What put the “best” into Bestival 2009? Hip hop karaoke. Strange that one of the highlights of Rob Da Bank’s highly revered last festival of the summer were (intentionally) really terrible but amazing renditions of rap classics at the Rizla Invisible Players Arena. But that’s the truth. Picked up from its usual home at The Social in London, Rizla invited the Bizzaro World rap crew to the Isle of Wight for sun, cider and much love. Gingerbread men and gold painted girls booty shaking to Sir Mix-a-Lot’s Baby Got Back, a drunk (first) verse perfect Shimmy Shimmy Ya and the worst Biggie impressions ever. Oh and a MC Skibadee re-vox of Lauryn Hill from a shirtless builder. It was so good. Everyone united through hip hop. It’s Chuck D’s dream... kind of. And it was all led by the greatest master of ceremonies ever, a faux-aristocratic Anglo-Asian hip hop lord. We bow to you.

Hip hop Karaoke took the daytime billing at the Rizla Invisible Players Arena on the Saturday. Chronologically speaking Friday was where it started and coincidently shared roots at The Social club on Little Portland Street too. Jon Carter and the legendary Heavenly Jukebox opened before a cute Italo set from Miss Little Boots led into the Scottish club kingpins Optimo closing with upbeat party house bangers. It was a set they rated as apparently their best of the year.

After the aforementioned Hip Hop Karaoke set down their golden mic, Saturday night’s mo-disco extravaganza kicked off with east London’s Disco Bloodbath crew all done up like Kraftwerk (Main Stage headliners of the night). Over the past two years of Invisible Players, the Rizla crowd have always seemed partial to a bit of deep disco and Bestival was no different. Lucky for them headliner Lindstrom brought his Scandinavian dubby disco to Rizla’s paradise lost, Balearic beach front.

It’s been a great year for our man Bullion and never has his masterful Get Familiar beat sounded so sublime as a Sunday afternoon cure for Bestival burn out. Stepping up at the end of his set, a bit of disco and 2-step got the crowd all lively and ready for the legend that is Jazzie B. Unfortunately, that’s where our Rizla Invisible Players Bestival weekend came to an end. As Monday morning, work and hovercrafts called out, we missed out on the rest of Sunday’s impressive and cultish line-up including Greg Wilson's set who has held down the Sunday headline slot for last three years due to popular demand from the Bestival crowd, and a rare set from Rub N Tug’s disco don Thomas Bullock with quite a mix of electro and re-edited classics topped with Worried Noodles from David Shrigley...

For exclusive recordings, videos and pictures from Bestival and the rest of the Rizla Invisible Players tour check out rizla.co.uk/invisible-players.

Photography by Nic Serpell-Rand