Will Australia's middle class ever truly accept Aus hiphop?

 This is a topic i've wanted to write about for a while now but I couldn't really articulate my frustration. I still can't, but i'm just going to share my thoughts on this because it's bothered me for a while now. 

I'll be talking alot in generalisations here. I understand that plenty of middle class kids have the same positive feelings towards the current scene as I do, and I know that there is plenty of working class kids that detest our scene right now. 

As someone that's been a fan of Aus hiphop for the last 10 years, and grown up in fairly middle class world, I've always felt that there was a lot of classism thrown into the conversation whenever the topic of Aus hiphop was brought up. These same people that dislike our hiphop had no issue having a playlist full of American and British hiphop, but when it came to their own scene something seemed to bother them, this always confused me. We've all heard the usual criticisms, "I just think the Aussie accent sounds shit in rap"

"They're just bogans"

or even "Australia isn't even that dangerous" 

I think to understand this we need to look at the history of hiphop in this country. 

Australia is unique in terms of how hiphop developed here. Unlike in America and Europe, hiphop didn't come from the working class to the middle class. That's not to say that there wasn't pioneers from working class backgrounds, not at all. But the first acts to really grab mainstream attention like the Hilltop Hoods, Bliss n Eso or Horrorshow, were all middle class - and middle class kids didn't really have an issue with them, in fact, they embraced these artists. When it comes to why this is, why the early years of Aus hiphop were so dominated by the middle class, no one will ever truly know, but I think it has to do with access. We should remember that there was a time when hiphop was a foreign type of music to us Aussies, and who has the most access to foreign things? Middle class people. The record shops , the live music, and even just a place where you could meet an American or Euro was in the richer parts of Sydney and Melbourne.  I think this is one reason why middle class Aussies had such a head start in Aus hiphop. I can remember when lads couldn't care less about hiphop, they cared about hardstyle and gabba music. Another influence would have also been that almost all of the established music industry leaders in Australia were middle class and simply preferred the more digestible styles of Aus hiphop, and preferred interacting with them also. 

So we know that middle class Aussies can like Aus hiphop, like when they supported what alot were starting to call "BBQ Rap", but around the early 2010's something started to change. With the growth of independent hiphop coming from West Syd, mainly through Hustlehard tv , Aus hiphop started to change. The working class kids were starting to gravitate towards hiphop, and middle class kids were fleeing. I remember at my high school it was pretty mixed class, meaning we had poor kids, but we also had rich kids. I remember there being two completely different realities going on. A housing commission kid could put on Kerser and would listen to him as if he was a modern day Biggie, but a middle class kid could put on Kerser almost mockingly, as a joke. I don't blame either, Hustlehard tv and the early days of Kerser was something totally unique, it was also very DIY and unpolished. But this was the time I started to see a huge split. I started to see that middle class kids just could not deal with art coming from the working class, unless it was the "right" art. Take this Friendlyjordies video for example, I think this video perfectly illustrates the feeling alot of middle class kids had towards Aus hiphop. 

Fast forward 10 years, Hustle hard tv had popularised an entire sub culture to the rest of Australia. Sold out tours, radio play, international features and actual money to be made in this scene, a lot had changed. I could cop people not taking Aus hiphop seriously back then, fair enough, but now? This is what bothers me. You could be playing song after song of British or American hiphop, but for some reason you put the exact same style and quality song, but with an Australian accent, and some people just can't get around it. I've seen things change of coarse, plenty of my friends who didn't like Aus hiphop then have now come around with the rise of Onefour or Hefs. I guess my main gripe is that alot of these middle class kids, who claim to be the warriors for the working class and diversity, will openly mock hiphop coming from a brown kid in their backyard but wouldn't do the same for an American or British artist. I like to think that the British and Americans scenes went through the same things  in their infancy but did they? I think in America is was a more racial thing, hiphop was a black art so alot of Conservative America just couldn't support it. I think the UK's early years with Grime were different because of it's origins, early grime had a massive electronic music influence which was loved by both the working and middle class. So is this an Australian problem?  honestly i don't know. I will end with something positive though. The younger generation seems to completely accept Aus hiphop, my younger brother went to Goodlife festival (an underage festival) and him and his friends were most excited to see Hooligan Hefs. This is such a change from when I was that age, so to be fair , i don't think this will be a problem in as Aus hiphop continues to grow. 

