How Hustle Hard Tv redefined West Sydney

This was actually my first ever post back in 2017 which is nuts that this things existed that long.

 As we sit on the eve of 2020 it's looking like the 20s is going to be a really formative decade for our scene, I have a feeling it could be to us what the 90s was to America and the 10's was to the UK.I think in any art form it's really important to acknowledge the people that helped get us to this point, so I wanted to put some spotlight on something that's being more and more forgotten as time goes on. I'm leaving the theme of this the same , i just thought it would be cool to tweak this a bit for 2019 because so much has changed in 2 years (also,barely anyone read this the first time it went live).  This could be my last post of the year on my little blog, I've been writing on www.thewestern.com.au so go sus that out if you wanna see what a write like when I actually have to do a few drafts. 

Sydney has always been a divided city, east and west, north and south, city and suburb. The divide has shaped the dynamic of many subcultures and this rivalry seems to be perfectly highlighted in the story of Australian hip-hop. The west has been home to Sydney's working class since the city's establishment - whether it be  the original slums in the inner west during Sydney's infancy, or modern-day TV shows like Struggle Street putting a spotlight on poverty in Mount Druitt -  it's safe to say that the West has always had a reputation for poverty and crime. The East-West rivalry is more than just a petty feud, it encapsulates two different ways of thinking, urbanite vs suburbanite  and opportunity vs lack of opportunity.  

When hip-hop arrived in the 80s most would have assumed Western Sydney to embrace the art form that had traditionally been an expression of the poor. Apart from some early contributions in hip-hop and graffiti, Western Sydney's commercial success in hip-hop has been lacklustre and no artist has seen much mainstream success until the last few years. For a long time Australian hip-hop had struggled to tap into working class audiences. In my opinion, this is due to lack of accessibility. Before the internet, it was the kids in the city who had the hip-hop shows, had graffiti stores in their areas and even interacted with guys from the States or the UK who were rarely seen in Sydney's west. This brings me back to one of the main elements of our West-East rivalry, the imbalance of opportunity between the two sides of the City. The Sydney scene was in an awkward position - a genre that had generally been reserved for the poor was being championed by upper-middle-class kids. Successful acts like Horrorshow and Bliss n Eso weren't from particularly rough backgrounds, and this is no fault of their own because there was clearly a market for what they did, but as a consequence their movement lacked an energy, an energy that's hard to replicate, the energy of the working class. Of course, there were known acts from the west, one of Australia's very first hip-hop collectives, Def Wish Cast was from the west, Hyjak and Torcha were also known in hip-hop communities around the country (even if they did stay  underground their whole career). What I'm trying to say is that arguably the birthplace of Australian hip-hop, Western Sydney, was not seeing the same success of east London, northern Paris  or the Bronx - these areas became synonymous with hip-hop culture so why wasn't West Sydney being treated the same within Australia? why was the industry ignoring the west?

Def Wish Cast 1993

The Internet changed the way we consume music and interact with artists, no longer were the radio, television, and magazines the gatekeepers of music. Anyone could discover the most underground of artists from the comfort of your own home. The growth of the internet resulted in the decline of traditional media's grip on what youth consume. Throughout the 2000s, the internet started to play an increasing role in the dynamic of hip-hop scenes around the world. Nowadays it's hard for us to even imagine hip-hop without the internet.
The rise of the internet had finally brought in a sense of balance in our city when it came to opportunity - it didn't matter anymore if you couldn't make it to the local hip hop event, or you couldn't network with the right people, all you needed now was an internet connection to make your voice heard.  Youtube channels and websites started to pop up around the world, basically, every hip-hop scene had its own corner on the internet - big or small. 2005 saw the birth of WorldStarHiphop it soon became the dominant player in online hip-hop in the United States - similarly, SB:TV was born in 2007 and became the number 1 hip-hop channel on youtube in the UK with other titans like Link Tv and GRM Daily soon to follow. All this to say, by 2010 the internet was the main medium that youth used to interact with their favorite artists and it wasn't long until Australia would see a similar sort of online outlet.

On November the 7th, 2007 Hustle Hard Tv was created and changed Sydney hip-hop forever. Our own little corner on the internet had been established. Ten days after its inception the channel uploaded Gravy Baby's first ever clip, 'what it is'. The music video suffered a symptom many young hip-hop scenes outside the States suffer, a forced American accent. Excluding the accent, the video was as Western Sydney a  video could possibly be and the hood styled video format was the perfect recipe for a successful Western Sydney based hip-hop channel - for Westies, by Westies. 

Gravy Baby- What it is

Thankfully it wasn't long until a lot of the rappers on HHTV shook off their American accents and embraced their own slang . Gunsta, the creator of HHTV, was doing what hadn't been accomplished in Sydney, consistent uploads, regular rappers and an openness to posting new rappers or artists outside of Sydney. Within a couple of years, HHTV was able to establish itself as the one stop shop for DIY  clips and it was unapologetically  Australian. This was the kickstart the Aus hip hop scene needed. It's no surprise that the rise of HHTV was met with opposition, the term 'gutter rap' was the popular label used to criticise the new style of production, especially in the East. Ironically the term 'gutter rap' was embraced by many in the sub-genre who almost preferred not to be grouped with the traditional, inner-city, feel good hip hop that had been the main style during the 2000s.By 2012 artists like Gravy Baby, Nter and Kerser were racking up hundreds of thousands of views, their songs could be heard playing from mobile phones at parks and train stations all over Sydney. The Sydney hip-hop landscape was barely recognisable from 10 years earlier. 

