Review: Chali 2na at Mojos Bar

Chali 2na at Mojos Bar
Thursday, May 4, 2023
w/ Anesu

It’s been a while since Chali 2na has graced our shores, but there’s always a lot of love for the charismatic, six foot six, deep-voiced, old-school LA rap legend of Jurassic 5 and Ozomatli fame when he comes to town. The ‘verbal Herman Munster’ and ‘friendly neighbourhood baritone’ as he’s affectionately known, has kept busy since J5 broke up in 2007, releasing his acclaimed 2009 album Fish Outta Water as well as numerous EPs and collaborations with a diverse range of artists. But it’s live where he’s in his element, so it was a real treat to have him in town to play, not one, but three intimate headline sets at Mojos! On Thursday, the final night, Chali blew up the joint with a generous two-hour, career-spanning set featuring his distinctive, smooth, rapid-fire flow and positive vibes.

Back in the day, J5 were regular visitors to our shores, always playing to huge adoring crowds, and Chali’s verses were always a highlight. Since they disbanded, he’s visited a few times. A particularly memorable performance was down at Scarborough in 2013 for Sets On The Beach, where he stole the show with his full band. Then J5 briefly reformed and visited Perth in 2014 for a legendary sold-out show at Metro City, and more recently he made an appearance at Breakfest with Krafty Kuts in 2017 – but we’ve never seen him up close and personal like this.

Booking one Thursday night at the relatively small Mojos seemed an odd move. Maybe he thought we’d forgotten him and he wouldn’t pull big numbers in 2023. But that night promptly sold out. He put on a second show on the Wednesday, which sold out again soon after! Not wanting anyone to miss out, he played a third show on the Tuesday, bringing Mojos a midweek 2na trifecta! He underestimated the love Perth still has for him, with fans turning up in force – and that love was reciprocated, as the big man sincerely thanked the raucous crowd at the end of his epic third night. “From the bottom of my heart, thank you for all that love,” he said, as the crowd danced and sang along to Bob Marley’s Could You Be Loved.

Kicking the night off earlier on, was a rising star on the local scene, Anesu. The non-binary, Zimbabwe born African-Australia rapper/singer played a great support set, impressing many with their flow and conscious, poetic lyricism.

They performed with lots of energy, dancing while singing over a well-produced backing track, with some awesome live drumming that really lifted the sound. The set had a great vibe with some deft raps, sweet harmonies and bouncy beats. A modern fusion of hip hop and R&B. They have some solid tunes including Black Girl, and finished with Melanin.

We got two Charlie’s for the price of one tonight, as for the intermission, the one and only Charlie Bucket stepped up behind the decks to spin some vinyl. The consummate pro, he got straight into some vibe-appropriate, golden era rap. It was a smoothly mixed set of old school beats, interspersed with some new cuts, like Sampa The Great’s Final Form. Charlie’s versatility, deep musical knowledge and record collection, and skills on the ones and twos are always a joy to witness. Having just played RTRFM’s 30^th Anniversary of In The Pines it was nice to hear the local legend playing a hip hop set.

Dropping some classics like Lords of the Underground’s Chief Rocka and The Beatnuts’ Off the Books (feat. Big Pun & Cuban Link) really got the room warmed up, as the crowd moved and grooved and began to push forward to the front.

Then it was time for the big man to take the stage. Backed by DJ Chris Munky, the one, the only, Mr. Chali 2na made his entrance, bounding onto stage in a CALI map T-shirt, shouting “Freo how y’all feelin?!” and launching into the heavy sounds of Bruce 2Na from the 2019 album he made with Krafty Kuts, Adventures of a Reluctant Superhero. The energy in the room immediately jumped. He’s such a towering and commanding, yet friendly presence. Lock Shit Down from Fish Outta Water followed – recorded with Brooklyn legend, Talib Kweli – but as with some J5 and other tracks he played, he just raps his verses.

