IS EMINEM’S RAPTURE A TURNING POINT FOR AUSTRALIAN HIP HOP FESTIVALS?

Who’d want to be a hip hop promoter in Australia? It seems there have been no end of problems getting in the way of tours and festivals coming to fruition and it’s affecting promoters at all ends of the spectrum; from burgeoning small-scale promoters to the multi-nationals.

The Rapture road show that rolled through Brisbane last night, and concludes its run in Sydney on Saturday, was simply excellent. But can it be done again?

If, every year, Rapture could run just like the 2014 edition, it should work.

While rap superstar Eminem undoubtedly delivers one hell of a show, he’s not the most impressive aspect of the night’s entertainment. The best thing about Rapture is the consistent level of quality in the performances from beginning to end.

Hip hop has a reputation for not coming across nearly as well on stage as it does on record and sadly this reputation exists because it is largely true. So, for the team behind Rapture to find five live hip hop acts that easily shirk that reputation is the key element in making it a successful show.

But if all is needed was quality for a successful hip hop festival, why didn’t something like Live Nation’s Movement Festival work? Nas, Joey Bada$$ Aussie titans Bliss N Eso, 2 Chainz (who cancelled due to legal issues) and Angel Haze (who also cancelled) or Iggy Azalea (who replaced her) should’ve been enough to move at least a modest number of tickets – which you’d imagine they didn’t if a company the size of Live Nation were not willing to absorb the losses.

In fact, Bliss N Eso should have been enough to sell that event alone, they’ll play bigger venues than Movement had booked on their own tour, but they were just outside of an album cycle and the timing just wasn’t right. Also, the Nas crowd and the Bliss N Eso crowd aren’t necessarily the same beast – while there’s the possibility of doubling your numbers with diversity, there’s also the risk of losing out altogether and ostracising fans of both.

Without seeing the books for the 2014 Rapture event, it appears as if it was successful; the crowd was monstrous and the mammoth Lang Park venue felt full enough. We’ll see in time if this is the case or not.

So, it was a great event, but can it be replicated?

I fear not. You can only bring Eminem out so many times.

There are no other rappers with the star power of Marshall Mathers who can bring multiple tens of thousands to a venue and allow us the indulgence of watching a handful of other brilliant hip hop acts. Particularly in a market like Australia, which doesn’t have the same adulation for hip hop stars as other territories. Kanye West can’t do stadiums like this in Australia, nor can Jay-Z, though his wife Beyoncé is one urban-leaning – though certainly not rap – artist who could perhaps bring the numbers needed to make the event profitable.

One thing that can work in favour of a hip hop event is the speed with which artists rise through the ranks. The thought of Kendrick Lamar playing to tens of thousands of people in a football stadium in Brisbane would have been ludicrous just 18 months ago – in another 18 months we could well be trumpeting another new star who’s bigger and better than anyone who has come before. Let’s hope so.

Rapture 2015, if it happens, does not have to be as mega as this inaugural instalment. Soundwave had nowhere to go but backwards after the enormity of their Metallica helmed 2013 tenth anniversary event, and there’s no shame in that. But without the drawcard to pack out the stadium the money isn’t there to bring us the quality undercard. We eagerly await the next move from the Dainty Group and Rapture Festival and we hope to be reporting about another successful event – and more great live hip hop artists we’ve discovered because of it – this time next year.