Kerser Vs 360 

One of the biggest boosts to what most were now calling 'gutter rap' was the 360 vs Kerser battle, I won't get too into it now, but it was such an interesting time in Australian hip-hop, in short, it was the perfect battle; Sydney vs Melbourne, working class vs middle class, metro vs lad, it seemed like the final showdown between the two factions of Australian hip-hop. Everyone was talking about it and everyone had a favorite of the two. As of now the battle has 3 million views on youtube which is high for battle rap standards, even in the States. The battle introduced a lot of people (especially those outside of Sydney) to 'gutter rap' and the battle legitimized Kerser as a big player in Australian hip-hop. The release of Kerser's debut album The Nebuliser saw an end to his collaboration with Hustle Hard. His nation wide fan base gave him the opportunity to start up his own youtube channel. The Nebuliser was a huge success, it was followed up by the Nebulizer national tour, where many Hustle Hard TV artists supported Kerser on stage and were able to get a feel for what professional rapping is all about. Kersers departure from Hustle Hard Tv was not the end of the HHTV story, many artists on the channel had strong fan bases and could count on their videos getting hundreds of thousands of views, consistently. Together, Nter and Gravy Baby would take the reigns as the stars of HHTV. Whenever they came together they were able to almost effortlessly create Sydney anthems. Gravy and Nter's two big collaborative tracks 'Holy Water' and 'My City' have 5 million views between them, and that's not counting the millions of times they've  been played as downloaded tracks offline. 

Nter- The Return

As it stands right now HHTV  has uploaded over 500 clips and has amassed over 38 million views. HHTV is the most successful Australian hip-hop outlet by far. It's been a launch pad for dozens of MC's in Sydney and proved that success is achievable without a label or budget. HHTV introduced the blueprint for artists nationwide.Over the past few years it seems like the success of HHTV has started to slow down, but this in no way signifies a slow down in the growth of Sydney hip-hop as a whole. Many rappers from Sydney have seen what Hustle Hard achieved and are following the blueprint, just more independently. 2019 was easily the biggest year for our scene, and there's no doubt that Gunsta, HHTV, and the artists that used HHTV as a springboard all had a crucial part to play in this. HHTV put 'gutter rap' in the spotlight of mainstream Australia, redefining what it meant to be a West Sydney rapper. For better or for worse HHTV shaped the perception many hip hop fans have on West Sydney.

Go follow Gunsta @malek_1lane

Bankstown boy Jaecy teams up with South West Sydney's favorite duo Pistol Pete & Enzo in 'REPEAT'

Jaecy is West Sydney's newest MC bringing an organic, melodic and confident sound to the West Syd hip hop explosion. Jaecy's newest track 'REPEAT' is sure to turn heads with some impressive features and even more impressive visuals.

I only recently discovered Jaecy through instagram where he goes by his other alias @johnchaarles, the West Sydney native definitely has the look of a potential star and I was curious to see if he could back it up when i saw he had a feature on the way with my favorite duo Pistol Pete & Enzo. This definitely isn't Jaecy's debut clip, he's been releasing a steady flow of clips throughout 2018 and 2019 but it's definitely his most  important release. "REPEAT" was the first video release from the exciting new platform known as The Area Movement. 

His new track REPEAT did not disappoint. The first thing that stood out to me was the production. Aussie producer Open Till L8 creates a really ominous atmosphere with the piano keys and Jaecy capitalises on this style by giving the track a melodic hook, this contrast between the melodic vocals and the dark production sets a memorable tone to the track which is further backed up by the visuals. Lyrically Jaecy delivers stories of growing in Bankstown and I found it refreshing to see an African-Australian rapping in his natural accent. The Pistol Pete & Enzo feature, which was what got my attention to Jaecy originally, was what we've come  to expect from the Campbelltown based duo. With there back to back flow and their notorious wordplay Pistol Pete & Enzo did what they do best on this one. The duo have not slowed down this year and are ending the year levels ahead of where they started it. I was particularly impressed with Enzo's delivery on this one.

The visuals on this  were up there with some of the better releases we've gotten this year. With videography from Aaron Bull (@__aaronbull) the visuals matched the tone of the whole track perfectly. It almost had a similar but darker vibe to Skepta's Praise The Lord video clip. There was obviously a huge focus on the colours in the visuals and it really pays off.

All in all I think this is Jaecy's true entry into the West Syd hip hop movement and it's a great start. Im keen to hear more from him and could see him doing well on a track with Isaac Puerile to be honest. Check out the video below and follow his IG @johnchaarles.

The Lebos have entered the building

The Brothers, their debut track "Search and Destroy" and Arabs in Aus hip hop

Sydney's West has had a strong middle eastern influence as far back as the 70s and although a lot of our slang, fashion and style comes from the arabs we are yet to see them make a lasting impact on aus hiphop. I've always wondered why there hasn't been more Arab rappers in Sydney,  they are definitely key players in Sydney street culture,  they live in Western Sydney which is now a hiphop stronghold, and they definitely have important stories to tell.  Is it because they simply don't like hiphop?  Or are they just no good at it?  Maybe they viewed aus hip hop as strictly Aussie and in their minds they weren't aussie. There's probably a lot of reasons why Arab-Australians haven't found their voice in the Aus hiphop scene, but I can't help but get the feeling that Australia has missed out on a huge opportunity when you look at the success of Arab rappers in Europe.  The Arab-Australian experience has been a tumultuous one and has basically defined the immigrant experience for all non-white immigrants in Australia. Being one of the first groups of non-European migrants into Australia, the Arab Australian has often felt the brunt of Australian racism, I can see this being one reason for many Arabs hesitating when it comes to Australian hip hop seeing as the genre had historically been dominated by White Australians. That's not to say that they've never had influence on our scene, Gunsta, the founder of the iconic Hustle Hard Tv youtube channel is Lebanese, as well as Aus hip hop pioneer Sleek the Elite who has a dope track discussing the Lebanese-Australian experience called Child of The Cedar.

