Matt Lambert, Dan Smith and Barry Francis – known professionally as Suffa, Pressure and DJ Debris – hadn’t performed on stage for more than two years.Like athletes who hadn’t been able to flex a muscle for 25 months, they were out of condition.“I will say that our first rehearsal back was a bit of a train wreck,” Lambert says. “I was literally on Rap Genius looking up my lyrics during the rehearsal.“It had been two years and we hadn’t had one show or one rehearsal and we don’t listen to our own music so it wasn’t surprising that the first one was a bit dicey.”Smith adds: “There was a moment that I thought maybe we’d lost the touch.”The Hoods, one of Australia’s biggest and most popular live acts, were due to make their grand return to the big stage at the Yours and Owls festival in Wollongong, but the relentless rain which flooded NSW in March cancelled that gig.They finally returned to their happy place on stage 10 days ago for the triumphant comeback of the national travelling festival Groovin The Moo. Footage posted by the band from their Maitland and Canberra performances on the festival’s first weekend capture the backstage warm-up and then explosion of energy as the rappers bounded onto the stage to a rapturous reception, a sea of thousands of fans in the moshpit bouncing to hits including 1955, Clark Griswold and Exit Sign.“It was weird coming into it because I was a little bit nervous,” Smith says. “Doing the show itself, it felt like we’d never left off playing. The crowd was amazing.”The Groovin The Moo shows marked the live debut of their latest single Show Business, featuring American singer Eamon, which has already clocked up more than one million plays on Spotify since its release in March.And while it received a huge roar from their adoring fans, there was one song that went off during the set, the song which catapulted the band from underground hip hop act to Triple J legends in 2004.During the long pandemic pause, their enduring hit The Nosebleed Section was given a generational refresh courtesy of a TikTok trend, with fans using the song to soundtrack their distinctly Australian childhood memories.The song, which is their second most popular track on Spotify with more than 86 million streams, went nuts when they played it at the festival, with Smith noticing the front of the stage was populated by a younger audience.“We have no perspective on it really but for good or bad, most people know that song, so it’s hard to tell if the reaction was because of TikTok. But that song definitely did get a big, old bump from TikTok,” Lambert says.It remains a source of frustration for the trio that they will never know just how big The Nosebleed Section has been for them in terms of sales.When it was released, the Hoods were signed to an indie label before establishing their own imprint Golden Era under the Universal Music Australia umbrella.“We still have no idea how many singles it has sold; it was out for about six or seven years before it started getting counted,” Smith says.Lambert adds: “Nobody’s got a platinum plaque or anything from Nosebleed because no one knows how much it’s sold over the years.”Fast forward two decades and their new single Show Business continues the string of irresistible earworms which have made the Hoods not only the biggest hip hop act to emerge in Australia but consistent achievers on the pop charts.They are also a record-breaking live juggernaut who currently hold the venue record at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena for the biggest show by a homegrown artist, with their Great Expanse concert in 2019 selling more than 15,000 tickets.Show Business exemplifies why the trio strikes such a resounding chord here, combining undeniable melodic and rhythmic hooks with heartfelt lyrics, this time about the downside of navigating fame – and a hilarious video, directed by acclaimed filmmaker Nash Edgerton.The three men were cast as clowns – we joke it’s a role they were born to play – who are taken hostage by a bunch of children armed with Nerf guns and water pistols to entertain them in a suburban backyard.Things get crazy when the “clowns” attempt to escape their pint-sized captors and a brawl breaks out, with kids flying through the air while the hip hop big kids cop all manner of indignities.In this era of keyboard warriors missing the joke, there is some relief there has been no faux outrage about the mock violence in the clip.“Nash did a killer job but there was a brief moment there where I was thinking I really hope this turns out funny because if it doesn’t turn out funny, we could be in trouble,” Smith says, laughing.The single also lends its name to their first headlining tour in three years. The Hoods will kick-off the Show Business national tour at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre on August 27 and then head to Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena on September 3, Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne on September 10, RAC Arena, Perth on September 17 and finally Adelaide Entertainment Centre on September 24. A fan pre-sale launches on May 3, followed by Telstra Plus pre-sale on May 5 and general tickets available from May 11. Details: hilltophoods.com
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