Live Review: Allday, Elemont, NJE

NJE gave Sydney his all with an energetic performance that was pumping despite a distracted audience. When the Campbelltown rapper shouted “Bounce!” he didn't expect too much, and that came off humble, while main support Elemont seemed frustrated by the lack of response and his enigmatic DJ Thought stole the show.

Allday has some hyped Sydney fans, the kind who know his lyrics better than he does. The Melbourne rapper is 22 with wide blue eyes, a bright, backwards snapback and a casual demeanor. He kicked things off with Steezed Out, and proved himself a generous and down to earth performer. Jumping into tracks from his new EP, Loners Are Cool, Allday piped away with his broad Aussie accent telling colloquial stories from suburbia. He flows at a walking pace giving his tracks a deceptive simplicity and delivers with the innocent and cheeky charm of a rascal. Otto, an ode to The Simpsons' bus driver was a crowd favourite and the long-haired hooligan switched things up with a couple of choice remixes, laying verses over Jay-z and Kanye West's N***as In Paris and Wiz Kalifa's hit, Black And Yellow.

When the audience unanimously requested Nearly Famous from his Euphoria mixtape, Allday, completely unprepared, tackled it a cappella. When he trailed off after the first verse, the crowd picked it up and rapped every word. That's real love. Half the front row jumped on stage to dance it out for the last track, So Good, with soulful production from longtime collaborator C1 and then they coerced him back for an encore performance of a new track from his upcoming mixtape featuring a grooving sample of Praise You by Fatboy Slim.

While some tracks are still a little juvenile, Allday, with his understated manner, is on his way to longevity and if he stumbles, he has a dedicated family of followers who will no doubt raise him up.