The 2000s saw a strain in Arab and White Australian relations with the 9/11 attacks and the infamous cronulla riots a few years after. During the riots there is no doubt that classic Aussie hiphop tracks, or what some people call 'BBQ Rap' could be heard out of stereo's creating a morbidly joyous soundtrack to one of Australia's most recent shames. Australian hip hop was in a very awkward position because unlike America, the UK and Europe, our most successful acts during this time represented middle class white people. During this era White Aussie rappers were seeing huge success while Arab-Australians were finding themselves even more excluded from mainstream society than their parents did. At the same time though, Arab-Australians were shifting the "new Australian" culture particularly in Western Sydney with films like the Combination and Cedar Boys and comedies like Fat Pizza, Arab-Australians were spearheading the"New Australian" culture in places like Western Sydney so it would only make sense that the same would be happening in hiphop, right? Sadly not, Aus hiphop had started to paint itself as a white genre where there wasn't really any arab, islander, asian or indigenous voices. It seemed like many immigrant Australian kids would rather listen to American hip hop and when it came to local music many opted for hardstyle and techno music.

  The West Sydney hiphop explosion in the last few years has seen the rise of many new acts and i've been waiting for some Arabs to step onto the scene. Finally, earlier this month i stumbled upon a duo from western Sydney called The Brothers.I got the chance to chat with one half of the group,Sebz (@sebz.b) we reflected on some of the reasons why Arabs haven't found there way in aus hiphop.

"Growing up our parents were so old school that it was hard for us to really pursue a music career we were always taught to live a simple life." 

It was definitely interesting to hear that family pressures were one reason for the boys to only start rapping now but I wondered if societal pressures existed too.

"Living in Australia it's always been (white) Aussie against Arab, but we're happy of where we are from and we always consider ourselves Australian first and Lebanese as our background"

Many of these boys are second,third and even fourth generation Australians and it really feels like this generation could be the ones to really crack the aus hip hop scene with their embrace of both Arab and Western Sydney culture. Maybe in a few years Arab-Australian success could get attention from Arab rappers overseas like Ard Adz in London. I found it interesting the weird position many Arab-Australians felt they were in.

"Its funny, what Aussies don't know is that when we go overseas to Lebanon and we see our families there they call us Australians, they don't call us Arabs, so we are proud to be Australian"

With braggadocious bars and cheeky references to their Arab background they are exactly what I imagined Arabs from this new wave of rappers would be like. The duo is named The Brothers and unsurprisingly the two are related. The duo seem to be on a clear mission to put "The Middle East On The Map" as they say in their debut track Search and Destroy.

"It's still early to say but if it wasn't for us and how we are repping our Arab culture in Aus hip hop I don't think anyone would take that first big step, especially when it's become so big now but i really hope after us that more young and old arab boys come out of their shell and show our talents because we have a lot to share, we have a rich culture."

With only one official music video it is true, it's very early to make any solid predictions on the duo but as far as debut clips go The Brothers are off to a good start and have a potentially giant new fanbase with hundreds and thousands of young Arab-Australians thirsty for some talent of their own.

Go follow their IG's below:

@brothers_officiall

@izzysofficial

@sebz.b

Thanks Sebz for answering my questions

South West Sydney duo Pistol Pete & Enzo release their debut EP Front Row, the first big release of the Aussie Islander wave

It's safe to say that 2019 has been the biggest year in Australian hip hop. On all fronts of the genre huge strides have been made, particularly when it comes to our drill movement. When One Four dropped 'The Message' in late March of this year I don't think anyone could have predicted  the length that single video clip would push Australian hip hop. Not only did the Message make the rounds overseas it also caught the ears of hip hop fans within Australia who had tended to ignore the local alternative and most importantly, it welcomed Pacific Islanders into the scene. Not only did the Message welcome Pacific Islanders into the scene but it propelled them to the top over night, within a few months Pacific Islanders have become the face of Australian hip hop. By no means am I saying that groups like One Four,Pistol Pete & Enzo and HP Boyz are the first Islander groups in the country. Pacific Islanders have played a huge role in Sydney and Australian street culture and acts like Hauie from Koolism have been key players in the scene. Aus hip hop today seems almost unrecognisable to the scene 1 year ago, acts like One Four, Hooligan Hefs, HP Boyz and Pistol Pete n Enzo have become local celebrities with dozens of sell out shows. This really is an exciting time in Aus hip hop, never before have we had so many big acts in the country and the feeling is very similar to the grime explosion of London in 2014, it's the first time such a spotlight has been put on Aussie street culture. One thing that had been lacking from this new wave of rappers had been the lack of full albums. This isn't a bad thing, i can totally understand that the method of just releasing singles along with a video clip have worked so far, so why fix what isn't broken? Unfortunately though this has led to many fans thirsty for more content, and finally, just yesterday, Pistol Pete and Enzo bucked the trend and released their first EP titled Front Row.

Front Row did not disappoint, with 5 brand new songs from the duo it's obvious this EP is going to be in rotation throughout summer. Front Row demonstrates the duo's versatility with staunch anthems, cool west coast vibes and even some heartfelt lyrics. The first track, Rollin' , comes with a pretty damn catchy hook alongside a classic west coast synth, i can definitely see this one playing on a hot summers arvo.

