Watsky and Wax in The Academy

"Hip-hop….it’s just cool guys doing cool stuff," says the expectant fan beside me, barely taking her eyes off the stage – which is still empty. Like the rest of The Academy’s animated crowd, she can’t seem to stand still. The tension explodes in collective roar when LA-based rapping extraordinaire Wax flies into view – and proceeds to do very, very cool stuff. Actually, he is simply incredible.

‘I Ain’t A Real Man,’ a relentless, solid, aggressive opener delivered at jaw-dropping speed is then paired perfectly with the slower, more emotive ‘Red,’ to which the audience were invited to sing along only "if you feel in your heart that you want to.’ They did.

Where other rappers may depend on dazzling their audiences with bewildering speed, Wax goes above and beyond by demonstrating an impressive eclectic musical talent that keeps us on our toes, literally. (With the rapper in full flow, there were barely two feet fully left on the floor.) Songs like ‘Music and Liquor,’ ‘Two Wheels,’ and the hilarious ‘Toothbrush’ are rich with varying resonances of rock, R&B, folk and soul, while the vibrant ‘Rosanna’ draws heavily on Mariachi.

Perhaps the most striking thing about this hugely talented artist is the sense of intimacy and rapport he holds with his fans. It is not merely that Wax then appears solo and dons an acoustic guitar to sing warmly about relatable topics ranging from childhood camping trips to the frustrations of overtly pretentious clubs. Nor is it the way he writes self-reflectively while neatly avoiding the self-pitying, ‘this-industry-is-so-difficult’ mould new rappers often seem to fall into. This guy genuinely cares. Still rhyming ferociously and flawlessly, he is in the audience posing for pictures with his arm around someone’s shoulder. Wax is clearly an authentic, conscientious artist who swaps superficiality for lyrical honesty and a wicked sense of humour, emphasising first and foremost the importance of being comfortable in your own skin.

But this was only half the fun. Like his touring partner, Watsky opened with an explosive, energetic and impossibly fast multi-syllabic lyrical masterpiece. These vocal fireworks did not for a moment overshadow the infectiously addictive, driving Hip-hop beats, honeyed by the immensely powerful and soulful voice of his backing singer, Tyra Juliette.

After ‘Sloppy Seconds,’ Watsky’s bright eyed audience were breathless from screaming out the chorus themselves, and it was clear that our second course would be no less delicious than the first. Watsky’s lyrical ingenuity shone not just through popular songs such as ‘Strong as an Oak’ and ‘Hey Assholes,’ but during a raw and deliciously crisp Spoken Word piece written in response to a comment his lisp.

An impossibly powerful stage presence, he took total command of his audience- even making everyone crouch to the floor and leap up again upon just one word. He joked and high fived with his fans, crowd surfed a number of times and climbed to the Academy’s second floor before jumping off into a forest of adoring arms. Nothing felt forced, rehearsed, or careless; rather, the San Francisco native’s lyrical complexity demonstrates a depth of humour, honesty, and insight that demands genuine respect.

The climax of the show was the rappers’ joint performance of the tour’s title song ‘Hug a Hater.’ The collaborative piece, which somehow manages to glue itself into the inside of your skull for days, was performed theatrically with both artists staging a jokey fallout. They knocked back and forth coarse but delightfully clever insults, and later ended the song with a hug – a satisfying conclusion to a very special- definitely cool- Hip-hop treat.