Marksman Lloyd lifts the standard in rap performances
Perth has been spoilt with a wealth of releases so far this year. Beckon, Cortext and Macshane all released mixtapes earlier in the year, Soma released his sophomore album in June, Bitter Belief released another album in collaboration with Rob Shaker, Mr Grevis released his third & final album…. AND… Marksman Lloyd, just last month, after a short hiatus dropped his Portals EP.
The Portals EP is another solid release from the emcee; open, relevant raps with inspiring, uplifting hooks over big hip hop beats, soulful soundscapes and even some dirty south/trap-inspired tracks. The EP also has features from some more nationally recognised rappers, such as Omar Musa and WA’s own Coin Banks.
Friday night saw the official launch of the EP and the crowd was definitely a who’s who of the local scene. There seem to be representatives from most of the local crews: Syllabolix, The Community, F.A.M, The Psyche Ward, Street Life Descendants, Mad Fap… Granted there was a wide variety represented in the show’s line up, but it was nice to see the support. That definitely set the tone and vibe for the evening.
The night’s opening acts were a great-varied selection of local artists who all have their own flavour of hip hop. Starting with Mad Fap Entertainment founder Bluntfield who was supported by fellow label mates Penny Purr and Yully. Nice to see more female artists at the hip hop shows, both whom are strong rappers and singers. Bluntfield, supported by DJ Uncle Sam, always puts on a solid rap performance with some entertaining theatrics. This time WWE-style laying out an obnoxious white-collar worker.
Bluntfield’s set was followed by Perth’s favourite (and only?) Scottish rapper, Silvertongue. Having seen him perform the week prior at Soma’s launch, he performed a fairly similar set with Beckon as the DJ. However, that a Capella, damn, right in the feels, again. Silvertongue is a crazy wordsmith but also knows how to tell tales that evoke emotion. That’s a true rap poet. He hasn’t dropped anything new recently other than that splendid Delirious diss track, oh you know the one, so I feel there’s something coming soon.
Beni Bjah was up next and brought a great energy to the stage, which translated across to the audience. It was hitting that time of the evening and bringing his good friends and collaborators on stage to rap with him brought the room’s vibe up another level. Crazy to think that Survivor won the WAM Hip Hop Song of the Year in 2015, two years ago now! Bjah recognises the responsibility he has as an artist to be a spokesperson for his people, that song is still so relevant and necessary today. Seeing singer Jeramiah Morgan perform live was nothing short of amazing, man’s got some pipes.
I’m partial to a live band, particularly when it incorporates emceeing of some kind and I’m also a huge fan of femcee Hyclass, so I was really looking forward to her set with the Premiss band and Nat Mae. Their cover of The Roots & Erykah Badu’s You Got Me, was just about my highlight of the evening, until Marksman’s set got all startling (more on that later). Beckon also returned to the stage, this time to bless us with some of his own tracks, as well as a crazy Aesop Rock cover. Brave taking on a collaboration of such but he stood up to the challenge. I kind of hoped his now famous father would appear during his delivery of Damn That’s Refreshing (that would have been another memorable moment) alas he did not.
And finally just after 11pm, the main man of the night stepped to the stage with a new, but just as outstanding, band. Marksman Lloyd has always had an impressive stage presence. He’s confident and assured, he knows how to engage with a crowd and generally looks like he’s having fun, which as an audience member is enjoyable to watch.
Relishing the company of his collaborators, Marksman was joined by nearly all of the feature artists on the EP. Frequent collaborator and soulful singer Aaron Malone joined him on stage to serenade the audience for a few tracks. Long time friend Coin Banks also came to the stage to perform his verse from Pause. And Anders, who has been quiet on the performing front of late, was welcomed on-stage to close the night out with Gene Simmons: one of my favourite tracks off the EP.
Lifting the already, pretty high standard of Perth rap performances, Marksman incorporated a female choir into his act with an angelic and mesmerising rendition of the chorus of Kanye West’s Ultralight Beam. Utterly amazing. Their harmonies accompanied by a candid a capella rap by Marksman.
Always keeping it interesting, an audience member and obvious fan was invited on stage to rap the first verse to Seven Laps. The guy might have missed his calling as he seemed extremely comfortable on stage and even acted as a hype man during the performance of the track.
It’s not often that you see so much genuine support for an artist, however Marksman is a humble and extremely talented dude. So the support isn't unwarranted or surprising. An evident amount of hard work and perseverance has gone into Marksman's music. If Friday night is anything to go by, there is so much more to come from Marksman Lloyd and he’s only just opened the doorway to success.
