On night one of their West Coast tour, Philly hip-hop duo Chiddy Bang–made up of Chidera “Chiddy” Anamege and producer Noah Beresin, aka producer Xaphoon Jones–had the audience packing Neumos singing every line in short order. In an interesting shift from the producer-as-DJ mold Xaphoon took his place for most of the show behind a drum kit, and he was no joker either. But one of the best parts of the show was the “special part of the set” in which Chiddy proved his worth as the world’s best off-the-top rhymer by taking a series of words and phrases from the audience (“Seattle,” “virgin,” “orange juice,” “Abby,” and “octopus”) and kicking what was honestly one of the wildest freestyles I’ve ever witnessed. Xaphoon’s beats are beyond catchy, but if you’re sleeping on Chiddy’s rhymes you run the risk of missing out on the substance of one of the best hip-hop acts of the year. The show was as upbeat and well performed as I could have hoped, and after the show I left feeling as good as I have in a long time. Thanks fellas.