- Sydney based group 2 Up represent a comedic side to the realm of hip hop offering humourous lyrics with clever wordplay combined with tight infectious beats and turntablism. The group is fronted by MC's Maccy D and Breaker J, DJ Diverse on the turntables and production is handled by Mez. 2 Up became a household name when they released "Why Do I Try So Hard?" - the group's tirade about wannabe American homeboys in Sydney. Now the boys return with their debut album filled with more of that same goofy flavour that we've come to expect.
Club Shakers documents Maccy and Breaker's drinking adventures in various establishments (mainly pubs, bars, RSL's) where they partake in games of Bingo, pool and darts, singing Karaoke and they drop a cheeky hint of playing 2 Up on Anzac day. It's Alright is a party driven feel good number in a similar vein to the jump up styles of Cypress Hill and Jurassic 5. While Diverse cuts up samples to provide the bridge, MC Maccy D and Breaker J drop cheeky references about various types of alcohol - Sydney's version of the Alkoholics.
Hardcore For Sure opens up with the two MC's discussing how everyone thinks they're soft so they "grab the f**kin mic!" and tell it like it really is. It's all tongue-in-cheek though - you can sense the satire in their tones and lyrics as they deliver hilariously funny lyrics and clever word associations. Even Mez parodies the production styles of Wu-Tang clan's RZA as he drops hard head nodding jazzy beats teeming with deep bass lines and trumpet riffs.
Maccy and Breaker provide a link between hip hop and sport If Rap Was A Sport where they take Australian sporting names and a few internationals and turn them into clever word associations. It's something for the sporting fans out there as they drop names from Mundine and Kostya Tzuyu to Hopoate and Shaquille O'Neal.
Internal Combustion sees the two MCs battle each other cutting each other up with diss rhymes. They finally take it too far when they take it out on DJ Diverse so he "cuts" them up with a series of turntable disses to which the MC's have no comeback - ouch.
There's no mistaking the Australian flavour permeating through the album - only Australians will really get the references dropped in this, but after being subjected to American hip hop culture for so long, 2 Up have finally come out and delivered a proper hip hop album which promotes all aspects of Australian culture from drinking at the pub to the Australian enthusiasm for sport and our tendency to promote ourselves to the rest of the world. Personally, I found the album quite enjoyable especially the hilarious references to Australian TV and sport. Recommended for those who like the Beastie Boys and Ugly Duckling.