Change The Tape is proud to announce the release of the debut album from Manic X titled The Diagnosis, a ride through the world of mental health and raw hip hop. Teaming up on this project are Rezadent and ILL Clinton. The Diagnosis is produced, recorded and engineered by Man At Arms Productions, with additional production by Sammsonite.
Change The Tape is a collective of Hip Hop artists with members contributing from Australia to the U.K consisting of Rezadent, Dsipl, Ill Clinton, Meek Starkiller and The Praying Mantis. The Diagnosis, a name your price download features Mistery of Brethren, The Elect Strangers, Reckoncyle, DJ Aktual, Susone The Corax, DJ Sean P and DJ Immaculate.
Drakezilla is a prehistoric creature that mutated due to atomic radiation and rose from the depths of the sea to make hot jams with his Atomic Breath… and stomp cities. He has just released a free new banging album titled Red Head Redemption, which is available for free download.
Red Head Redemption features production from Trials (Funkoars), Sammsonite (The Optimen), Engineer, Mdusu, Mules + more. Guests include Smiles Again (Mind Over Matter), Syntax and Johnny Utah.
Filmed by Geordie Tarren - Directed & Edited by Drakezilla
Tracklisting:
01 Introview (produced by Drakezilla) 02 Redhead Redemption (produced by Mules) 03 All The Time (produced by Ash Pope) 04 Beware The Man (produced by Drakezilla) 05 Tour ft. Johnny Utah & Syntax (produced by Sammsonite) 06 Watch Out [Interlude] (produced by Drakezilla) 07 Stomp Cities (produced by Mac Lethal) 08 Here We Go (produced by Vince Vega) 09 Secret Agent (produced by Drakezilla) 10 Ode To Cowbell (produced by Trials) 11 What They Want (produced by Drakezilla) 12 Out Of My Head [Interlude] (produced by Drakezilla) 13 Chasing A Dream ft. Smiles Again (produced by Mdusu) 14 I Look Down (produced by Trials) 15 Beautiful Day ft. The Tongue, Mdusu & Ernst Carter Jnr (produced by Mdusu) 16 All The Time [Remix] (produced by Ash Pope)
Mention Rainman amongst the initiated and the respect attributed to his name is palatable. Recognised nationally as one of Queensland’s finest, Rainman’s list of collaborations, support slots and guest appearances reads like a who’s who of local hip hop.
Rainman is poised to drop his second album Bigger Pictures, in stores Friday 4 May through Obese Distribution. The album sees Sammsonite return for the lion’s share of the production but also features some of Australia’s finest beat – smiths including the APRA and AIR Award winning, ARIA nominated Count Bounce, DJ Bonez, Mangohig (Sietta), Chasm, Cam Bluff and Calski. Guest MCs on the record include Muph, Tommy Illfigga, Yuin Huzami and many more, while Laneous (Laneous & The Family Yah) and Kel on Earth (Bankrupt Billionaires) lend soulful vocals across the album.
The first official single off Bigger Pictures is Darlin’. Featuring and produced by Calski, the track was available as a free download at the end of last year limited to one hundred fans only but will now be available on iTunes from Fri 23 March.
Rainman deliberately wanted Darlin’ to set the scene for the new album. In his own words: “Darlin’ is a love song. An ode to lady hip hop, a soul drenched Australian take on Common’s ‘I Used to Love H.E.R’ classic – with a twist. The initial demo of the beat from_Calski inspired me to flip the hip hop-as-lover idea from Common and put a fresh take on it. I didn’t want to just leave it at that though. I’ve been pretty interested in how passionate we all are about hip hop, those of us that grew up with it as kids, and how even for those of us as white kids from Australia, from all that distance away from hip hop’s origins, literally_and culturally, can still feel this whole-hearted connection and even a sense of ownership_of this music. I wanted to try get into the character of what hip hop – the lady – might have to say back to those of us that call her out. I figured she had to be a bit pissed off and wouldn’t be afraid to say it”.
It’s this lyric writing approach – taking songs to that next level of depth – that sets Rainman apart and sees him attract high praise from peers and fans alike. He paints bigger pictures. To launch Darlin’, Rainman will be touring nationally with Calski supporting Joelistics and Diafrix on the Running To Shine National Tour.
Introview marks the beginning of Drakezilla’s new album, Redhead Redemption, which will be released online for free in the coming weeks with limited hard copies to follow. It’s mostly comprised of a collection of tracks made over the past two years which were either lost due to hard drive failure or made for no other reason than to make a jam.
