The annual Mission Creek Festival is a wonderful setting for all that is both challenging and creative, and rap duo Armand Hammer did a flawless job of carrying on that tradition.

Made up of rapper Billy Woods and rapper/producer Elucid, the experimental and conscious hip hop group performed at Gabe’s late Friday night. They wasted no time in letting their large crowd know what they were all about and what they were there to do.

Before their set even began, it was clear that the defining theme of the show would be rawness and intimacy. The artists’ entrance was anything but grand; they casually lifted themselves up on stage, sorted out some technical difficulties, and, without warning, delved into a lyrical masterclass.

Their music was defined by the genius syncopation between their beats and vocal rhythms. Oftentimes, the rhythm of their voices sounded almost wrong against their beats, but there was no doubt that it was fully intentional and took great skill and knowledge to compose. 

In a way, it was a creative decision that forced the listener to pay attention to their lyrics. The listener could not just get lost in the groove of the beat to get the full experience of their sound; they had to give a little extra effort, but it was effort that proved well worth it.

I could write a separate piece about their production alone, which ranged from luxurious, percussion-less beats to stank-face-inducing, dissonant bangers. The variety in their sound made it hard for listeners to give their attention to anything other than what was happening on stage.

Their stories of struggle and political commentary were also incredibly executed. Taking topics that are very harrowing and making them so indulging and thought-provoking can be impossibly difficult, but the group not only did it, they made it look easy.

The linguistic talents and unique sound of the duo was heavily appreciated by superfans Dean Check and Colin Stapleton, who drove an hour to see the show despite having work early the next morning. 

“It’s just the way they report their own lives,” Check said when asked what his favorite part of the group’s music was. “They’re poets, and they’re at the top of what they do. I think they’re the best rappers in the world. I feel like a lot of the instrumentals and rapping over them is so unconventional.”

Even to those who were not familiar with Armand Hammer before the evening of the concert, the show demonstrated the creative nature of the duo quickly and clearly.

Contergoer Rachel Gulick had never heard of Armand Hammer before the festival, but came to the show out of pure curiosity.

“That’s part of the brilliance that is Mission Creek,” Gulick said. “You get little samples of folks you’ve never experienced before, so it’s always a really awesome opportunity to dive into some new realms sonically speaking.”

Gulick was impressed by the diversity of the sound in Armand Hammer’s music. 

“The dubstep, reggae moments really speak to me, but, I mean, the floetry of it all was perfection, so I was immersed,” she said.

The atmosphere that Gabe’s supplied is not to be overlooked. Rapper Billy Woods noted that it was “the most punk venue I’ve ever done a festival at,” while fans Check and Stapleton said at “a venue like this, being so close to them feels so intimate, it’s amazing.”

The balance between providing a large floor space for plenty of fans while keeping all of them close to the action amplified the impact of the music greatly.

Mission Creek’s encouragement of the unusual was a match made in heaven for Armand Hammer, and their performance will stick with me and all those who witnessed it for a long time to come.