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.