand the idea of a warm up DJ, but Mafia was dropping some excellent tunes and mixing them well so it seemed a shame to waste his talent by relegating him to background noise. As much as I was into Mafia’s set (or the bits I could hear when the people next to me weren’t speaking above a whisper) I decided to head out to the Gershwin Room to catch Gsan.

This was more like it; the sound was already at a respectable level and the dancefloor half full. Gsan was working through a well-crafted, bass-heavy set when I arrived, he was reading the crowd well and managed to use the Dead Prez track ‘Hip Hop’ to great effect. He then invited vocalist Eliza on stage to perform a cover of ‘Whole Lotta Love’ over the top of the dub of Roots Manuva’s ‘Witness’. Unfortunately some serious technical difficulties – I’m guessing Traktor lost its shit – sent things into mild disarray.

Soon after, a trip back to the front room confirmed that things had started to warm up, with Mafia cranking up the volume and pulling out tracks by stalwarts like NWA and KRS-One for the steadily growing crowd. Back in the Gershwin Room, however, Danielsan had started a set packed with funk and soul classics to please trainspotters and music lovers alike. I was starting to feel like a trip out to St Kilda on a work night might just be worth the effort.

I managed to catch a bit of Joel Turner showcasing his “how the fuck does he do that” beatboxing in the front room before J-Period came on for a DJ set. He acted as his own MC, continuously getting on the mic in order to further hype the crowd, but I was disappointed that he didn’t perform any of his own tracks. It was the perfect opportunity for him to showcase some of his own work in front of what had become a sizeable crowd. Hearing ‘Mama Said Knock You Out’ at ear-splitting levels was a definite highlight for this reviewer.

I headed back to the now-packed Gershwin Room for Cut Chemist’s set, which I can only describe as sublime. There is no doubting that Cut is technically adept, but unlike a lot of other turntablists it’s not the first thing you notice about him. What really sets him apart is his ability to create amazing soundscapes. The lush pads combined with the dirty beats and dreamy, sensual, lazy female vocals hovered to create an aural space for you to occupy. He is one of the few artists in any genre that can create the feeling that his audience is somehow apart from the world outside.

De La Soul were scheduled to take the stage at 12:45, but by 1:15 they were still nowhere to be seen and the crowd – packed into the front room like sardines – were restless. By 1:20 they were stamping their feet and booing, and the atmosphere became more than a little oppressive. It was therefore not surprising that by the time De La Soul’s backing band the Rhythm Roots All Stars took to the stage, followed soon after by Posdnuos, Trugoy and Maseo, the reception was somewhat frosty.

Things weren’t helped by their first track, ‘Buddy’, which was not executed all that well and sounded as if it needed more rehearsal. ‘Potholes in my Lawn’ was similarly sloppy, but thankfully a little less so. As things warmed up, however, the boys began to find their rhythm and the backing band got tighter and tighter, beginning to win over the assembled crowd. ‘Jennifa Taught Me’ seemed to mark a turning point, with the band and the boys clicking into gear. The crowd had forgotten how annoyed they were with the late start. Posdnous even remarked that the crowd was finally warming up.

A string of hits followed, beginning with ‘Eye Know’, then ‘Me Myself and I’ and ‘Say no Go’. ‘Pass the Plugs’, not surprisingly saw the Rhythm Roots All Stars come into their own. Soon after, however, the band left the stage and De la Soul were joined by Dres from Black Sheep who performed ‘Flavour of the Month’ and the classic ‘The Choice is Yours’, to which the crowd went up a notch. It was especially exciting when Dres launched into the oft-sampled “engine, engine number nine on the New York transit line” verse.

There was some clever repartee going on between tracks, and we were reliably informed that Sydney was “frontin’ on us” Melbournites. The Rhythm Roots All Stars returned to the stage after this to see us through to the end of the show with ‘All Good’ (sans Chaka Khan), ‘Feel Good Inc’ and ‘A Roller Skating Jam Named Saturday’, before finishing off with ‘Ring, Ring, Ring’.

Overall the night was resoundingly good. De La Soul turned a hostile crowd into an appreciative one in a short time. The Rhythm Roots All Stars added another layer to the group’s already impressive catalogue and, after a shaky start, impressed the punters no end. The supporting line up was also very strong and helped to shape what most of the punters, who braved the cold weather and the inevitable Friday morning hangovers, seemed to agree was an excellent night out.