Originally from Adelaide, South Australia – Candice Monique is a talented & unique singer/rapper/poet whose individual vocal and lyrical style draws comparisons to Neneh Cherry, Me’shell Ndegeocello, Lauren Hill and Erykah Badu.
It is this distinctive style along with her stage presence & artistic depth which makes her one of Australia’s most exciting & original new artists. After being discovered by Professor Griff (Public Enemy), Candice was flown to Atlanta, Georgia to record her first demo CD produced by Griff himself. There she worked with Atlanta’s Jason Orr (The FunkJazz Kafe) in 2003 and later returned to to the US in 2005 where she recorded with Neo-Soul Producer, Rich Medina in Harlem NYC.
Candice returned to her new home in Melbourne and formed her stunning five piece band, The Optics, whose first album, In My Soul, was released on Freestyle Records UK in 2010. The band are currently recording a second album for release this year on Freestyle.
Over the last 8 years in Melbourne Candice earned her stripes and became a staple crop vocalist on the local hip hop and soul scenes singing backing vocals for a host of Melbourne bands including Diafrix, SIB, Direct Influence, Carmen Hendricks, Saritah and Traffik to name but a few. She has featured in collaborations with many local Hip-hop artists most notably the track Goodbye Gravity with M-Phazes and Muph (of Muph and Plutonic), singing the hook on the lead single to the M-Phazes album Good Gracious which won an ARIA.
She also featured on a track called Me Vs World, on the latest album by Simplex, as well as appearing on Moneykat’s single Nothing Is Safe produced by Lotek and stars in their new video clip for the song. Candice is also the front-woman for Metals (Illusive Records) who’s latest single was a collaboration written with rapper 360, and producer Styalz Fuego. She has also collaborated with 1/6, Kojo (of Culture Connect), Motley, 14 year old prodigy rapper Soliloquy. Luka Lesson on their collaboration Killing Time and US rapper Louis Logic.
Candice Monique has just released a ‘name your own price’ mixtape titled Free Me: The Mixtape. We highly recommend you pick that up, either by following the link here or below. Also, be sure to check Obese TV: Episode 2 as Candice features on the artist ‘Spotlight’.
For the past fifteen years, Jedi Mind Tricks has established itself as one of the most critically-acclaimed groups in the underground hip-hop scene, with their raw and gritty flavour. From their debut album in 1996, The Psycho-social, to their seminal sophomore release, Violent By Design, to their musical expansion heard on Servants In Heaven and Kings In Hell, JMT has made an indelible impression on the independent music scene while arguably forging its own subgenre of rap.
Led by the fiery vocals of controversial frontman, Vinnie Paz, and his venerable rhyme partner, Jus Allah, the group has built one of the most commercially successful careers in independent music, together and independently. Throughout the groups history, JMT has collaborated with rap veterans, including GZA, Kool G Rap, 7L & Esoteric, Sean Price, Ras Kass, Canibus, Percee P, Killah Priest, Immortal Technique, Virtuoso, Louis Logic, R.A. the Rugged Man, Tragedy Khadafi, and Ill Bill. The group has sold over 300,000 albums in the United States and 400,000 albums worldwide, all of which were released independently, and has a growing worldwide profile, built upon a notoriously live show.
This year, JMT is set to drop its seventh studio album, Violence Begets Violence, through Vinnie Paz’s own imprint, Enemy Soil. Though JMT fans can expect more of the uncompromising, unrelenting brand of hardcore rap music that has become the group’s signature sound, Violence Begets Violence marks a change as longtime JMT producer, Stoupe, hands over production duties to a new wave of talented producers honed on the JMT sound.
Jedi Mind Tricks – On the Eve of War feat. GZA
Witness the live stage show Jedi Mind Tricks are famous for when they hit Australian shores for the first time in December, following their new release.Outerspace will be joining Jedi Mind Tricks on their upcoming Australian Tour, for what is guaranteed to be a one massive hip hop tour.