"rollin, rollin, rollin with my uce" 

Track two, Just Illchay switches up the vibe opting for a more staunch delivery with calm beat, a style I think the duo do best. Pistol Pete and Enzo's word play shine throughout this EP, once again the duo has shown they have some of the best bars in the country. One of my favorite things about Pistol Pete and Enzo, and the whole new wave as a whole, is the full embrace of being from Sydney. Track three of the album titled That's My Ahh opens up with one of the most Sydney hooks I think i've ever heard.

 "Thats ma cuz

Thats ma lad

Thats ma brah, thats ma brother

thats ma uce

thats ma blood

thats ma ahh

thats my mouthfuckin g"

Sooo damn fresh, I think this is the best hook of the album and although the verses of this track aren't really an album highlight I think that the hook makes up for it in this one. Track five, Don't Know Me is song of the album in my opinion, it's the party track of the album and the duo throw back to their flow on Split Screen in this one. The beat has definitely got a west coast party vibe and i could easily see someone like Tyga on this beat. A personal favorite line from the track is:

  

"These girls want bags and bags Im just here for cash

poppin titties im givin em' rack for rack

life's good word to mez i'm just tryna kick back"

I also learnt in this track that the duo isn't related, there chemistry is so good that they had me fooled. Don't Know Me is definitely going to be a banger this summer. I really hope to see a video clip for this one. The final track on the album "On My Feet" totally switches up the vibe of the album but ends the album nicely. The track talks about life in the South West of Sydney and is a letter to one of the groups friends that they lost to drug addiction. The chorus is really inspiring and once again shows the groups versatility, I was really impressed by the production of this one, and the album as a whole. It all makes sense now why the duo has been so quiet as of late and it was well worth the wait. Front Row doesn't have a bad song, and it's pretty rare I say that. I could easily see this EP leveling up the duo. Front Row is one of my favorite releases of the year and sets the benchmark for future projects in the new wave of Aus hiphop. 

Sydney Serchaz, Smash Brothers and a tale of two cities [part 1]

Sydney and Melbourne have always been the cultural centres of Australia and when it comes to the story of hiphop in Australia the two cities have been jostling for leadership of the genre since its arrival. Ever since I started listening to Aus hip hop in the late 2000s i've noticed that the two cities have always had different priorities, styles and sounds. When talking about the influence an artist has on a city it's important not to get carried away, often in reality the artist is as much a reflection of their city as the city can be a reflection of the artist. Both Sydney Serchaz and Smash Bros marked the end in a lul in Australian hip hop , this was during the rise of youtube and social medias. It's fair to say that both groups had a huge influence on their cities not only in terms of the music but how the city would be viewed by the other city for the foreseeable future.

Smash Bros, a four man collective with two British members consisting of Fraksha, Diem, Scotty Hinds and Murky(rip).The group helped popularise grime music in Australia bringing sounds that hadn't ever really been heard in Australian hip hop. Melbourners like to think that their city is the most "European" in the country and the arrival of grime music through the Smash Bros seemed like a perfect fit. The authenticity of Smash Bros couldn't be denied, especially boasting two MC's who had come from the world of UK Grime. This is one thing I think Smash Brothers helped influence into the Melbourne hip hop scene, an awareness of trends overseas and an emphasis on seeming credible. While Sydney has always had a solid quantity of music Melbourne, at least that side of Melbourne, had maintained that quality and credibility is the top priority. Smash Bros were the first to be doing live radio sets and introduced Alex Jones into the scene, regarded as one of the best spitters in the country. For me the Smash Bros are what I think off when someone brings up Melbourne hip hop. 900km's north of Melbourne a different movement was gaining traction in Sydney. 

Sydney Serchaz were a three member group consisting of Sky'High, Nter and Skeamo. Although the members had much more successful solo careers the group changed Sydney hiphop forever. Sporting the popped collar polos, short shorts and TNs with the high socks, it was almost offensive how Sydney the Sydney Searchas were trying to be. Sydney Serchaz marked a total embrace of lad culture in terms of slang, dress code and attitude. What the Serchaz may have lacked in quality to their Melbourne neighbours they made up for in Authenticity and unapologetic bars. The group opted to rap on famous dirty southern beats a trend soon to be wide spread all over Sydney. Songs like Fukn Oath, Heard Of Me and Eshay were some of the first tracks I ever heard where it sounded like it could be made by someone down the road at the local housing commision. Many of their famous tracks sounded like they were recorded in bedrooms, but that just added to the whole vibe of what the group was going for. Sydney Serchaz really put lads to the forefront of Sydney hip hop for the first time with acts like Kerser, Gravy Baby and Fortay emerging not soon after. One of the biggest differences between Smash Bros and Sydney Serchaz is how long they lasted, Sydney Serchaz had disbanded by 2013 although as individual artists Sky, Skeaz and Nter went on to do some pretty big things for the city they are nowhere to be seen today while Smash Bros have take much more of a mentoring role to the younger acts in the scene. Sydney Serchaz showed many around the city that the DIY method was now possible with the internet and bluetooth media sharing, while Smash Brothers introduced a whole new genre and style into Melbourne.

Sydney Serchaz opted for a more quantity over quality method similar to many artists in America's deep south and that mind state has carried over to alot of Sydney Artist who seem to care more about views then quality, I think it might have something to do with the rat race mentality more prevalent in Syd. When we look at the scene today at younger acts, many are like a combination of both Sydney Serchaz and Smash Bros which is a great thing. The cool, grimey, fashion focused Melbourne and the Staunch, DIY attitude of Sydney have each played massive parts in Aus rap as a whole in the last ten years, rivalry between the two cities is only a good thing if it encourages competition. I'll be looking into examples of their influence in todays scene in part 2 of this article. 

