PHILLY MOVES at Sneaky Dee’s, Friday, August 15. Rating: NNN
Ottawa-bred, Toronto-based hip-hop duo Philly Moves were in fine form just past midnight on Friday at the release show for their latest album, Olga. Emcee Tynan Phelan was particularly brave, bouncing around the Sneaky Dee’s stage barefoot, Donnie Darko-style bunny mask pushed to the back of his head.
Producer Jonny Desilva was slightly more reserved, splitting his time capably beat-making and jumping on acoustic guitar and lending his falsetto pipes to the proceedings.
The pair delivered a contagiously high-spirited brand of poppy hip-hop that lends itself well to the live arena: Old As Fuck, for example – a song that conveys the familiar it’s-time-to-grow-up sentiment for the almost-adult, approaching-30 generation – is very singalong friendly. Same goes for their new single Fuxwitchu, an alt-R&B-indebted tune that, if not for its un-PC title, would probably find a good home on MuchMusic.
The guys could go a little deeper subject-matter-wise, sure, but it’s refreshing to see an act who take their music very seriously while still having fun with their image. A sense of humour in hip-hop is so underrated.