Purchase a digital version of the album here.
Follow Marksman Lloyd on Facebook.
The Portals EP is another solid release from the emcee; open, relevant raps with inspiring, uplifting hooks over big hip hop beats, soulful soundscapes and even some dirty south/trap-inspired tracks. The EP also has features from some more nationally recognised rappers, such as Omar Musa and WA’s own Coin Banks.
Friday night saw the official launch of the EP and the crowd was definitely a who’s who of the local scene. There seem to be representatives from most of the local crews: Syllabolix, The Community, F.A.M, The Psyche Ward, Street Life Descendants, Mad Fap… Granted there was a wide variety represented in the show’s line up, but it was nice to see the support. That definitely set the tone and vibe for the evening.
The night’s opening acts were a great-varied selection of local artists who all have their own flavour of hip hop. Starting with Mad Fap Entertainment founder Bluntfield who was supported by fellow label mates Penny Purr and Yully. Nice to see more female artists at the hip hop shows, both whom are strong rappers and singers. Bluntfield, supported by DJ Uncle Sam, always puts on a solid rap performance with some entertaining theatrics. This time WWE-style laying out an obnoxious white-collar worker.
Bluntfield’s set was followed by Perth’s favourite (and only?) Scottish rapper, Silvertongue. Having seen him perform the week prior at Soma’s launch, he performed a fairly similar set with Beckon as the DJ. However, that a Capella, damn, right in the feels, again. Silvertongue is a crazy wordsmith but also knows how to tell tales that evoke emotion. That’s a true rap poet. He hasn’t dropped anything new recently other than that splendid Delirious diss track, oh you know the one, so I feel there’s something coming soon.
Beni Bjah was up next and brought a great energy to the stage, which translated across to the audience. It was hitting that time of the evening and bringing his good friends and collaborators on stage to rap with him brought the room’s vibe up another level. Crazy to think that Survivor won the WAM Hip Hop Song of the Year in 2015, two years ago now! Bjah recognises the responsibility he has as an artist to be a spokesperson for his people, that song is still so relevant and necessary today. Seeing singer Jeramiah Morgan perform live was nothing short of amazing, man’s got some pipes.
I’m partial to a live band, particularly when it incorporates emceeing of some kind and I’m also a huge fan of femcee Hyclass, so I was really looking forward to her set with the Premiss band and Nat Mae. Their cover of The Roots & Erykah Badu’s You Got Me, was just about my highlight of the evening, until Marksman’s set got all startling (more on that later). Beckon also returned to the stage, this time to bless us with some of his own tracks, as well as a crazy Aesop Rock cover. Brave taking on a collaboration of such but he stood up to the challenge. I kind of hoped his now famous father would appear during his delivery of Damn That’s Refreshing (that would have been another memorable moment) alas he did not.
And finally just after 11pm, the main man of the night stepped to the stage with a new, but just as outstanding, band. Marksman Lloyd has always had an impressive stage presence. He’s confident and assured, he knows how to engage with a crowd and generally looks like he’s having fun, which as an audience member is enjoyable to watch.
Relishing the company of his collaborators, Marksman was joined by nearly all of the feature artists on the EP. Frequent collaborator and soulful singer Aaron Malone joined him on stage to serenade the audience for a few tracks. Long time friend Coin Banks also came to the stage to perform his verse from Pause. And Anders, who has been quiet on the performing front of late, was welcomed on-stage to close the night out with Gene Simmons: one of my favourite tracks off the EP.
Lifting the already, pretty high standard of Perth rap performances, Marksman incorporated a female choir into his act with an angelic and mesmerising rendition of the chorus of Kanye West’s Ultralight Beam. Utterly amazing. Their harmonies accompanied by a candid a capella rap by Marksman.
Always keeping it interesting, an audience member and obvious fan was invited on stage to rap the first verse to Seven Laps. The guy might have missed his calling as he seemed extremely comfortable on stage and even acted as a hype man during the performance of the track.
It’s not often that you see so much genuine support for an artist, however Marksman is a humble and extremely talented dude. So the support isn't unwarranted or surprising. An evident amount of hard work and perseverance has gone into Marksman's music. If Friday night is anything to go by, there is so much more to come from Marksman Lloyd and he’s only just opened the doorway to success.
Purchase a digital version of the album here.
Follow Marksman Lloyd on Facebook.