Slim Set, Warrang and why experimental hiphop is important to Australia establishing its own sound

Slim Set are a producer-MC duo from Parramatta with one of the most unique sounds coming out of the country. For sure, they might not be for the average Ausrap fan but Slim Set are experimenting with sounds that haven't really been heard on this island. I first heard about Slim Set a few years ago from a friend of a friend and got a chance to see them open up for AJ Tracy at Oxford Art Factory. I've been watching their progress, their slow slow progress. The group hosts a show on FBI radio but sadly very rarely drops new music which is a shame because I think Slim Set is a group that still needs some polishing if it wants to reach the next level. With DJ Atro's quirky, chaotic, dub heavy beats and Kal's goofy vocals Slim Set is like a 2003 Grime crew if you turned it upside down, stretched it out and sprinkled on some Danny Brown. Because they are a duo-MC group its easier for Slim Set to really carve out its own sound, every song seems different while still maintaining their unique sound.

My favorite track of theirs is a song called "Cooked" which I think was made specifically for 19-25 year olds from Sydney. Riding an O-Bike, rapping about chopping buds and yugioh,  the song has a fun Murlo sound and has unique urban-Australiana references. The visuals are fun and it's definitely something new. It's not a perfect track, Kals delivery is so chaotic that sometimes i find him rapping off beat, which i'm sure is on purpose, but is also one of the hardest things in rap to pull off correctly.

The MC of the duo, Kal, captures one of the main themes of early UK Grime-MC'S which has been totally forgotten by most Australian fans, uniqueness. Legends like D Double E, President T or Tempz all have unmistakable personalities in their raps, Kal gets this and is trying to build his own character which is why groups like Slim Set should be appreciated. 

A few hours ago the duo released their new track and clip titled "Warrang" (Indigenous Australian name for Sydney). It's classic Slim Set with the beat style, trippy editing and Kals ridiculous all over the place delivery.  The lyrics and visuals are very Sydneycentric and there's a  mysterious intro to the song before the beat hits: 

"The sun shines on Warrang (Sydney)" 

"The steel smiles in summer"

 "Bulldozers humming, bitchumen drumming" 

"The sun cries for Warrang"

I'm assuming Kal is talking about the never ending gentrification of Syd. throughout the song themes of over development, gentrification and Indigenous rights are referenced too:

"City shut down for a bit of violence, can't recognise the horizon" 

I'm a big fan of the content in this new track, I think many around my age from Sydney feel this way about the changes in our city, that it's being over developed and losing its soul, we were too young to remember the more gritty pre-olympics Sydney but old enough to witness the introduction of lock out laws and the fact that the city has changed a lot in the last 15 years. This is what makes Slim Set unique, talking about specific shared issues in  the city help Sydney and the rest of Aus to develop its own sound; its own story. Of Course we should be looking overseas for new and interesting trends, but if that's all we rely on then we don't have a chance to ever find our own sound like the Brits were able to do last decade. Slim Set understand this and use Australiana themes throughout a lot of their music, as a New-Australian I'm a also a big fan of the chorus performed by a featuring artist called Shady Nasty, who i've never heard of. Shady Nasty has a booming voice, like the final boss in some anime game or something:

"Every nationality under the sun,

copping a piece of the Red One (Australia)"

I've found usually with Slim Set , for me at least, that their chorus's  don't usually stick and they made a good call getting this dude on the track it definitely gives the song the catchyness that it needs.  

All in all I think this new track is the best thing i've seen Slim Set deliver from the visuals to the actual music. All I can say is they need to be releasing more music, I can easily see them finding an audience as their target audience are probably not too different from Triple One, consistency is the key. 

Go follow Slim Set and tell them to make more music

@slimsetta

So did Chillinit just get caught stealing his new single Freedom?

By now most of us have heard Chillinit's new song Freedom. With an awesome video clip and its catchy feel-good chorus, the song is one of  Australias biggest new singles. The clip has 400,000 views and is one of two tracks already released from Chillinits upcoming sophomore album 'The Octagon'. On Wednesday morning Perth rapper Shadow shared a clip of American rapper T-Rock's song 'Freedom' which, surprise surprise, had the same beat. Shadow's post had laughing emojis over it which lets us know that he thought the Chillinit bit the track and the allegations are already spreading like wildfire with shares from Rops and Spanian. It's obvious that there are rappers that want to see these claims become fact, but how legit are they?

The main claim is that he stole the beat. T-Rock's video came about in 2017 so these are obviously valid allegations, but there's a difference between an allegation and a fact. Chillinit claims that the beat was leased, meaning that legally speaking, whoever leases the beat is allowed to use it, the beat was produced by JeeJuhBeats. Although it does seem questionable that Chillinit, one Australia's biggest rappers, would need to lease a beat for his album he didn't do anything unethical by doing what he did. Another claim is that Chillinit stole the title and concept of the T-Rock's song but that's a bit of a stretch when you remember that the "freedom" sample is layered throughout the track and is a part of JeeJuhBeats beat. It would be kinda hard to rap over this track and not title the song freedom when that's the main part of the beat. Honestly, it would be surprising if Chillinit even knew that T-Rocks track with 8000 views existed.

From what's developed so far, it looks like these claims hold no weight. At this level of scrutiny than the first accuser, Shadow stole his beat for 'It dont end' from XXXTentacions track 'Look at me' and XXXTentacion stole his beat from The Game and his track 'Holy Water'. This isn't how hip-hop works and this looks like the start of witch hunt from certain rappers who have issues with Chillinit. Centrepoint contacted Chillinit for a comment but he didn't want to comment not wanting to give the allegations any oxygen.

