Sneaker Freaker was proud to co-present the Melbourne leg of the mighty De La Soul tour at The Espy last week. The tour was promoted to coincide with the release of their new Nike+ Running record, Are You In?, on top of a celebration of twenty years in the industry. Needless to say there was going to be a lot of celebrating going down in Meltown and literally as soon as the De La posse landed, the party began. From a secret last minute DJ guest spot at Miss Libertine, to a shopping spree at Nike HQ, Sneaker Freaker's own MAFIA had the boys covered.
The day before the first official De La Melbourne show, rumours of an impromptu DJ MASEO warm-up gig at Miss Libertines swept the town. Without any publicity, the joint filled up within two hours and with a line around the block outside, the vibe was insane. By midnight the crowd was bursting to see Maseo and keeping to his word, he took to the stage banging out over two hours of impeccable Native Tongue joints and old school funk. It was the perfect teaser to what we could expect the following night...
By Thursday our new Freaker friend JPeriod had shown the sardine-packed crowd just why he is the mixtape king of the world! After having his power cut prematurely, there was a bummer two-hour wait until the daisy dukes took to the stage – but once they did, the downtime was all but forgotten. With a ten-piece band crammed onto the stage, Posdenous gave those in the back their money’s worth by diving into the crowd and rapping from the floor. Maseo once again killed it all night, while Dave 'Plug Two' brought in that signature De La sound that we’ve all grown to love. (and twittered about it on stage!) With a surprise appearance by Black Sheep’s Dres, the party hit the roof and shook way past curfew. After a stellar two-hour show, everyone was exhausted, but the fellas stayed behind to meet their fans and sign Nike Dunks, records and anything else shoved in their faces. The reason they still remain relevant twenty years after their break-out record are clear. Unaffected and approachable, no one left without a handshake, photo or autograph.
The next day we wanted to reward them with a stealth shopping spree at Nike. With the other fellas still catching ZZZZs, Pos and JPeriod got up early to rack the Swoosh before sound check and pick out some fresh proddy. With the De La x Nike+ tape being released that day on Itunes, it was a perfect ending to an blinding three days of music and laughs. Big thanks go to everyone at Nike, The Espy and especially JPeriod and De La Soul for being such top blokes and representing hip hop in its truest form. Come back soon yo!
