The Clash: Do hip-hop gigs always suck?

Snoop Dogg arrived more than an hour late at his concert at the Mt Smart Supertop in 2006. Photo / Richard Robinson

This week our writers clash over live hip-hop and ask the burning question: do hip-hop gigs always suck? Joanna Hunkin says yes, Chris Schulz says no.

JOANNA HUNKIN:

I had a dream the other week that Soulfest had been cancelled. I'm sure this probably reveals some deep psychological issue - like a deathly fear of potatoes - but I've chosen to read it at a much simpler level: There was a pretty good chance that Soulfest would be cancelled.

It was one of those dreams that seemed so plausible, I had to pause a conversation the next day to work out if it was real or not.

It's not Soulfest's fault. It's got a good line-up (D'Angelo, Common, Mos Def, Maxwell and Angie Stone, among others) at a major venue (Western Springs Stadium).

But hip-hop gigs have a rather chequered history here in New Zealand. They have a nasty tendency to be canned at the last minute. And when they do go ahead, they often end up being, well, a bit shit.

Cast your mind back, if you will.

Over the past 10 years, New Zealand's been promised more than a dozen big gigs by major international hip-hop stars. The likes of Bobby Brown, Omarion and Akon, to name just a few.

There was the Boom Tunz festival four years ago (featuring Kelly Rowland, Ludacris and T-Pain). And last year's The Movement, featuring Nas, 2 Chainz, Joey Bada$, Angel Haze and Chiddy Bang.

All cancelled.

Now, let's look at some of those that weren't.

Snoop Dogg, Mt Smart Supertop, 2006: Arrived more than an hour late and was barely able to speak. One of the most underwhelming concert experiences of my career.

50 Cent and G-Unit, Vector Arena, 2008: Played to a half-empty stadium and lambasted the crowd for not being enthusiastic enough: "What's wrong? Something happen to your dog?"

Kanye West, Vector Arena, 2008: Brought the stripped-back, budget version of his much-hyped Glow in the Dark tour. Yeah, nah.

It's little wonder hip-hop gigs suffer poor ticket sales when their core audience is treated to junk like this.

I hope Soulfest proves different. But I won't hold my breath.

Eminem's Rapture, in front of 50,000 fans at Western Springs in February, was a runaway success. Photo / Jeremy Deputat

CHRIS SCHULZ:

Here's the thing about rappers: they're unreliable. Fans know this. So do promoters. Journalists do too - last year I was stood up for interviews three separate times by Danny Brown and Mac Miller. But that hasn't hurt my appreciation for hip-hop. In fact, it heightens it.

Let's face it, to be a rapper, you have to have an ego - and there are some major egos at play. Just last month, rising Compton star YG flagged away an Auckland show because he'd been invited to tour with Drake. It sucks for his Kiwi fans, but you can't blame him. It's Drake.

It's exactly that unpredictability that makes hip-hop shows so great. Sometimes just turning up and finding the doors open can feel like success. Because you won't find a crowd more up for it than a hip-hop crowd. Some of my favourite recent shows have been hip-hop ones: Danny Brown and Run The Jewels giving Laneway's hipsters a kick up the ass in January, Joey Bada$ ringing in summer at the Powerstation late last year, Odd Future making up for their Big Day Out ban with a super-intense Powerstation set, and A$AP Ferg delivering a tsunami of thug-addled bass at The Studio in May.

Agreed, for every great rap gig, there's a no-show (Game, Vector Arena, 2007), a relentlessly aggressive one (Game, Vector Arena, 2012) or something so weird no one even knows if it was ever a thing at all (Game, Powerstation, 2013).

But one concert staged in Auckland just this year destroys any and all arguments. That would be Eminem's Rapture, in front of 50,000 fans at Western Springs in February.

Despite some line-up woes it was a runaway success that proves when hip-hop shows are done right, they are a thing of beauty.

That wasn't just one of the greatest shows I've seen; I'd rank it among the best nights of my life.

Who do you agree with? Have your say below.

- TimeOut