Reacting to the reactors

Ahhhhh reaction channels, they are the worst and best videos on youtube. To those that aren't aware a reaction video is when a person records themselves reacting to someone else's videos.To someone hearing this for the first time it sounds like something straight out of South Park but the video style has become an important part of the online hip-hop world. I have very mixed opinions when it comes to reaction videos when I first found out about them the first thing I thought was that they are just another get rich quick scheme on youtube, and I probably wasn't too wrong. The first reaction I ever saw was Mom reacts to Skepta, an American mother and son react to the British artist and to be honest, I found the video interesting because it showed the first impression of an older American woman being introduced to UK street culture. It was obvious why that video had the views it had, it was more than just a person reacting to someone else's videos and had an actual novelty because it was an older mum who would normally never listen to the stuff in her own time  it also had the son in the video to talk the mum through what was happening and to explain certain slang, it was its own content. Fast forward a year or so to when I first started seeing people react to Australian content and man was 99% of it complete dog shit trash content. I think most people reading this would be familiar with the stock standard hip-hop video reactor, someone on their own in their bedroom, usually with terrible audio reacting to your favorite videos and only having good things to say about it, sometimes they won't even speak at all. I'm not here to just talk shit on reactors but I don't think anyone can deny that a lot of these reactors were going for quantity over quality, they weren't trying to make their own content but instead cash in on as many views as possible with as little effort as possible. A claim that I hear a lot of reactors say is "oh I'm bringing free attention to these video clips, I'm letting people outside of Australia find these clips." but I call bullshit on this claim, there isn't a person in the world who goes to reaction channels to discover new music. People watch reaction channels to see how someone from outside where they are from would react to their favorite local rapper. Take the biggest reaction channel Zias for example, they started getting real traction after reacting to British rappers and this was because brits wanted to see how American hip-hop fans would react to British rappers. What I'm trying to say is that reaction channels do almost nothing for an artists publicity, there are only really a handful of reaction channels that actually have a following of fans that care about what they have to say.

After the massive success of OneFour earlier this year I started seeing ALOT more reactions online. Bigger channels like Rock Reacts, Dan & Kaz and Leo to the VI started making genuinely entertaining reactions. I think this was because of the undeniability of OneFours videos and it was interesting seeing Drill fans try to wrap their heads around pacific islanders from western Sydney. In terms of OneFour I do think reactors added to the virality of OneFour globally. So we've established that 99% of aus hiphop video reactors are trash and that the only time it's really entertaining is when the original videos themselves are entertaining. This is largely true but I do have a couple reactors I like. As a die-hard Brooklyn drill fan, I like the channel Prisoners Ent, two brothers from Brooklyn, I like hearing their opinions on Australian and UK music and they actually seem curious about Australian culture. When it comes to a good reaction channel I think that is the keyword, curiosity, if there is no curiosity there is no substance. One reactor that took curiosity to new heights is Chazza, to be honest, you can't really talk about reaction channels in Australian rap without bringing up the kid. Chazza's first reaction was may last year and from then on Chazza has created a youtube channel centered around not just reaction but a commentary on the Australian hip-hop scene, this coming from a brit is definitely unique. Chazza's youtube channel has allowed viewers to watch the process of someone getting accustomed to Australian hip-hop and after a year Chazza knows the scene better than many Aussies. It's because of Chazza's curiosity in his first reaction that has led to the channel he has now. Although 13,000 subscribers might not seem like a lot Chazza has the ear of many of Australia's top rappers and his opinion is taken with more weight than any other reactors online. I would argue that Chazza has the most important opinion on Australian hip-hop outside of Australia.
Reactors like Chazza do prove that there is a place for reaction channels but there is definitely a problem with low-quality reaction channels that ruin the name for that small percent of reactors that make interesting content. Chazza's channel has transcended the reaction genre because at this point it's more like an Australian hip-hop commentary page.

Which region of Sydney reigns supreme?

Sydney is a city of many cities. It's a big place and a 2-hour drive from one end of the city to the other can see you going from totally different looking, sounding and smelling regions. Many people from the South West have never been to the Northern Beaches and vice-versa. Whether it be hipsters in the Inner West, rich kids on the North Shore or Bogans in the West, every region of Sydney has its own unique stereotypes. Today I want to go through which regions have historically produced the best rappers. This list won't be a list of which region is crushing it today, it will be a look back at artists that are no longer doing their thing as well as current artists. Because there's like over 10 regions of Sydney the list will be a top 5 (also because 99% of Sydney rappers come from these 5 regions). The regions that will feature on the list include:

Inner West

West

South West

South

South East

5. Inner West

Triple One

Home to Suburbs like Newtown, Marrickville, Glebe and Burwood, the Inner West is Easily the biggest underachiever of Sydney and my home town. For all the venues and resources we have, the Inner West hasn't produced a lot in the last decade. Once one of the grimier regions of Sydney, the Inner West is home to cafe's, live music and hipsters. The geography of the city means it is a crossroads for anyone traveling through Sydney and this has meant that you can find almost anyone here, rich, poor, crooks, junkies, lawyers and doctors. The Inner West is diverse in every way, and it's always surprised me that we don't really have any rappers. 90's Inner West was important for Sydney hip-hop as it was home to some of the first graffiti and hip-hop stores in the country. Pioneers like Sleek The Elite and MC Trey (both dope artists you should check out) called the Inner West home and its a shame the Hip-hop tradition isn't big here anymore. Every older Inner Westerner will tell you the place has changed A LOT in the last few decades. Current acts from the Inner West include Horrorshow and personal favorite Triple One. Triple One, in particular, are as Inner West as you can get, they're goofy pissheads that don't take themselves to seriously. Inner West belongs at the bottom of the List simply due to the lack of Artists coming out of the region today. The Inner West is still important as its home to some of the most popular venues that have live hiphop such as the Landsdowne Hotel, Waywards, Gladstone Hotel and the Factory Theatre. 

