Inner West
West
South West
South
South East
5. Inner West
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| 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. 