Jedi Mind Tricks (USA) Australian Tour Dates Fri 2 Dec – HQ SA Sat 3 Dec - The Hi-Fi QLD Thu 8 Dec – Factory Theatre NSW Fri 9 Dec – Billboard Nightclub VIC Sat 10 Dec – illa Nightclub WA
Hailing from Hobart – Australia’s southern-most capital city, mdusu (pronounced muh-DOO-soo) is one of Tasmania’s premier hip hop artists. Since his first live performance as an emcee in 2003, the MC/producer has built himself a reputation Australia-wide for quality recordings and raucous live shows, a feat which is all the more remarkable considering the isolation of his home town. In just a few short years, he has performed alongside acts such as De La Soul, Jurassic 5, Jungle Brothers, Z-Trip, Swollen Members,The Herd, Drapht, Funkoars, Muph & Plutonic etc. and can even lay claim to having shared a stage with Wolfmother (before the Grammy). Mdusu has also performed at every major music festival in Tasmania’s history (the Basin Concert, Gone South, the Southern Roots & Blues Festival, Soundscape & the Falls Festival), and has been a performer on over 10 albums as either a solo artist or band member since 1998.
As an emcee, mdusu earned his stripes through the freestyle & battle scenes, winning countless emcee battles across Tasmania, and performing solidly in battles across Melbourne. His lyrical skill has gained him respect amongst the leaders of the Australian hip hop scene, and has led to collaborations with many artists from around the world. mdusu is also an accomplished producer, having laced beats for almost every emcee in Tasmania during his 10 plus-years as a beatmaker. A skilled multi-instrumentalist, mdusu has spent more than half his life playing various instruments in live ensembles, and has toured Australia & around the Pacific Islands as far as Hawaii, playing many different styles of music.
In 2007, he produced two tracks for The Tongue’s debut, “Shock & Awe”, and supplied a verse to super-producer Chasm for his 2008 smash debut LP, “Beyond the Beat Tape”. The following year saw him drop verses on Dialectrix’s debut smash “Cycles of Survival”, and Astronomy Class’ second album “Pursuit of Happiness”, which was nominated for the “Best Urban/Hip Hop” Album of the 2009 ARIA awards. mdusu also produced a track for Obese Records’ signing Skryptcha on the DJ Flagrant-mixed mixtape “Who’s Got Next”.
In May 2008, mdusu and Tasmanian DJ Dameza released their groundbreaking sophomore LP, Can we get a soul clap? On May 10th (distributed by Obese Records). The album was picked up by Triple J, and helped mdusu&dameza become one ofTriple J’s Next Crop artists for 2008, an honour which is only bestowed upon 30 artists of all genres across Australia. The album was also made the Triple J Hip Hop Show “Album of the Week” (June 9th-15th).
In February 2009, mdusu embarked on his biggest challenge to date, to raise money for victims of the Victorian Bushfire: A 12-hour non-stop Freestyle Marathon. Not only did he manage this incredible and never-before tried feat, he raised over $1300 in the process, and set an unofficial world record (longest continuous freestyle rap) in the process.
After relocating to the Gold Coast for family reasons in July 2009, mdusu released his solo debut, “The Excess Baggage Mixtape” (available below) – which has over 500 downloads in just two weeks, and is currently putting together his debut solo producer album, which features some Australia’s best emcee’s, singers & DJs.
My new album is going to be the first solo effort I’ve ever done – all my previous stuff has been group stuff, so I’m excited as to take the leap of faith by myself, and see what happens. I’ve been working on it for about a year and a half now, and I’m just up to the stage of getting verses back from people and mixing the whole thing. Not sure if I’m going to approach any labels about it yet, but ideally I’ll be able to work out a licensing deal for release. Guests include: Muph, Solo, Louis Logic, Dialectrix, Jeswon of Thundamentals, Ozi Batla, Skryptcha, BVA, Scott Burns, Roshambo, The Tongue, Patto, Haunts of Choose Mics, Homebrew (NZ), Thorts, Class A, Syntax, Prime, Purpose, & Rigby, so it’s a real collaborative effort. It’s gonna be called Ex-Samples, and I’ll be handling all the production, so it’s a pretty massive undertaking.
Discography:
2010 – The Excess Baggage Mixtape – all verses and arrangement
2009 – Astronomy Class – Pursuit Of Happiness – Verse on “War Of The Worlds”
2009 – Who Got Next Mixtape – Production on Skryptcha “For You”
2008 – Dialectrix – Cycles of Survival – Verse on “The Takeover”
2008 – mdusu&dameza – can we get a soul clap? – Verses & all production
2008 – Chasm – Beyond The Beat Tape – Verse on “Cop a Lesson”
2008 – Unleash The Nugget – The Illustrated Guide to… EP – Drums & percussion
2007 – The Tongue – Shock & Awe – Production on “That Word” & “The Blues”
2007 – Heads of State – Making The Best Of What We’ve Got – Verses & all production
2006 – mdusu&dameza – sounds from our town – verses & all production