4. South East

Home to suburbs like Maroubra, Randwick, Redfern, Matraville and Mascot, South East Sydney is the poor cousin to its richer Eastern Suburbs relative to the North. South East Sydney always flies under the radar but a venture through the housos of Lexington or Mascot will remind you that just because you're near the beach doesn't mean you're far from poverty. South East Sydney is known for it's beautiful beaches, an Airport and the Bra Boys (who actually gave rapping a go). South East Sydney is also home to probably my two favorite rappers in the city. 

Sky'High, a founding member of Sydney Serchaz and easily the best female rapper the country is from Maroubra and for a long time was the only South East Sydney rapper doing her thing. With her ability to spray down bars on a grime beat or tell a story on a hip-hop beat Sky'High is one of Sydney's most versatile and respected. Sadly though she doesn't make music anymore but I recommend anyone that doesn't already know her to check out her music. Another iconic South East rapper is USTA, a beast on the mic and a beast in life. Usta at his prime was like the Gucci Mane of Sydney, staunching haters through the computer screen. His lyrical skills and his aggressive attitudes made Usta hard to ignore, he was a Hustle Hard star during the HHTV days and still releases music independently, Usta is known by almost anyone who knows what's going on in the South East.

3. South

Home to suburbs like Hustrville, Rockdale and Brighton Le Sands, Southern Sydney is one of the less talked about regions of Sydney. Often times the area is just absorbed amongst South East, Inner West and South West Sydney, but in my eyes, it's definitely a region of Sydney. In the last decade, South Sydney has been smashing it, producing big artists such as Chillinit, The Kid Laroi, Nter and Son of Sam (LGeez). There isn't a lot to say about the south other than the fact that artists that come from here usually go on to be pretty big. Home of the god Skeamo, the Rabbitohs and lebo's South Sydney is an important part of the city. Although not alot of the artists that blew up here still live here, it still deserves 3rd place just because of the number of artists that come from here. 

2. West

Now we can move onto the real titans of the city. West Sydney is really big, it includes suburbs like Parramatta, Blacktown, and Penrith, and I know westies are going to complain and say you can divide the west further into Greater West and West, but I'm just going to put you guys together because you all seem to rep West Syd. Arguably home to the first rappers on the continent Def Wish Cast, West Syd has been one of the main engines for talent in Australia. With an almost endless list of rappers both past and present, some of my favorite rappers from West Sydney include Fortay, Hed Ubd, 2.L.O.C.O, One Four, Hooligan Hefs and That Kid Kearve. West Sydney really is the Bronx of Sydney, its the home of Sydney rap and to this day they remain dominant in the scene. West Sydney has a mixed reputation, in the East of the city many people have never even been and associate it with the crime, dole bludgers, and hot weather others know the West for it's great food, multiculturalism, and dominance in sports. For me West Sydney IS Sydney, alot in the East would like to think it's a separate entity but the fact is that just in size alone West Sydney makes up about half of the city. With the rise of acts like One Four, Hooligan Hefs and Kearve, it looks like the future of West Sydney rap is very bright, this could never have been achieved without the work of others like Fortay.

1. South West

This shouldn't surprise anyone really. South West Sydney in my opinion completely revived Australian hip-hop when it was almost dead. Home to suburbs like Bankstown, Liverpool, and Campbelltown, South West Sydney has dominated Sydney since the late 2010s. Although currently, the South West scene is quieter than usual, the impact of its popularity in the early 2010s was felt nationwide. When I say quiet I mean quiet for the South West, that region is still producing names such as Rops, Pistol Pete, and Enzo. It was the creation of Hustle Hard Tv by Bankstown native Gunsta that really brought Sydney and Australia into the modern age of Hip-hop. HHTV was the first youtube based platform for Sydney rappers, it was similar to the British SBTV or America's World Star. Through Hustlehard TV Aussie listeners were able to discover legendary acts such as Gravy Baby(South West local), Usta, Nter, Fers (South West local), TKO and of course, Kerser (South West local). It was Hustle Hard TV that birthed Kerser, who then showed the rest of the country how to properly build up a fan base using the Internet. This current wave of Aussie Hiphop can trace its roots all the way back to South West Sydney. 

Track Review: Isaac Puerile - LIGHTWORK!

This is gonna be a quick one just wanted to put a spotlight on a dope artist I only just discovered.

Last Friday I went to a free show at the Lord Gladstone Hotel put on by Ill Eqwip (mainly to see Kearve and also make use of free beers). Usually, at these shows the openers are average, have low energy and don't know how to control a crowd, which is expected, you wouldn't see me up there. On came on this dude with speed dealer sunnies on and the second he came on something changed in the crowd, he had energy! finally, there was someone with some energy. The song that really killed was one of his newest tracks called Lightwork. After the show I went up to him to get his @'s, my phone was dead and I was drunk enough to think I could remember his name in my head, obviously, the next morning when I tried to find him I was blanking, all I remembered was that his name was Isaac. The following Sunday night, by some weird coincidence, he popped up on my explore page, Isaac Puerile, that was his name. I typed his name into youtube to see what his clip looked like and man does it slap, visually and sonically.