                            Hooligan Hefs at Good Life Festival

Three music videos that don't have enough views

 I thought i'd do a little write up to shine some light on some artists that don't get enough love. As much as I hate the term 'under rated', I can't help but call these artists very under rated. I guess the first thing to discuss before I give you this list is to define what 'not enough views is'. Of coarse this is just a matter of perspective, and to a new artist getting 10k views is an achievement.But for the sake of this article i'm going to be looking for videos with under 25k views. As Aus hiphop fans, we live in a time where there seems to be an unlimited supply of new artists and new clips coming out, and as hard as it is for some of us to admit, numbers are everything. I know there are a lot of people, especially artist, who hate this mindset but its just the reality, numbers are how we rate the impact an artist has had on the scene. 

Isaac Puerile - 2012 

Starting off this list we have Isaac Puerile with this absolute movie. So many things I can say about this one. 2012 is a nostalgic concoction of pig latin, high school throwbacks and reminiscent bars. The beat is as straight forward as the concept of the video, with a melancholy and almost haunting flute running throughout. Running a muck, jigging school, racking from the corner store - so much of this video is a throwback to growing up in Sydney in that in-between stage between the innocence of childhood and the seriousness of adult life. Joseph Plumb's production on the video is top level, the way he's able to tell a story about nothing is awesome - isn't that what being that age is all about? doing nothing but it still feeling like a movie - I love this clip and the fact that it only has 4k views is fucked up. This video makes me feel a way and thats what any good video should do. I look forward to hearing Isaac's feature on Nter's up coming album.

Pronto - One Day

This clip is my favourite Melbourne song in years. If this song doesn't put you in a good mood nothing will. The addictive chorus leaves you wanting more and the wavy beat reminds me of a Flat Bush Zombies track. Although Im usually against American accents in Australia, i can look past it on this one, because it's so goddamn catchy. Pronto seems to be one of the most exciting artists on 66 Records and it's criminal that he doesn't have more music out. I honestly don't know if he still makes music. This one will definitely be getting pumped a lot this summer.  

Jose Halftime - Lesko

To finish of this list we're going to the West Coast. Perth rapper Jose Halftime has been doing his thing for a while now. I actually wrote about him a year or two ago and its sick to see he's still doing his thing. Jose sticks to his guns on this one going with a boom bap beat. While this choice might not be wise in terms of getting numbers, it shows a level of integrity and self confidence that can sometimes be hard to find these days. Jose delivers ice cold, introspective bars with a calm but rhythmic flow. The video is simple but still pays attention to detail, utilising really cool colours. I hope to see more of Jose Halftime to be honest. 

Sydney Yungins turn up the heat with their new track 'Pull Up'

Sydney Yungins (formally known as Inner West Yungins) have been on the scene a while now and their ability to evolve and try out new sounds sets them aside from a lot of groups coming out of Sydney at the moment. The trio hail from Sydney's Inner West (and they don't let you forget it). I love hiphop groups in general, from Wu Tang to Section Boyz so the explosion of new groups in Sydney is one of the best developments that's come from the Polynesian hiphop movement from last year. Once again, Sydney Yungins set new levels on their new track 'Pull up'.

