The Hilltop Hoods’ State of the Art tour hit Canberra last week, and arrived to a sold out crowd with an electric atmosphere. Support acts Briggs, Trials and Vents provided a fitting warm up for arguably the most successful hip hop act in Australia. Playing a showcase of a mix of old and new tracks, taken from The Calling, The Hard Road and State of the Art, Suffa, Pressure and DJ Debris really showed us why they are the cream of Australian music.

Having been dabbling in music for the better part of two decades, the boys from Hilltop in Adelaide have certainly perfected their craft down to a fine art. While most of us dream of turning a basement/garage project into a headlining festival act, that dream rarely comes to fruition. For these boys, it’s something that they have very successfully achieved after years of hard work and humble beginnings, and for good reason.

Their home town of Adelaide provided them with the necessary groundings for such success- they are part of the group Certified Wise Crew, who has nurtured a range of talent and subsequently produced other successes such as such as the Funkoars, Terra Firma and Vents.

Having recently left long time label Obese, and formed their own Golden Era, the State of the Art tour marks one of independence. Though their sound remains consistent with their penchant for flawless rhythm, clever and appropriate use of sampling and skilled rhymes, their new tracks, as well as their performance on the night, certainly showed a progression in the maturity of their content. The gig was marked with their usual energetic flair, even with some of the older tracks which have been performed countless times before, such as The Nosebleed Section. Chase That Feeling was particularly well received, and their encore, Illusionary Lines off The Calling was a particular highlight.

Being the umpteenth time I have seem them live, I walked in with the slight notion of “seen this all before”. Coupled with my cynicism of 18 year olds running around vomiting on each other, screaming and high heels that are increasingly becoming more prevalent at hip hop gigs, I wasn’t totally enthusiastic about showing up but that much time has passed that I forgot what a truly spectacular live act they put on. Their enthusiasm throughout and consciousness of not relying too heavily on either the old or new material was noted; on the contrary, the balance of the two was executed well, and the set exuded confidence and professionalism.