For the past 50 years Detroit has given birth to genres that would be heard worldwide. Motown's deep back catalogue, house and techno are all musical exports of this great city.
We even have our own little taste of the 'D' in Auckland by way of DJ/producer Recloose.
Itwas time again for Detroit to shine on Thursday, when Elzhi - one of Motor City's many hip hop exports - played the first of two New Zealand shows.
Elzhi first got the attention of producer Jay Dee through his recordings with DJ Houseshoes and Waajeed, and went on to rhyme over unreleased Jay Dee beats and feature on his Welcome To Detroit album.
Joining Detroit hip hop luminaries Slum Village during the recording of their third album, Trinity (Past, Present and Future), he quickly fell in with the influential act, adding a new sense of life to the group.
Elzhi's ability to flip cyphers and take the root of a word and transform it into something the dictionary can't define is second to none.
His dextrous wordplay was on display at Auckland's Fu Bar as he ran through solo material and his collaborations with Slum Village, as well as cuts from Elmatic, Elzhi's homage to one of the classic LPs in the hip hop canon, Illmatic.
Elzhi's crisp diction and energy were well received by the local crowd - this was one of the clearest and most concise hip hop performances the city has witnessed in recent times.
Who: Elzhi Where: Fu Bar, Auckland When: Thursday, September 8
