New Jeru rap veteran Rah Digga joins forces with Australia’s go-to producer M-Phazes for the Maxi-Single Never Back Down. Consisting of two versions, the original mix featuring Fresno’s Fashawn and Beantown’s REKS, in addition to the previously leaked remix featuring the Michigan born, Florida raised and now NYC transplant Nitty Scott, MC, Never Back Down showcases top notch lyricism and wordplay over M-Phazes fusion of glitched-out dubstep and gritty guitar riffs.
This title is now available via Coalmine Records and is bundled for sale with both the main and clean edit passes of both versions, along with the instrumental and acapella of the original version, all for just $2.99. The original mix is also set to appear on Coalmine Records highly anticipated compilation album Unearthed, which is scheduled for an early second quarter release, 2013. Unearthed will feature guest appearances from the likes of Pharoahe Monch, Blu, Large Professor, Kool G Rap, Sean Price, Billy Danze (of M.O.P.), Maffew Ragazino, Rock (of Heltah Skeltah) Artifacts, Apathy, Celph Titled, Torae and more. Producers tapped include Nottz, M-Phazes, !llmind, Khrysis, Young Cee, Ayatollah and BeanOne, among others.
re•al•ism/ˈrēəˌlizəm/ Noun: 1. The attitude or practice of accepting a situation as it is and being prepared to deal with it accordingly: “a new mood of realism”. Realizm is an obscure lyricist and producer from Adelaide, Australia. After his debut verse on the original critically acclaimed Battlehoggs Official Mixtape Volume 1, Realizm has been steady on both the live circuit and in the studio.
Performing alongside long time collaborator K21, he has shared the stage with acts such as Jedi Mind Tricks, Celph Titled, Ill Bill (Non Phixion), Evidence (Dilated Peoples), Brad Strut, Funkoars and more. Studio wise, the past 4 years have seen him feature on and assist in the making of numerous local and international albums and most recently his solo 12” record Nasty Ill Filthy, produced by Amayze.
His debut LP Idle Hands is well under construction and features production by Suffa (Hilltop Hoods), Trials (Funkoars), Sesta (Funkoars), K21, Tommy Illfigga and Megatroid. The track Before You Seem Dead will feature on the album. Realizm will release a free production mixtape through his website in July as a prequel to the LP and also recently featured on K21′s track Poison (Prod. Sesta). The production mixtape will feature a host of local hip hop remixes including Clandestien, Trem and many more.
Needing little to no introduction, born and raised in inner west Sydney till the age of 13 before re-locating south to the boon-docks of G-Town, an hour south west of Melbourne, Trem, like most in his age bracket and on this part of the planet, gained his first look at hip hop through movies such as Beat Street and books like Subway Art in the early eighties.
Instantly falling in love with the phenomenon he dabbled in floor moves before turning his hand to graff. As a member of the Australian leg of a worldwide graffiti crew Run For Kover (originating in the U.K), Trem managed to cause his fair share of damage before making the slow transition from paint to microphones. Rhyming over pause tapes in and around 1989, inspired by not only his favorite U.S artists, but also local talent such as the A.K.A Brothers, he’d built a repertoire of battle raps and was showcasing them live and on recordings by 1990. After hooking up with DJ Frenzie, he and Raise (R.F.K co-founder and his rhyming partner at the time) went from strength to strength, showcasing their skills across Melbourne, at shows and on live-to-air radio. With Raise leaving the country, Trem One emerged as a solo M.C, and after hooking up with DJ Idem, initial plans were put in place for the recording and release of his first official-a six track tape in 1992.
Unfortunately the tape was never completed and the one finished track Arrest My Brain never saw the light of day. Although continuing to build skills and still regularly appearing live at shows and on radio throughout the mid nineties, it wasn’t until Trem formed an alliance with Prowla and Jase of the Nuff Said Crew, that recording would eventually begin on his first actual solo release. Sheer Talent, released on Unkut Recordings, an independent label formed by Trem and Robbie Ettelson (Unkut.com fame), was a limited edition, four tracks, plus instrumentals 12” that certainly showcased Trem’s lyrical ability, atop slow, bass-line heavy bangers. Closely followed by his highly sort after second 12” Amateurs, that delivered more of the same. It was during this time that Trem and his team devised the ‘super-group’ Lyrical Commission, equipped with an arsenal of raps, they tore apart mic’s and stages across Australia, and have since gone on to become one of the most reputable underground Hip Hop acts to emerge from the continent.
