Live Review: Souls Of Mischief, Coin Banks

Renowned for each of their individual menacing flows, their crisp and striking production as well as their explosively interactive live performances, four-piece California-based rap collective Souls Of Mischief would be pushing for top recommendation spot from any dependable fan of the genre. Having never toured Perth in a commendable 23-year career, it was truly a delight to welcome the West Coast hip hop gang to our Australian west coast shores.

Australian hip hop frequently receives a bad reputation for its seemingly incompatible nasally accent and often times lacklustre lyrics, but local hip hop up-and-comer Coin Banks is undoubtedly an exception to the rule. Warming up the microphone in entertaining fashion, Banks stirred up the audience with animated hand gestures and some impressive bars, with the Ta-ku-produced Hatches serving as a definite highlight for the crowd.

Souls Of Mischief are showing absolutely zero signs of slowing down lately, having recently produced a documentary film, finishing off a 50-city Still Infinity Tour and releasing a joint 20th anniversary merchandise capsule collection with Ecko Unlimited. Most impressive though is the release of their critically acclaimed sixth studio album,  There Is Only Now, which dropped in August. Featuring some thrilling conventional verses as well as particularly humorous skits from such fellow hip hop luminaries as Busta Rhymes, Snoop Dogg and Ali Shaheed Muhameed, the LP has been aptly described as a “unique cinematic ‘90s crime tale of love, loss and revenge”.

Thankfully, the sketches were prominent in their live performance too, injecting a well received dose of light-heartedness and comedy to the routine, including a fake Happy Birthday chant from the audience to a fresh-faced 40-year-old Phesto. Behind some groovy impromptu drum machine hooks from Opio, the Souls boys spat out some masterful freestyle bars they referred to as “home cooking” towards the end of an incredibly lively set, further wowing the audience with their undeniable talent and energy. Opio concluded with a sincere, heartfelt message about the band’s opposition to the unfortunately predominant hateful and violence-driven messages in contemporary rap music, claiming that “we all about peace, love and understanding”, which met with a flurry of peace signs from every corner of the intimate venue.