This little number is 16 tracks deep with production from Drakezilla himself, Trials, Mac Lethal, Mdusu and Sammsonite along with features from The Tongue, Syntax, Mdusu, Smiles Again and Johnny Utah.
It will be available for free download in the coming weeks; Tell him he sent you, he’ll give you a discount.
A vision of two of Brisbane’s premier hip hop producers, Bankrupt Billionaires has now culminated into a super group featuring the powerhouse production of Sammsonite and Dats (The Optimen) and the strong emotive vocals of Brisbane diva Kel on Earth, with a host of regular special guests.
Reminiscent of singer/producer teams like Gnarls Barkley, Little Dragon, Mark Ronson and the late great Amy Winehouse, Bankrupt Billionaires have established their very own world-class sound that blends head-knocking beats with soul drenched vocals and themes of love, compassion and frustration. After honing a wealth of quality material behind closed doors, Bankrupt Billionaires finally debuted 2 singles Daze of the Dead and Feelin This in 2011, earning them #4 and #5 in the unearthed Hip Hop Charts and a healthy dose of ongoing national radio play. Their impressive 7-piece live show has received rave reviews and high demand since debuting in November last year.
Bankrupt Billionaires released their debut, self-titled EP on Friday 19 Jan, following the release of their goresome video for Daze of the Dead and brand new single Turn the Other Cheek which has already received triple j interest and airplay. Check it out.
Billed as ‘a watershed in local hip hop’, Rainman (Ray Bourne) has attracted some hefty praise since releasing his debut album Fire in the Belly. Rainman has been hailed as ‘Queensland’s best kept secret’ with ‘an eloquence for song-writing rarely seen in hip hop’. Descriptions of Rainman’s music are consistently praiseworthy.
Rainman has appeared as a feature artist on the triple j Hip Hop Show and in Stealth Magazine/CD. His music was selected for the Rhythm and Poetry DVD – a documentary detailing the evolution of local hip hop. Rainman has toured Australia’s major cities and regularly performs locally in Brisbane. He has played alongside Grandmaster Flash, Ice Cube, Z-Trip & Soup (Jurassic 5), Jungle Brothers, The Herd, Hilltop Hoods, Michael Franti, Urthboy, Muph n Plutonic and TZU. Alongside regular live collaborators The Coalition Crew, Rainman has also played festivals like Big Day Out, Livid, Woodford Folk Festival and Sounds of Spring.
Rainman is now finishing off his next album with some of hip hop’s finest producers including Chasm, Count Bounce, DJ Bonez & Sammsonite (The Optimen). Due for release in the first half of 2012. You can check out the second track to be leaked from the album above Darlin’ feat. Calski. You can also download the full track from his triple j unearthed page below. You can also check out the 1st single leaked from the upcoming Rainman album Can’t See You Feat. Laneous - Production by Chasm.
Billed as ‘a watershed in local hip hop’, Rainman (Ray Bourne) has attracted some hefty praise since releasing his debut album Fire in the Belly. Rainman has been hailed as Queensland’s best kept secret with an eloquence for song-writing rarely seen in hip hop. Descriptions of Rainman’s music are consistently praiseworthy – what we have here is hip hop that is honest, thoughtful and fun. Rainman has appeared as a feature artist on the Triple J Hip Hop Show and now allaussie hip hop. His music was selected for the Rhythm and Poetry DVD – a documentary detailing the evolution of Australian hip hop.
Rainman has toured Australia’s major cities and regularly performs locally in Brisbane. He has played alongside Grandmaster Flash, Ice Cube, Z-Trip & Soup (Jurassic 5), Jungle Brothers, The Herd, Hilltop Hoods, Michael Franti, Urthboy, Muph n Plutonic and TZU. Alongside regular live collaborators The Coalition Crew, Rainman has also played festivals like Big Day Out, Livid, Woodford Folk Festival and Sounds of Spring. Rainman is now working on his next album and working with some of Australian hip hop’s most well regarded producers including Chasm, DJ Bonez, El Gusto (Hermitude) & Sammsonite.
To give you a taste of what Rainman has to offer, the man himself dropped a free downloadable track titled Can’t See You feat. Laneous with production from Chasm. You can grab that track below.
Rainman – Can’t See You (featuring Laneous, produced by Chasm). (R.Bourne, C. Hamer-Smith, S. Grace ) All Lyrics, Main Vocals and Cuts: Rainman Production: Chasm Sung Chorus Vocals: Laneous Bass: Sammsonite Recorded and mixed by Sammsonite at Space Ghost Studios (Brisbane). Mastered by Jack The Bear – Deluxe Mastering (Melbourne).
