Live Review: Lil Dicky, Yo! Mafia

One of Melbourne's hardest working record spinners, DJ Yo! Mafia delivers an energetic set of hip hop tunes as Forum Theatre quickly fills in anticipation of the main event. As the big screen plays videos in synch with the music, the crowd get their dance on to Yo! Mafia's assortment of well-known tracks. DJ Snake & Lil Jon's Turn Down For What, Soulja Boy's Crank That, Kendrick Lamar's Swimming Pools (Drank) and Childish Gambino's This Is America are just some of the tunes that have everyone jiving along. Vanessa Carlton's A Thousand Miles even gets a look in before Yo Mafia makes way for the main event.

Elz The DJ gets the crowd amped by playing the Rocky theme song followed by a number of recent hip hop hits as Lil Dicky finally makes his way on stage alongside hypeman GaTa. Professional Rapper is the first song off the rank and has everyone jumping up and down. Discussing how he usually plays the American anthem, his DJ lets loose with the Australian version, with Dicky getting everyone singing along despite not knowing the words himself.

As a rapper/comedian, Dicky's live show is very much played for laughs. Frat-type humour is high on the agenda, with Dicky joking he's going to show his penis, then his ass. He holds a dating show throughout the night, accurately titled 'Looking For Love', inviting members from the audience on stage to spin a wheel and perform tasks to capture his love. 

The first chosen is a young woman who has to slap Dicky. She doesn't hold back as the crowd cheer her on and Dicky withers in pain. The second is a man who must play a game similar to pin the tail on the donkey but substitutes the tail for a dick. The third chosen is another woman who's given the chance to make out with Dicky, but declines, much to the crowd and Dicky's disappointment.

Dicky removes his top to reveal a Socceroos guernsey as he puts the comedy on hold to showcase his ability as a rapper. Work (Paid For That?), Pillow Talking and the Tag Team-sampling Sports all get the crowd rapping along. Dicky takes time out to do a shoey provided by a member of the crowd - a new mainstay of Australian hip hop shows - then takes things up a notch with his biggest hit Freaky Friday. 

Along with doing a shoey, Dicky smokes a joint before rocking out to Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit and singing the chorus to Backstreet Boys' I Want It That Way, with the crowd signalling their approval by joining him in full voice. $ave Dat Money finds the Pennsylvanian rapper return to performing his own material ahead of choosing a winner of his dating show; the woman who slapped him is declared the winner.

Dicky goes off stage for a few minutes and reappears, stating he doesn't believe in encores despite participating in one. He thanks the crowd for making his career happen and ends with his earliest release, Ex-Boyfriend. As the crowd slowly filter out it's plain to see Lil Dicky has a solid fan base here in Australia, with few rappers able to mix comedy with hip hop as effectively and entertaining as the self proclaimed "Professional Rapper."