A few months ago, Sydney Yungins member Hefty announced his departure from the trio, which was unfortunate news for a lot of fans. The surprise with this new track is that they seem to have already found a new member which is dope, and he's dope! his names Leli Tonga and he's revealed on the last verse of the track. Don't get it twisted, Leli isn't just a reserve substitute, his cocky attitude shines through on this one. Leli definitely rounds out the trio, and in my opinion was a way better alternative then the group just becoming a duo. Leli's premiere wasn't even the biggest surprise on the track. Anyone that listens to this song for the first time won't be able to ignore the catchy af chorus. Rico Tonga sticks to Sydney Yungins tradition by always trying to level up each track and it works. The steel drums with Rico Tonga's vocals take me back to summer and I don't even know how, but he's able to still be staunch with the lyrics while also keeping his groove.  Titoez does what he does best here, clear and impressive bars. His flow and lyrics on the first verse set the tone for the rest of the track. His bar about all his favourite rappers is one of my favourite on the track so far.

Once again Sydney Yungins have proved to be one of, if not the most versatile group in the country. I already know this track is going to do well and this chorus is easily one of my favourites of 2020.

Bravo Sydney Yungins.

Sydney Serchaz, Smash Brothers and a tale of two cities [part 2]

A few months ago I wrote an article titled Sydney Serchaz, Smash Brothers and a tale of two cities. i talked about their contribution to their cities and also their cities contribution to their art. In this article I mainly want to focus on the current situation in both cities. 

A lot has changed since the rise of both Smash Brothers and Sydney Serchaz, a lot. Im sorry to say but I don’t remember a time where Melbourne was so insignificant on the Australian stage, I also can’t remember a time where Sydney was so significant not just on the Australian stage, but on the global stage. 

Apart from HP Boyz, there isn’t really any major artists coming out of Melbourne right now. In Sydney there are literally dozens of artists getting millions of views in all styles of hiphop. The work rate in Melbourne seems very slow compared to its sibling up north and I think I might know why. It definitely doesn’t have anything to do with the audience, Sydney artist have been putting on pretty big shows down in Melbourne for a few years now - Melbourne has just as many hiphop fans so there definitely isn’t a lack of demand. If you look back at Part 1 of this article you’ll know that I think Melbourne definitely has a higher respect for quality over quantity, so it could be that, but that doesn’t answer everything. In my opinion there are 3 main reasons why Sydney has moved so far ahead of Melbourne (As a Sydney Sider I’m trying not to be so bias) , they’re all kind of tied in together: Our mindset, the rise of Kerser and the ‘Poly rap’ movement.  

HP BOYZ

Ill start with the Kers effect. He started as a staple on Hustle Hard TV and quickly rose to be Australia’s biggest artist, with zero radio play. To list the accomplishments of Kerser would take up way too much time, but at this point he’s a cultural icon of West Sydney. This article isn’t really about Sydney vs Melbourne, Its about West Sydney vs Melbourne, that’s where 90% of our artists come from. Kerser's embrace of adlay culture marked the start of a shift in Sydney hiphop and brought In a whole new group of people into the fold of hiphop in Sydney. This is definitely something I think Melbourne missed out on by not really having that ‘adlay’ styled rapper at the forefront of their scene (maybe apart from Flowz) at the end of the day hiphop is music for the working class and adlays are definitely a big part of the youth working class. If Sydney Serchaz showed lads that its ok to be themselves on a track, Kerser showed them they can make a living off it. Kerser really reinforced the Sydney mindset I talked about earlier about quantity over quality, that’s not to say that Kerser doesn’t respect quality, what Im trying to say is that Kersers format of releasing an album a year meant that his name never really dies (to this day) and his yearly releases are basically a part of life here in Sydney. Its obvious that artists like Kearve, Chillinit and Rops were definitely influenced by Kerser and his independent, stay consistent mindset.  This mindset has spread all over Sydney and I really can’t say the same thing for Melbourne right now. 

Another huge development in Australian hiphop has been the poly rap movement, sometimes ignorantly known as the Australian drill movement (idk why). 