With two incredible landmark releases under their belt and some awe inspiring collaborations with the likes of Ex Arsonist front-man Q-Unique as well as The Grand Daddy Grenade himself- Celph Titled (Demigodz/AOTP fam) the crew solidified its rep not only on these shores but also garnered acclaim in certain pockets across the globe. Not content with making his mark as top M.C, since 2001 Trem extended himself into the beat making game in a major way. After cutting his teeth as a co-producer/engineer on all of his earlier solo work, and being entirely responsible for the beats behind both L.C classics The Stage Is Set and Murderous Metaphors as well as 4/5 of Brad Struts classic offering Legend:Official, It aint hard to tell he’s gone on to become as equally prevalent behind the boards as he is in the booth.
His production has also begun to emerge on artists projects not tied to his label, giving that raw boom bap L.C flavor to varying emcees and their projects. His eagerly anticipated full length L.P For The Term Of His Natural Life is on its way, with a release date set as September 11 this year. Trem has also recently been announced as a support on Celph Titled and Action Broson’s Australian tour with Brad Strut.
A prolific wordsmith, Brad Strut has been fine tuning his craft and contributing to the growth and evolution of Australian Hip Hop since the early ‘90s. Engulfed in the breakdance craze that swept this country in the late 80′s, Brad became a staunch devotee of hip hop music and as his interest and skill level flourished, Brad could be heard on any sound system available to him. He released his first demo Rock On in 1993, regularly clocked air time on influential radio shows such as Steppin to the A.M. with Krissy and The Formula (PBS) and, intent on honing his lyrical dexterity, would be in attendance at any venue hosting a hip hop event.
His development continued with his first studio experience, under the guidance of DJ Ransom, recording a demo for the unreleased Faces of Debt EP alongside emceesw Mama’s Funk (Strait Up Records), Raph Boogie (Crookneck) and MC Que (Nuffsaid Records). In 1999, he hooked up with Trem to record the Australian rap gem Basic Fundamentals. Released on Trem’s classic second 12”, Amateurs (Unkut Recordings), the song featuring a level of wordplay previously unheard within the local ranks.
In 2001 Brad released his debut long player The Authentic LP, an album which, along with Bias B’s Beezwax and Culture Of Kings 1, marked a turning point in Australian hip hop. With its unforgettable cover of a vicious looking kangaroo caricature wielding a microphone, The Authentic attained phenomenal sales, moving 8000+ units with no industry hype in a time of minimal support for credible Australian hip hop. The album was heralded as groundbreaking, receiving acclaim from hip hop fans the globe over and the track A Good Thing even appeared on Jurassic 5 DJ Numark’s mix CD Hand’s On (Sequence Records 2004). The Authentic LP featured names such as Lazy Grey, Sean B and a freshly formed Melbourne crew Lyrical Commission, who had recently featured on, Culture of Kings Volume 1 with their track Lyrical Mongrels.
During this period Lyrical Commission, alongside Bias B, worked with the infamous Australian criminal identity Mark Brandon ‘Chopper’ Read on the track Chop Chop for the soundtrack to the movie Trojan Warrior. This track also featured on the Obesity compilation under the name Machete. With intense hype surrounding the crew, Lyrical Commission released their debut LP The Stage is Set (Unkut Recordings) to a blood-thirsty market and an already intensely loyal fan base in 2002. It received the highest of accolades for the straight up, back to basics, no nonsense skill-fest it delivered both musically and lyrically. It created a street buzz unseen for a local underground hip hop act, exceeding sale predictions and becoming the first Australian hip hop release to attract significant interest on a worldwide scale.
