UOX Play Hip Hop @ Maison
It was a hot Saturday in KL with slight drizzles. Annoying weather definitely, but that didn’t stop partypeeps from gravitating towards UOX Play Hip Hop at Maison. The hype was such that you couldn’t miss the buzz of b-boys, graffiti and KL Drumline when you’re passing by Jalan Yap Ah Shak.
People were skeptical about a hip hop-themed UOX Play, and true enough, it definitely attracted a very different crowd than it normally would. The event was hosted by MTV VJ Utt, but he didn’t do it for us. The event kicked off with MC battles hosted by MC Vandal that kickstarted the otherwise slow night. The crowd was cheering on their favourite MC with up-and-coming Kraft coming out tops. It was the 2nd consecutive night this boy’s won a battle competition (he championed Think You Got Skillz? just the night before).
The night continued with a performance by one of the leading dance crews in KL- Floor Fever. They have definitely stepped up their game since the last time we saw them in action. The boys and girls of Floor Fever rocked out the crowd with plenty of swag.
It’s when local trio Phlowtron came out with DJ Iman on the decks that the party took a turn. Suddenly the crowd in Maison dissipated and it became a little awkward. The boys being professionals, still managed to put on a great show, but that didn’t apply to the awkward female vocalist. They even got Joe Flizzow to hit the stage with ‘Bergerak’, yet the crowd was still zombie-like.
By the end of Phlowtron’s performance, the dancefloor was so roomy you could fit 2 elephants there. The crowd looked like they were trying to back out as far from the stage as possible. When DJ Goldfish came on, the crowd started warming up, albeit a little slowly. He kicked it with stuff from Lady Gaga to Kid Cudi, which we thought would do the trick for this mass. Soon people began to move to the dancefloor and after observing the first half of the night from the top floor, JUICE braved the crowd and went down to join the party on the dancefloor. It got crowded really quickly and not being fans of sweat and BO, we headed back up to enjoy the rest of the night.
Last set of the night came from DJ Shortee Blitz from the States. He was alright with occasional surprises here and there. His set was mostly forgettable but we did rock out to his sounds of 2Pac’s ‘California Love’ and ‘How Do U Want It’.
Besides the fact that we had to wait 15 minutes for drinks everytime we’re at the bar, it was an alright UOX Play event. Guess people are more familiar with electro sounds at UOX Play events, but we thought they could have gotten a few bigger acts to rock up UOX Play Hip Hop.
This leg of UOX Play Hip Hop was held at Maison on 18 April. Head over to www.uox.com.my for more info. Check out the UOX Play Hip Hop gallery.