BBG Smokey

Since around 2017 Islander rappers in Australia have simply been on the up and up and I don’t really know if we have hit our peak just yet. They're currently the pride of the scene and their embrace of the Australian accent has probably been the biggest reason why. Before that, most Islanders like Hoolligan Hefs and Pistol Pete & Enzo  were still rapping in American accents similar to Scribe in NZ. All that’s changed and they have become a lot more relatable and local sounding, which is important in hiphop. -This one is simple, Sydney’s poly rap movement has been more successful than Melbourne’s because we have more Polynesian people. About 40% of Australian Polynesians live in NSW with another 35% living in Queensland. Theres obviously Polynesians in Melbourne, just not as many compared to Sydney or Brisbane. This leads me to an interesting point that I’ve talked about a lot on this blog. Although Melbourne isn’t, and probably never will be the epicentre of the Poly rap movement, there is a huge opportunity for it to be the centre of the African rap movement if/when they blow up. Just like the Polynesians of yesteryear the Africans are still rapping in American accents, in my opinion. Like the Polynesians I think Africans in Melbourne will find success in our hiphop scene when they start rapping in their natural accent and this may take a few years. The sad reality is that no one wants to listen to American hiphop from someone from outside of America, when they could just listen to one of the thousands of American rappers right now. Even now though, the most exciting hiphop coming from Melbourne apart from maybe HP Boyz  are African Australian artists like Eco System, BBG smokey and Gz Phantom. I think an explosion in African Australian hiphop is basically inevitable and when it happens Melbourne will be on the forefront of that movement. Until then though, Melbourne is still at the lowest I think its ever been, Brisbane is running laps around them, Melbourne is more comparable to Perth’s scene rather than Sydneys, which is crazy to me, it’s crazy to me that Sydney’s main competitor, geographically speaking, is Brisbane.

At the end of the day though, when Sydney wins Australia wins. Geographical competition is a part of the culture and the sign of any healthy hiphop scene. That being said though, Australian hiphop is in the best place it has ever been and we can only hope Melbourne can return to its former glory. 

Onefour return with a culture shifting collaboration with Asap Ferg

5 years ago, if someone told me that Asap Ferg would come to Sydney, drive an hour west, and make a music video with some lads from Mt Druitt I would've laughed - now this new reality Aus hiphop finds itself in doesn't seem so crazy. Onefour has finally returned from a 3 month break with their second single of the year, 'Say It Again' ft Asap Ferg. When I found out about this feature it sort of blew me away, I think alot of Aus hiphop fans have become desensitised to Australian progress in the world of hiphop, but this is a big deal. More impressively though, Onefour is able to make headway against alot of odds.With subliminal and explicit disses thrown at them in tracks every other week and the incarceration of half of their group, alot of fans, myself included, feared that the this was the unfolding of Onefour's decline. Clearly I was wrong.

In this new track the Onefour go for a totally new approach, opting for a more melodic, American style, while still holding true to their drill origins. Jemz in particular really proves his versatility on this chorus, it kindve reminded me of Sheff G with his more melodic take on drill. This new style has come with mixed reactions, the comment section is already filled with discussion on if this is the right move or not. Personally I enjoyed this new approach, and like the highlighted comment below suggests, we need innovation to keep this current wave of Sydney hiphop alive. Lots of my friends are already saying the current scene is starting to feel abit stale, so I applaud Onefour's experimentation. 

Asap Ferg doesn't really give us anything he hasn't done before, and his verse isn't amazing but there were some encouraging take aways. The fact that a multi platinum award winning artist actually recorded and filmed a track in West Syd is unprecedented - the few significant international collaborations we've had in the past have been send in verses. Asap Fergs references to Sydney and Australia reveal this verse wasn't some 3 year old 16 bar he had lying around. What's even more encouraging is that according to Onefours management they didn't even pay Ferg for the feature, this was just an organic link up. It was totally surreal seeing Asap Ferg in a music video with Onefour, the group did not disappoint and this is sure to be another classic here in Australia, the real question is if the song has the legs to get some radio play in America. American radio play for Onefour would be the first time an authentically Australian hiphop act was given exposure in America and would just add to the list of accomplishments Onefour already have under their belt.

