After experiencing Pink’s Funhouse Tour, the new Transformers movie, and the sudden death of Michael Jackson all in one week, I was suffering from a severe case of sensory overload. Between the blasts, babes, bots and Billie Jean re-runs, I was well and truly exhausted. As I walked down the stairs into the Hi-Fi Bar I was looking forward to a night free of special effects, gossip and gimmicks: a night of pure, unadulterated, Australian hip hop. There were a stack of artists on offer, including Dialectrix, Polo Club and Nine High to name just a few. But I had my sights firmly set on the latest signing to Obese Records, Illy, and of course the headline act, Muph & Plutonic.

The Hi-Fi bar hasn’t changed much over the last ten years, if at all. The one change I did notice from most hip hop gigs I had attended at the venue was the number of girls in the crowd. The usual “sausage fest” certainly did not apply to this party, and I couldn’t have been happier. It can get pretty lonely being a chick that prefers phat beats and dope rhymes to house music and high heels, but tonight I felt right at home.

Illy hit the stage and I secured my space on the dance floor. His debut album Long Story Short has been attracting a lot of attention, with tracks being picked up by both triple j and Nova. With the confidence of a veteran this patriot punched out Generation Y and Rock Star Shit, then slowed it down with My Way and Full Tank. As expected, Illy’s salute to our fireman through sentimental flow in Our Country was a favourite with the crowd. It filled me with a sense of pride and strength to lend my less than average vocals to my Aussie Anthem of 2009. With a face to break hearts, this towering MC has the lyrical ability to be the next Obese artist to break the barrier into the mainstream market.

Since releasing Hunger Pains in 2004, Muph & Plutonic have gone from strength to strength. The combination of Plutonic Lab, one of Australia’s most celebrated producers and Muph, the barefaced MC from my hometown of Eltham, has proven to be most successful. With DJ Bonez on the mix and Pluto owning the drums, Muph took to the stage to open with Filthy Rich, a track that always has me on my feet.

The crowd had really picked up by this time, their enthusiasm warming the room. All keen to catch the boys in action before they take a break to work on solo projects, these faithful fans showed their love by joining in to Heaps Good, Beautiful Ugly and, my personal favourite, The Damn Truth. There is no hype added to this show, no need to dress anything up. The music is what it is, straight up and in my opinion simply brilliant. Closing out the show with the triple j treasure Don’t Worry About Nothin is routine for these guys and was a perfect way to round out an impressive night of music.

Catching this duo live for the first time had me completely in awe of their talent. In an industry that is all about excess there is something to be said for this man on stage in a simple t-shirt and jeans with an unapologetic delivery of his view on life through an extensive knowledge of the English language. Added to this is his partner, who displays music ability most of us only dream of, through his beats being played on the turntables accompanied by his live drum skills.

While I am looking forward to what is created from their return to projects as separate artists, I do really hope this isn’t the last time I get to see Muph & Plutonic in action.