Live Review: Dizzee Rascal, Baker Boy

Forum Theatre's statues and opulent infrastructure are doused in shades of blue as Arnhem Land rapper Baker Boy hits the stage.

His set begins with drummer Benny Clark taking off on an attention-grabbing solo as Baker Boy and Dallas Woods begin Black Magic Master. Baker Boy jumps into scenes of impressive breakdancing while rapping words in his native Yolngu Matha and English. Kian Brownfield joins them on stage to perform Baker Boy's hit number, Cloud 9, while the audience begins to heat up. His set includes a number that incorporates Yothu Yindi's Treaty as Baker Boy layers his own hip hop twists and beats over the top.

Sounds of barbed electronic music signal grime trailblazer Dizzee Rascal's entrance and fracture the venue as things get pushy among the punters. He opens with Space, a number from his 2017 LP Raskit, as hyped energy sets the tone for the rest of the night. On the stage, Rascal is joined by DJ MK, whose reputation as one of the UK's leading hip hop DJs is affirmed throughout the set.

"I knew when we got to Melbourne, they weren't gonna fuck around... They weren't gonna play any games," and Rascal means business, too, as flames are blasted in front of the stage during Wot U Gonna Do?. Throughout the set, Rascal pulls tracks from his 2003 debut album, Boy In Da Corner, with the forceful raps in Jus A Rascal reminding us where it all began.

They take a quick break, handing water out to the crowd as Rascal takes a swig of something near the decks. The pace is dropped as the pensive Jezebel gives us a moment to re-ground ourselves.

Having performed a handful of tracks from the tour's namesake album, Raskit, Rascal goes on to play a trio of his classic hits back to back, with Bassline Junkie kicking things off before leading into Dance Wiv Me and Holiday. Rascal leaves the stage after You Got The Dirtee Love, but we all know he's not going anywhere until Bonkers happens. After some crowd chanting, Rascal and his crew return to the stage, telling us, "We're past curfew... and we gotta head to Sydney". But before he can get off the stage, the beat drops and Rascal rips into Bonkers before a jumping crowd. As the night wraps up, Rascal leaves on this note: "Everybody who came out here tonight, we don't know each uva, but we was one big family!"