Usually I'm not a huge fan of Aussies trying to mimic that hard-hitting Florida sound, but literally, for the first time, I was truly impressed. For starters the first thing that stood out to me was his voice, it's one of the most unique voices I've heard in a while, it's raspy but clear and combined with his Aussie accent it makes for a fresh sound. Lyrically speaking the track isn't too deep, but that's not what you come for when it comes to songs like this and there are still some memorable moments.

 "Stay away or Elsa Elsa Elsa imma let it go"

The beat slaps and was a great choice, the simple synth melody isn't too in your face and it keeps the attention on the vocals. What I loved most about this artist is the production quality of the visuals, it has that Cole Bennet style of editing which is typical for this sort of music and is definitely the look at the moment. Puerile is based in Blacktown (same as Solochulo who I recently covered a week ago), so I assume most of the clip was shot around there. I think there is something in the water in Blacktown at the moment, they're definitely carving out a sound for themselves and it's only a matter of time before that area gets the recognition it deserves. Lightwork has only a 1000 views on it which is crazy to me so if you didn't already know the dude go give him a follow @isaacpuerile. I give Light Work an 8/10, dope track. I hope to hear more from this guy.

Australia's laziest rappers

My posts are best read on a computer, the formatting gets messed up on mobile. just a heads up.

Before I start this post I just want to preface this by letting the readers know that I don't know any of these rappers in real life, I don't know what they've got going on in their life and I don't know what they're working on behind the scenes music wise. The point of this post is just to list off my favorite rappers that don't release enough music, that's it, enjoy the read. 


One of Australia's many stereotypes is that we are a lazy people, we watch the world go by and enjoy the simple pleasures in life like a beug and a beer on a weekday arvo. The funny thing is, most Australians wouldn't deny that this stereotype is at least partly true, we aren't known as the hardest workers. Un-surprisingly our country's best and most talented artists also fit this stereotype. For me it absolutely sucks,  all of my favorite artists rarely drop music but when they do it usually bangs. This list is in no particular order.

Rops1

Rops1 was one of the breakout stars of 2018, hailing from the South Western Sydney suburb of Macquarie Fields Rops1 has created a unique sound fusing west Sydney culture with colder UK style flows. Rops1 has been rapping for a long long time, I actually remember stumbling across a video of him as a kid rapping and thought to myself that I would definitely hear him again in a few years. In 2018 One Love productions started dropping live 1 take freestyles and the buzz around Rops started to really build but fans craving for an actual music video was. Finally, after several live spits that seemed to only get bigger than the next Rops finally dropped 'Still Out Here'. With over a quarter million views and comments from some of the biggest in the scene Rops1 probably had one of the most successful debut clips in Australian history and it's obvious why. Rops was able to build up a lot of hype with his live spits and his debut clip did not disappoint. The clip was filmed at Macquarie Fields station and it's unapologetically West Syd while still honoring the Uk Grime sound, it was easily one of my favorite tracks of 2018. Since then (which was 7 months ago) the fans have only gotten one more song from Rops titled 'Trust me'. This follow up track was bigger and better than the last, with a comment from the one and only Kerser, another South West Sydney native. Switching to a drill song in his follow up track Rops was able to demonstrate his versatility with this cold banger, sadly though, he hasn't released another clip since. He did actually release a track with Nter earlier this year but the fans (and me) want to hear alot more from this guy. Rops1 easily has the potential to challenge some of the biggest names in the scene and it was great to see Kerser put him on as an opener for his show in Sydney.

Alex Jones

This MC needs zero introduction, in my opinion, he is leagues ahead of the rest of the scene lyrically, he was schooled by pioneers of the Australian grime scene and is a member of the LGEEZ duo. He was the first Australian to appear on a UK grime youtube channel and he could easily go against any of the UK's finest in a clash, I'm talking about Alex Jones. As one of Melbourne's most established rappers, Alex Jones has no shortage of tracks but his work rate has been notoriously on and off.  The last thing we heard from Alex Jones was a collab with Mitchos da Menace which was 4 months ago, worse yet, the last time we saw a solo Alex Jones clip was 3. fucking. years. ago and considering the skill this man has it's a crime that he doesn't put more up. On a good note, he has stated that there is an album on the way which I couldn't be keener for. Hopefully, he can tell his Lgeez counterpart Son of Sam to started dropping some shit too. 

Diem

When it comes to Diem all I can say is 5 words, If you know you know. Diem is one of my favorite grime acts in the country, the man has bars, originality, and an unmistakable flow. On record as being Alex Jones' favorite MC in the country, and being a member of the first grime crew in the country, it really is hilarious how influential this guy is considering how little music he has out. Diem is your favorite rappers favorite rapper, he has this super unique steez that is unmistakable, which I think is essential to being a successful grime act, aside from the skills Diem has a style which can't be matched on a track. This Kiss Fm radio cypher from 2013 perfectly demonstrates Diem's ability. Catch the drop at 5:56.

Diem is notorious for not have much content online, he is more of a mic man than a musician which is kinda what I love about him, what annoys me is that so many younger fans aren't clocking on to him because of this fact. As far as I know, Diem has only like 4 music videos, 3 of which are collabs. Diem likes to fly under the radar which definitely adds to his style but is also annoying because not enough people know about him. If you don't know about Diem go give him a follow (this guy is so mysterious he only set up his instagram a few months ago). You can find his Instagram @akadiem.

Wombat

One of the main reasons why I even wrote this post and there's not much I need to say..

Wombat, get yourself out of Tassie and start dropping shit regularly.

side note: Im looking for some writers so if you like writing dm me on insta @centrepoint.blog