Brisbane Sounds is pleased to announce the next showcase in their series of spin off events to showcase Brisbane’s diverse music artists. The Brisbane Sounds Hip-Hop showcase will take place at the Hi-Fi in West End on Saturday 9 October and will offer a tasty selection of Brisbane’s finest Aussie hip-hop artists that includes the amazing crew The Optimen launching The Out of Money Experience, the esteemed talents of Rainman and fresh newcomers Vegas Aces as well as more guest DJ’s that are yet to be announced.
The Optimen
The Optimen or The OPees to their friends have quickly become one of the buzz bands in the Brisbane and Australian hip-hop movement not least due to their recent banger The Out Of Money Experience and intense live shows which have seen them climb the hip-hop ladder to new heights.
2010 has been an exciting year for The Optimen which has seen them become one of only 60 artists to be featured at leading Australian music conference, BigSound in early September as well as playing packed out interstate tours around the country. This is a hip-hop band that thrives dropping beats in their live show and who is set to take Australia by storm over the coming months.
Rainman
Billed as ‘a watershed in local hip hop’, Rainman has attracted some hefty praise since releasing his debut album Fire in the Belly. Rainman has been hailed as ‘Queensland’s best kept secret’ with ‘an eloquence for song-writing rarely seen in hip hop’. Rainman is a regular performer in the local hip-hop scene and has appeared as a feature artist on the Triple J Hip Hop Show and his music was selected for the Rhythm and Poetry DVD – a documentary detailing the evolution of Australian hip hop as well as having crowd favourite Australian Story music video appearing nationally on Rage. Rainman has played alongside Grandmaster Flash, Ice Cube, Z-Trip & Soup (Jurassic 5), Jungle Brothers,The Herd, Hilltop Hoods,Michael Franti, Urthboy, Muph n Plutonic and TZU. Rainman is now working on his next album with some of Australian hip hop’s most well regarded producers including Chasm, DJ Bonez, Count Bounce (TZU), El Gusto (Hermitude) & Sammsonite (The Optimen).
Vegas Aces Vegas Aces are a buzz band when it comes to the hip-hop scene and is a collaboration of 4TH (Pure Product) and producer Cam Bluff who has produced for The Optimen and Spit Syndicate amongst others. Vegas Aces are about to release their debut EP for FREE which was entirely self produced with vocals by good friend and extremely talented emcee, Seven. The group have already started work on their full length album which was recorded and mixed by Sammsonite of The Optimen and are excited to be able to share some of these tracks with hip-hop fans on October 9.
It all goes down on October 9 at The Hi-Fi in West End. Tickets are $12 plus booking fees or $15 on the door and are available from http://www.thehifi.com.au, tel 1300 THE HIFI (8434434) and all regular outlets.
All tracks mixed by Crate Creeps at The Bloody Abbetoir
All vocals recorded at The Bloody Abbetoir unless stated
All cuts by DJ Butcher unless stated
Mastered by Ricardo Guiterrez at the Grandmasters NYC
Distributed By MGM
Track Listing: 1. Introduction
Ft. Suffa MC (Hilltop Hoods)
Produced by Crate Creeps
Vocals recorded by Suffa
2. Time Trials
Ft. Trials (The Funkoars)
Produced by Dj Butcher
Vocals mixed and recorded by Dj Adfu at Sniper Spot Studios
3. Walk On By
Ft. Pure Product
Written by Fourth Degree, Marvel and Tendancee
Produced by Tommy Illfigga
Bass by Max Voltage
4. Jeans Tees and Sneakers Rap
Ft. Eloquence and Truths
Produced by Dj Butcher
5. Save Your Breath
Ft. Mantra,Tommy Illfigga & Dj Adfu
Produced by Tommy Illfigga
Recorded by Fluid and Dj Butcher
Vocals mixed and cuts by Dj Adfu
6. Divine Right Of Kings
Ft. Rhyme Asylum (UK)
Performed by Possessed, Psiklone and Skirmish.