The group toured the album extensively, all the while cementing their reputation as masters of individualised style and technique. There is no disputing that Brad is an accomplished live performer, and has shared the stage with the likes of Tha Liks, Hilltop Hoods, Eternia, Celph Titled, Apathy, Kool Keith, The Roots, Swollen Members, A-Trak, Aceyalone, Foreign Legion, People Under The Stairs to name a few, and has also played all major Australian festivals such as Livid and the Big Day Out.
After a year of touring, and recording with Celph Titled (Demigodz) for the title track All Out War on the Terntable Jediz All Out War EP (Unkut/Blue Corner 2004),LC got to work on their next release, Murderous Metaphors EP. Metaphors contained nothing but pure rap skill from beginning to end with tracks like F**k all the B.S., Indicted, and the Strut solo track Check the Strategy. With Lyrical Commission sound and style locked down, the time had come for the crew to branch out into new solo endeavours to appease the long time supporters and win new fans.
2006 was a pivotal year for Brad, as he reignited the fervour for his solo mission. Early in the year, he dropped Legendary: The Official Mixtape on his newly formed Peruvian Gemz imprint, a subsidiary of Unkut that would focus on his own projects and assist emerging artists. Intended as a teaser for his upcoming sophomore full length, the mixtape took on a life of its own and became one of the hottest underground releases of the year, featuring guest spots from Perth’s Clandestien, Rhys of Hospice Crew and notorious booze hound Billy Bunks. Later that year, Strut represented Australia at Hip Hop Kemp 2006 in the Czech Republic, a massive three-day hip hop festival (Europe’s largest and best) which hosted Non-Phixion, RA The Rugged Man, Planet Asia, Klashnekoff and the finest acts from across the continent. Here, Strut made international connections with crews such as Poland’s WWO, whose upcoming album he features on.
2007 saw the release of Brad’s sophomore LP, Legend: Official. Produced by Trem, it is the darkest, deepest manifesto to emerge from Antipodean hip hop. Featuring Lyrical Commission, Sean Price, Outerspace, Daniel Merriweather and Lee Sissing, the album is alternately sinister and soothing, melancholy and belligerent, and it shows Strut’s technique at its most developed. The real deal with all flows locked, Brad Strut delivers the full package, the “proper without the ganda”. His history is undeniable, and the future unlimited.
Fallout Shelter is the 2009 EP from Melbourne-bred, North London-based Brad Strut. In a radical departure from his acclaimed 2007 sophomore Legend: Official, the core member of Australia’s pioneering Lyrical Commission has crafted a stunning narrative that runs through six hard hitting tracks by Beat Butcha. Densely lyrical, personal and intense, this project fully exploits hip hop’s potential as a medium for storytelling. Ostensibly a post-apocalyptic diary, Fallout Shelter contains a wealth of insights into life, hip hop and everything. From the panicked opener Hello To Goodbye to the serene conclusion of Looking At You, Brad evokes the range of emotions facing the last man on earth: anger, denial, hope and a fatal acceptance. As with Strut’s previous work, his words seep in gradually, divulging deeper meanings with multiple listens. Likewise, Beat Butcha’snuanced production shows its true colours over time, providing enough flourish to accentuate Brad’s words without overwhelming them. From the heraldic outro to New Dawn to the synth bridge on Believe, Butcha shows how a good hip hop producer does more than chop and loop drums, but never overwhelms the emcee’s presence with unnecessary fanfare.
Rejuvenation is the 2009 full length remix project which finds Brad reaching out to the leading producers from Australia and the UK: M-Phazes, Trials of Funkoars, Simplex of Terra Firma, Chemo, Beat Butcha, Ciecmate of Hospice Crew, Tornts, Dazastah of Downsyde, Mortar of Clandestien, Dontez of KingsKonekted, Methodz, The Last Skeptik and Jehst. Each producer brings their own distinct ring to a Strut classic from Legend: Official or The Legendary Mixtape. From M-Phazes’s bombastic reimagining of live anthem Incite The Premises to Tornts’ vitriolic new verses on The Ritual to Jehst’s appropriately ominous take on Last Omen, these remixes all uniquely expand on Strut’s already impressive catalogue.
