Messiah J & The Expert live at The Academy, Dublin

Having spent the last two months touring the Emerald Isle, rapper Messiah J and his trusty sidekick The Expert finish off with a bang in their hometown of Dublin.

Although the Ireland V Bulgaria game may have proven just too tempting for some unfaithful fans, the venue is nonetheless nicely full by the time Messiah J bounds on stage. And by gum, bound he does!

It’s clear from the opening lines of ‘Tomorrow Is Too Late’ that we have in our midst quite the charismatic showman. Never too chatty, he still demands the full attention of his audience, and while at one point he even leaps offstage into a throng of screaming fans, lyrically he never misses a beat.

And as the set progresses, with ‘Megaphone Man’, early track ‘All The Other Girls,’ and current single ‘Turn The Magic On’, it’s clear that at the core of Messiah J & The Expert is a solid musical partnership between the rapper and producer. The Expert’s eclectic beats lend as much to this impressive performance as Messiah J’s seemingly endless flow of energy.

Alternating nicely between all three of the band's releases – 2007’s And Another Thing, and their two Choice nominated releases Now This I Have to Hear (2006) and From The Word Go (2008) – Messiah J keeps the crowd captivated (and maybe just a little bit afraid) with his ever-edgy lyrical style.

For an encore, the duo opts for the oh-so-catchy ‘Superfamous Supertune’; a tongue-in-cheek reflection on the one hit wonder, and new album favourite ‘Jean Is Planning An Escape’.

And so ends a lively and high-paced performance from a quality Irish act.

All hail the Messiah!