Produced by Dj Butcher
7. As The Clock Ticks
Ft. Mata n Must
Produced by Tommy Illfigga
Recorded by Pang Productions
8. Loop The Tape Up
Ft. The Optimen
Written by Sammsonite, K-west, Datsun
Produced by Tommy Illfigga
Vocals recorded and mixed by Sammsonite at Space Ghost studios
For Red Tape
9. Where Do I Begin
Ft. Tommy Illfigga
Chorus vocals sung by Kel on Earth and recorded by TigerMoth
Produced by Dj Butcher
10. Terrorist Medley
Ft. Kings Konekted and Rezadent
Written by Culprit, Rezadent and Dontez
Produced by Tommy Illfigga
Recorded by Rezadent at the Spot Youth Centre
11. Still Gettin Mine
Ft. Verbal Kent (Chicago)
Produced by Dj Butcher
12. Make The Cut (Interlude)
Performed and produced by Dj Butcher
13. Make Mine
Ft. Thudamentals
Written by Jeswon and Tucka
Produced by Tommy Illfigga
14. It’s About That Time
Ft. Rakaa Iriscience (Dilated Peoples) and Clinic n Proclaim (The Archetypes)
Produced by Dj Butcher
15. Brain is on Vexed
Ft. Pie emc3e
Produced by Tommy Illfigga
16. The Bad men
Ft Robby Balboa and Haunts (Choose Mics)
Produced by Dj Butcher
Additional vocals recorded by Mules n Haunts
17. Move Hesitant
Ft. Adverse
Produced by Tommy Illfigga
18. Illegit
Ft. Illegitimate (CAN, AUS)
Performed by Anonymouz, P-Butta, Chronic Sythe, Copasetic
Produced by Dj Butcher
Recorded all over the shop.
19. Writers
Ft. Yuin Huzami (Coalition Crew) and Rainman
Produced by Tommy Illfigga
It’s been some time between drinks now since Brisbane’s best, The Optimen have performed a headlining show for their fans, but even with the AA meetings and late night phone calls to their sponsors they just can’t control their thirst any longer. For this reason, and also to bring their blistering new album The Out Of Money Experience to the live stage, The OPees are back in the lab and planning their launch for Friday, May 28 at the new home of hip-hop in Brisbane – The Step Inn.
Not leaving anything to chance, they have joined forces with fellow Queensland compatriots Choose Mics, also launching their new album Beggars Can’t Be Choosers. Choose Mics have been steady in the studio, with 2 releases under their belt, this duo are getting it done real big in the lab and on the stage!
This is shaping up as one of the must-see events on this year’s live show calendar and all for $15!. Because we all know The Out Of Money Experience is real, you best start saving your dollars now cause Beggars Can’t Be Choosers.
With two local releases of such acclaim being launched on the one night, you really don’t want to miss this! The Optimen & Choose Mics Dual Album Launch
Friday 28th May @ Step Inn – $15
Supports: TBA
In celebration of this huge event, Sammsonite has thrown us the recipe for one of his favorite dishes Stuffed Capsicum. You can check that out below. Be sure you pick up your copies of The Optimen – The Out Of Money Experience and also Choose Mics – Beggars Can’t Be Choosers. Both out now!
Stuffed capsicum (dolmeh-ye-felfel) Ingredients:
10 or 12 large capsicums
50g fresh parsley
50g fresh chives
50g fresh mint
50g fresh tarragon
50g fresh dill tips
1 onion (medium)
300g minced lamb
¾ cup oil
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 tsp salt or to taste
1 tsp pepper
1 cup yellow split peas
1 cup rice
Note: If you have to use dried herbs instead, replace every 100g of fresh herbs with 5g of dried herbs.
Preparation:
Cut the top off the capsicums in a circle to make a lid. Scrape out the seeds and pith very carefully. Avoid making any cuts or holes in the body of the capsicum. Put the lids back on each capsicum and leave aside.
If you are using fresh herbs, clean and wash the herbs. Drain and put in a tea towel for further draining. Chop the herbs finely and stir-fry very lightly in ¼ cup of oil (for a minute or two).
Chop the onions into small pieces and fry in ¼ cup of oil. Add the minced meat and stir-fry. When the water from the meat is evaporated, add 2 tablespoons of tomato paste, which has been dissolved in ¼ cup of water. Add ½ teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper, cook for 2 minutes and put aside.
Wash the yellow split peas, add 1½ cups of warm water, about ½ teaspoon of salt and cook for about 15 to 20 minutes (do not allow it to go too soft).
Wash the rice and cook with 1½ cups of water and about ½ teaspoon of salt over low heat for about 10 minutes until there is no water left.
Mix the cooked meat, chopped herbs, cooked rice and split peas. Test for salt and, if necessary, add extra. Fill the capsicums one by one, and put their own lids back on. Put the capsicums tightly next to each other in a pot.
Pour the remaining ¼ cup of oil and 1½ cups of water all over the capsicums. Cook on medium heat for 5 to 6 minutes, then on low for an extra 20 minutes.
Place the capsicums carefully in a serving dish and serve.