Searching For Usta

Searching For Sugar Man was a 2012 award winning documentary directed by Malik Bendjelloul. I remember watching this documentary when i was 16 and being totally fascinated by such a freak story. The story goes like this: 

In the early 1970s, Sixto Rodriguez was a Detroit folksinger who had a short-lived recording career with only two well received but non-selling albums. Unknown to Rodriguez, his musical story continued in South Africa where he became a pop music icon and inspiration for generations.

Something about an artist being famous without him even realising it captivated me. I found the story very melancholy, beautiful because an obviously talented artist was being recognised somewhere in the world - but also tragic, because Sixto Rodriguez was old, near homeless and way past his prime by the time he discovered that he was a rockstar on the other-side of the globe. For most of Sixto's life he regarded his music as under appreciated and failure in terms of public recognition. Searching For Sugar Man represents the story of the starving artist and the beauty in which that represents. 

Usta, an underground rapper from Sydney's South East matched Searching For Sugar Man's story pretty closely, at least among my mates. Usta has always been one of those artists that didn't need a video clip, he didn't even need good sound quality. All of my friends had their own favourite Usta songs, whether they be his emotional tracks or his staunch ones. The length of Usta's catalogue is also pretty impressive for Aussie standards, only last week my friend showed me an Usta track none of us had heard with only 20 views - and it goes.  Usta is a top 10 in Aus rapper for most of my friends, but when you bring up Usta to many Aus hiphop fans, especially younger ones, you're either greeted with a confused look or "oh yeah that guy that did the 32 bars freestyle in city". I do meet people that recognise Usta, but it's rare. More often than not it's usually other rappers I see that show love to Usta, not the consumer. Usta's look, sound and style was as Sydney as it comes and during this time of Polynesian domination in Australian hiphop it's hard to imagine that Usta was one of the few, if not the only, Polynesian street rapper during the early part of last decade.

Usta perfectly encapsulated the later stage of the gutter rap movement  during 2010-2013, he seemed like the natural progression after Sydney Serchaz. Usta was even given an extremely rare co-sign from Kerser on the Fortnightly Report show in 2013 when he was asked who his favourite up and coming rapper was. In 2013 the future looked good for Usta, with his slow climb of the HustleHard TV leaderboard and recognition from some giants in the scene there was no doubt that Usta was going somewhere. That didn't happen though, with a string of legal issues, a drug problem and the threat of deportation back to New Zealand, Usta's music was put on the side, with the occasional period of music releases.   

Usta never reached the level that alot of us had predicted and his newer songs never really hit the same. Usta never really had a social media presence, which added to his charm but also didn't really help in the age of Instagram. For me, I will always consider. Usta one of the most realist rappers to have graced the Sydney hiphop scene. The guy has banger after banger with under 50,000 views while his attitude and style has become the new norm within the scene.

Was Queensland the biggest winner last decade?

Queensland, the Sunshine state, the Texas of Australia. For a long time most have equated the northern state with hot weather, XXXX and Pauline Hanson supporters, but over the last few years the states premier city, Brisbane, has seen an explosion in local talent. Growing up I always considered  Brisbane a backwater in terms of Aus Hiphop - Sydney had its gutter rap movement, Adelaide had its giants like Hilltop Hoods and Vents, Perth had Drapht, and Melbourne was, well, Melbourne - But Brisbane had never come up on my radar growing up - Brisbane has easily been the underachiever of Aus HipHop.

