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’.
Get ready for round 2 of Versify – bringing together spoken word stars and rappers for an evening of lyrics and rhythms that will shake you out of those winter doldrums. Featuring the mesmerizing tones of Omar Musa, Mighty Joe, Luka Lesson, Alia Gabres, Social Change and K21, winner of the Hilltop Hoods Initiative. A cappella rap and spoken word to bring you out of those winter doldrums.
Joe Kim A.K.A. Mighty Joe was born and raised in the East Bay, California. Long the breeding ground for independent hip hop artists, the Bay Area’s street smart, often socially conscious sensibilities are represented powerfully in his music. His complex, poetic rhymes are reminiscent of Talib Kweli and an era of hip-hop often thought to have been lost. What began as an immersion in music as a means of expression evolved into an avenue for education and critical commentary about the struggle of the disenfranchised. This interest in social empowerment led to him earning a degree in Psychology and Social Work at the University of California, Santa Cruz. In 2006, his song What If was featured on the soundtrack for the internationally released video game, College Hoops 2K7. The featured song brought him recognition from all over the U.S.A and in the UK.
He has since recorded with diverse rock veteran Geoff Stanfield (Sun Kil Moon, Black Lab), Bay Area producers Germ and Redell, and Marc Griffin of pop-rock band 2am Club. Mighty Joe released his debut album The Golden LP in 2010 and went on to tour in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. He is now a member of international hip hop duo MoneyKat with Omar Musa. They have released their debut self titled album MoneyKat available now.
Omar Musa is a rapper and poet from Queanbeyan, Australia. He has won numerous awards for poetry and music, including the Australian Poetry Slam and the Indian Ocean Poetry Slam. He has released a book of poetry and two hip-hop albums recorded in the USA and has toured throughout Asia, Europe and Australia, doing writers festivals and hip-hop shows, including tour support for Gil Scott-Heron in Germany.
Social Change is Australia’s Hip Hop supreme team, featuring the emcee who goes by the same name, renown music producer Funkwig, and champion turntablist DJ Snair. With a distinct brand of heavy duty production, razor sharp turntablism and authoritative lyrics, Hip Hop group Social Change makes true music with universal appeal. In 2007 Social Change released the critically acclaimed E.P titled V.High.E.P and in 2008 they dropped the classic single REAL plus the video for underground favourite Lifted. Social Change put out the Double Banger Promo CD in 2009 which featured Black Text and Putting In Work from the upcoming full length Social Change album, and in 2010 Fat Pockets (Funkwig & Snair) released the Butterthief Phat Tape which features exclusive music by Social Change, K21, Dialect, Crossbred Mongrels and Chris Bass. Social Change also recently featured on the Dialect and Despair album The Vortex on which Funkwig blessed five tracks with basslines. With a live show that incorporates everything from freestyles, MPC routines and turntable showcases thru to performing with a full piece band, Social Change have played shows Australia-wide and supported numerous Australian and International acts, headlining and hosting events both locally and interstate. They are now preparing to release their long overdue debut.
Luka Lesson the current Australian Poetry Slam Champion, conscious hip-hop artist and Co-director of The Centre for Poetics and Justice based in Melbourne. Luka has been active in community development work utilising hip-hop and poetry as a form of self-determination and raising awareness for young people for many years. He has taught Indigenous Studies at Monash University for the past two years and holds a first class honours degree in the same field. Luka has just finished touring Australia, China, the United States and New Zealand over the past few months both performing his work and conducting workshops with young people in every country. Luka has also been invited to perform at the Beijing Bookworm Writers’ Festival, Auckland Readers and Writers’ Festival, Sydney Writers’ Festival, the Ubud Writers’ Festival in Bali and the Hong Kong Writers’ festival in 2012 alone. Four-time USA national Slam winner Taylor Mali states: ‘I’m not really into hip hop—I’m too old, I guess—but Luka Lesson is a sonic literary genius, and that is what I love. So if he is hip hop, then I guess I love hip hop after all.
Alia Gabres is a Co-director of The Centre for Poetics and Justice (a not-for-profit organisation focussed on using poetry as a form of literary education and social engagement). She was recently a part of the Global Poetics Tour 2011, where she toured and performed alongside international wordsmiths Shane Koyzcan, Ken Arkind and Mahogany Brown. Alia also curated of a Spoken Word explorations series entitled ‘Tell it Like it is’ at the Footscray Arts Centre and is currently undertaking an Artist Residency at the City Library.
L-Fresh The Lion is a 23-year-old hip-hop artist and producer from South West Sydney. He has made a name for himself as a versatile and unique artist, who writes, records, produces and mixes most of his own music, whilst also delivering powerful speeches and meaningful spoken word poetry sets.
He celebrated his 21st birthday by being selected as the national support act for hip-hop icon Nas during his first headline tour of Australia in 2009. L-Fresh has also shared the stage with Xzibit, Public Enemy, Chali 2na, DJ Qbert, MC Supernatural, as well as local hip-hop artists Urthboy, Pez & 360, Horrorshow, Drapht and Downsyde at the Sounds of Spring Festival, and The Herd, at their anniversary celebration in Sydney last year. He is also an ambassador of The Street University, where he works as a mentor and A&R co-ordinator of Australia’s largest youth drop-in centre.
What stands out about L-Fresh is that he has accomplished all of this without releasing an album and whilst simultaneously studying a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Bachelor of Law degree. Now having successfully completed his university studies, he is set to rock the nation and the globe.
Oh by the way, if you’re wondering why ‘The Lion’, Fresh was visiting the Golden Temple in India, where a Guru sitting next to Fresh said that he had a vision of a lion standing amongst a hundred thousand people. He awoke from his vision shaking Fresh saying “You are the lion!” The name stuck.
The album is titled The Lion Speaks and features appearances by Omar Musa, Luka Lesson, 6PounD and Farid Farid, as well as production by The 26th Letter, Sound Smugglaz and The Lion himself. The lead single Forever Rising has been receiving play on triple j and triple j unearthed, and the song Victory was played exclusively on the triple j Hip-Hop Show on Monday.
1. The Lion Speaks (Produced by L-Fresh The Lion) 2. Never ft. 6PounD (Produced by L-Fresh The Lion) 3. The Rain ft Omar Musa (Produced by L-Fresh The Lion) 4. Forever Rising (Produced by The 26th Letter) 5. R.I.P. The MC (Produced by L-Fresh The Lion) 6. Truth (Produced by The 26th Letter) 7. Victory (Produced by L-Fresh The Lion) 8. Leaders RMX ft. Luka Lesson & Farid Farid (Produced by L-Fresh The Lion) 9. Wake Up (Produced by Sound Smugglaz) 10. Reflections (Produced by L-Fresh The Lion)