Next up was his signature tune, and still probably his best – the infectious Comin’ Thru which drew big cheers as he launched into the classic intro in his booming voice, “Welcome to the Terrordome, I’m your host, your friendly neighbourhood baritone. Vocals channel the spirits of old poets, I don’t drink, my glass never will hold Moet.” A practicing Muslim, Chali doesn’t drink or do drugs, though he isn’t preachy about it – he just doesn’t promote that shit – he saw enough of the bad side of that world in his youth. His raps are more wholesome and abstract, focusing on injustice, positivity and clever wordplay in that old school style. His clean-living ways are probably why he’s still in top form at 51, his voice still rock solid, and he can tear through a two-hour set with barely a break in his verbal barrage and physical enthusiasm.

Another 2na classic Don't Stop got a run, featuring a sweet flute loop and the silky smooth and soulful voice of Anthony Hamilton. A real banger of a track, it got the room jumping and a great vibe permeating. “You guys have been the best! This song goes out to Freo… to Perth…. to Australia! Put your hands up!” he said by way of introducing Hands High, another big tune from his album with Krafty Kuts.

His collaboration with Beenie Man International followed soon after. He then introduced his DJ Chris Munky from the UK, who was doing a great job holding it down behind the decks, sporting a Wu-Tang T-shirt and adding the odd bit of hype on the mic. Chali mentioned another friend of his from the UK, MC Dynamite, which led into a blazing performance of their awesome collab with Krafty Kuts, It Ain’t My Fault.

While Chali might not have been a huge chart topper, he’s a truly underrated legend of the scene. There’s no better indication of his greatness and the respect he garners, than the top-tier list of legends he’s collaborated with over the years, from all around the world and across many genres – ranging from Roots Manuva, The Black Eyed Peas, Mos Def and Prince Paul, to Dynamite and Krafty, Fatlip, Blackalicious, Damien Marley, Sergio Mendes, Linkin Park and our own Hilltop Hoods!

Despite all this he remained humble “Thank you for stroking my ego by knowing who the fuck I am!” He'd tell stories and drop deep wisdom like, “You've only got a short time in this earth… So use your time wisely.” But he always kept the pace moving and the show rolling onto the next tune.

It was then time for him to delve into some Jurassic 5 material, “I think it’s safe to say you know who J5 are?” The huge cheers answered his question, and the place erupted as he launched into their big hit What’s Golden, followed up by Freedom, dropping into a remix at the end. Even taking things way back to ’98 with early J5 track Jayou.

“Now we gonna take it back. Way back, even before J5,” he said, before Munky dropped the classic electro beat of Grandmaster Flash’s The Message and 2na proceeded to rap over it.

“You like drum ‘n’ bass?!” He showed his versatility, dropping Right Right Up, a rolling bass track he made with Canadian duo The Funk Hunters. He would finish with Oh Shit, another of their collabs from the ILLectric EP, but not before sneaking a couple more J5 classics in, much to the delight of the crowd. Quality Control from the 2000 album of the same name, and their first big hit Concrete Schoolyard.

Chali seemed blown away and truly humbled by the incredibly loud, raucous crowd reaction. “I do this for the love. Thank y'all for treating me like I'm at home. Thank you for the love. And I’m not just saying that, I mean that from the bottom of my heart.”

This cued up the big Bob Marley soundtracked lovefest. An amazing way to end an awesome night, with one of the greatest, most underrated rappers still in the game. A larger than life presence (Also a talented graffiti artist, who has done some pieces in Perth before – maybe he had time to break out the spray can.) This is real hip hop and it don’t stop! Chali 2na’s skill, artistry, wordplay and delivery over some golden era boom bap beats sounds as fresh as ever, and really makes a mockery of much of today’s monotone, autotune, trappy hip-pop. It’s a real shame the braggadocios, gangsta shit has taken over hip hop, and with it a lot of the focus on talent, lyricism and MC skills has been lost. Hopefully Chali 2na continues touring, making music, sharing knowledge and spreading the love for years to come, as a shining example of How It’s Done. 

ALFRED GORMAN

Photos by Adrian Thomson