The first Brisbane rapper I  came across was Nerve back in 2017 on a grime track called Survival. It was probably the first time id seen a younger rapper doing grime so authentically, and when I learnt that Nerve himself produced the beat, i was sold. Rapper/Producers are a rare breed in Australia and it's definitely one of Nerves main selling points, the relationship Nerve has with his beats shines through on tracks like Walk & Talk, Gone Stupid and Run That. Over the last few years Nerve has proved that he is one of the hardest working in the game right now, (it's pretty hard to believe this guy manages doing University as well) - you get the sense that those around him have an equally good work ethic including fellow Brisbane native Kyle Golly. Kyle Golly is founder of No One Network, easily one of the most exciting companies in Australian hip hop today. He's kind of the Cole Bennett of Australia - Kyle Golly has been able to create a distinct brand identity with his music video production and work ethic. The two have been able to really create a healthy environment for hip hop to thrive in QLD .

Queensland has also been seeing some changes on the other side of the hiphop spectrum . No other part of Australia has benefited more from the Islander Hip Hop explosion of 2019 than Queensland. In the Islander hiphop space, Queensland is number two, an impressive leap from a decade ago. Drawing from high populated Islander areas like Logan and West Brisbane, Queensland has been able to trail Sydney as a stronghold of Islander hip hop. Acts like NME, Lisi and personal favorite KDM, have been racking in millions of views with originality and a new take on what Sydney created. NME, Logans answer to One Four have almost 3 million views on their break out track German and their follow up song Suave cemented them in the scene by showing off their charming, back and forth chemistry. One of their members , RB (@rb_4k) has one of the most memorable voices I think i've ever heard in Australia, it reminds me of  Sheff G from New York. NME are far from a One Four clone, they have a really fun dynamic and they're able to effortlessly go back to back on a track. On the other side of Brisbane in the West, there's Lisi, he caught my attention late last year with his track The Come Up, a fun laid back track with some of the cutest visuals I think i've ever seen. Lisi gets his younger brother to lip sync the first verse of the song as if it was him 5 years ago, a cool idea and a change from the usual Islander hip hop videos that we were seeing in the second half of 2019.

The last of the big three Islander acts in Queensland are KDM On The Track, a young, feel good, family friendly trio with some of the catchiest melodies on the continent. In my opinion groups like KDM are exactly what we need if we want this current wave of hip hop to have any longevity. KDM don't take themselves super serious, which is refreshing,and their family friendly language gives them the opportunity to make a much bigger impact on mainstream Australia than their more violent counterparts. Just like NME, what makes KDM is the chemistry between the trio, of everyone in Queensland I think KDM are the most exciting, especially because they're only like 17 or something.

One thing I think Australia has been lacking, especially in this current wave, is female rappers. With the explosion in female rappers in America and the UK i'm honestly surprised we haven't really seen any girls making big moves in Australian Hip Hop. Only a few weeks ago I came across a rapper called Unamii, she's an African girl from Ipswich - which I think has to be a first in Australian hip hop? - and I was surprised i'd never heard of her considering the views this video had (200k). Although Unamii commits a crime we hate on this blog, an American accent. It's just acceptable because you can hear the natural accent come through. Unamii flows comfortably on a drill beat and if this is her first video, which I think it is, there is a lot of potential. Unamii has the looks, attitude and flow to be the number 1 female rapper in the country. There's definitely a giant gap in the market when it comes to female rappers in Australia, I know personally speaking, a lot of my female friends are begging for a dope female rapper in Australia. If Unamii sticks around I definitely think she could do big things for women in Australia and African-Australians as well.

Over the last few years we've seen Queensland go from an Australian hip hop backwater to arguably the second most important state in the country. With exciting acts on all ends of the spectrum I think the change in Brisbane's cultural diversity over the last couple decades may be one the key reasons why it's seeing success in Hip Hop now. Brisbane's large Islander community has helped the city catch the Islander hiphop wave from the southern cities,it also has to be said that hip hop lovers and creators have been putting in groundwork which has helped establish Brisbane and Queensland as hotbed of Australian hip hop.

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