In 2002 the genre was benchmarked by the release of Obesecity. The compilation channeled the strength and unity of a developing sub-culture. A mass collaboration, the release included exclusive tracks from artists now revered as the most influential pioneers in a booming industry.
Hilltop Hoods, Koolism, Reason, Terra Firma, Pegz, the late and great Hunter all contributed from across the country uniting crews and their fans. Since then Australian hip hop has come a long way. 2012 sees it as highly diverse, easily accessible, constantly evolving, always moving forward.
Obesecity 2: 10 Year Anniversary Edition (release date June/July 2012), will showcase established and up and coming breakthrough artists handpicked from across the country. For all involved the dual-disc compilation will provide a unique opportunity to share in the bigger picture, to be part of the collective by sharing skills with a reputable media network and a hungry fan base. This time around Obese Records is proud to announce that two track positions will be left open to the general public!
Up-and-coming unsigned hip hop artists Australia wide are encouraged to take part in this inaugural project by submitting their own individual track exclusive to the release. Stay tuned for weekly announcements including the unveiling of Obesecity 2: 10 Year Anniversary Edition artists, competition winners and more!
Tickets are selling fast for Da Klinic’s 10th Birthday Party held at HQ Adelaide on 29th of July and will featuring – Koolism -Bias B – Vents – Briggs – Terra Firma – K21 & more. Help join us for a night to remember.
Tickets are avaialble now from Da Klinic and Clinic 116.
Prices are $25+bf (first round). $30+bf(2nd round). More information can be found here.
Eskatology is an indigenous Artist from Adelaide South Australia, Eskatology has been making some noise with his recent release Martyr Musik a 10 track free promotional Album available for free download below. Eskatology first found Hip-hop at the age of 9 whilst listening to a cousins mixtape of old N.W.A. tracks.
At the age of 12 Jonathan Stier wrote his first rap which was a dedication to his Grandma that passed away. At the age of 14 he started recorded at a friend’s place to old beats that he found on a 10 dollar microphone, he would later do a similair thing with neighbourhood friends in his hometown of Port Augusta, SA where they would all do backyard freestyles. After more cosideration Eskatology thought to take his music to the next stage in 2004 he released his first Mixtape called Lost Angel under the Alias of J-Locc which he done up 50 copies on burnt cd’s.
In 2008 Eskatology moved to Adelaide and released a demo and started performing with events such as Blaknite, Mixedinblack , Northern Elements, Lowdown show and various others. By 2009 Eskatology released his first EP called The Conscious Reality which was a 500 copy press, featuring production and verses from Dan The Underdog, and production by MC Simplex from Terra Firma, Davey Beats and various other producers. As 2010 approached Eskatology had built a small following around Adelaide, he started to get the attention of local artists which gave him a spot to perform alongside Hektic MC, a local MC/Producer and Promoter. Eskatology also caught the attention of Sydney MC NJE whom put him on two shows for his album launches in Adelaide. In 2011 Eskatology released Martyr Music which is a 10 track promotional album, which once again has production from Dan The Underdog plus All Rounda Productions and various other producers. Eskatology’s music touches on life in general, and produces positive reflections of a negative society.
Subsketch is a Sydney based Hip Hop artist (MC & Producer), originally from the Adelaide foot hills. The Subsketch story dates back to 2002 and the short lived group Def Before Dishonour. DBD were a 3-piece consisting of DJ Mula, MC Trubador & a then 17 year old Subsketch.
Arriving out of nowhere, performing alongside some of Adelaide’s best including Delta, Terra Firma, Hilltop Hoods, After Hours and more, DBD wrote and produced an entire album before throwing it away, breaking up and vanishing as quickly as they had appeared. Subsketch cautiously re-emerged as a solo artist in 2004 with an EP detailing those missing years, The Lost Demo. He followed it up in 2006 with The Spring Clean, as the name suggests this EP featured words and beats which had accumulated over the previous 4 years, even including some never before heard cuts from the lost DBD album. Then in late 06 Subsketch was introduced to a wider audience through winning the Hilltop Hoods Initiative, which in turn funded his debut album Cheaper Than Therapy. The subsequent Therapy tour saw him performing all over Australia alongside Thorts, Class A, DJ TR!P, K21, Koolta, Rapaport, Lotek and Apsci to name a few.
Being his second full length album, The newly completed Department Of Human Services was built on an ethos of lo-fi minimalist beats & outward looking lyrics. Recorded and co-produced by acclaimed film composer Mister Benjamin Speed, mastered by Neville Clark (Hilltop, Funkoars, Terra Firma) and featuring the distinctive artwork of Jordan Clarke; the Department is his most accomplished and cohesive work to date.It is available at www.subsketch.bandcamp.com in 2 options; as a free download, or for $20 (free shipping) you get the deluxe edition that includes
- The CD - 11”x17” poster designed by Jordan Clarke - Department Sticker - Limited Edition Spring Clean EP (2006) - Immediate digital album download.
Subsketch is currently hiding out in the inner west of Sydney, he has several new projects on the boil, priorities include booking shows, hosting his fortnightly podcast at www.subsketch.blogspot.com and completing his collection of classic universal monster movies.
Since 1995, Terra Firma have been a driving force in Australian hip hop. As members of Adelaide’s legendary Certified Wise collective, MC/producer Simplex, MC Raph A.L, MC Mic Lez and DJ Dyems have delivered a body of work that is one of the most distinguished in the Antipodes.
With razor sharp, socially conscious lyricism delivered over Simplex’s melodic and detailed beats, they’ve been a guiding light in the local movement during its gradual growth to maturity over the last decade.
Terra Firma have been performing live extensively since 1999, and have shared the stage with some of the biggest names in hip hop including: Cypress Hill, Digital Underground, Kool Keith, The Beatnuts, Redman and Method Man, Lord Finesse, Jungle Brothers, People under the Stairs, Blackalicious, Lyrics Born, Rocksteady Crew and the Sugar Hill Gang to name a few. They have toured nationally with the Culture of Kings tours, the Obesecity tour and perform annually during the snow season at Mt Hotham and Falls Creek. Now they return for a much anticipated live performance at Gluttony in the same intimate setting that De La Soul smashed it a fortnight ago.
Koolta is a 21 year old mc and producer hailing from the Adelaide Hills. In the last few years Koolta has contributed production and vocals on various local releases, such as K21’s – The Greenhouse compilation. In 2008 and 2009, Koolta shared the stage with K21 and DJ PT for a stack of shows around the country supporting the likes of the Funkoars, Drapht, Pegz, Vents, Terra Firma and C Rayz Walz.
2010 saw Koolta release his debut effort The Deportation EP. This 8 track EP written and produced entirely by Koolta is an impressive debut from this upcoming all-rounder. The opening track Babysitting is set of by some banging drums and hums along a solid jazz filled inspired beat. It’s clear from the onset that Koolta is as diverse as his production, this seems none more evident than on the lead track The Deportation. With its eastern inspired beat, Koolta has no trouble breathing hip hop life into any avenue of his production stylings. The Journey To Nowhere takes a step back to the 1920′s with Koolta delivering some of the strongest verses we’ve heard from an emcee in 2010.
Koolta’s approach to his production is unexpected and provides the listener with an intricate journey of the The Deportation soundscapes. DJ PT handels the cuts throughout the album and sets off Kooltas production and rhymes in symbiotic fashion. The Good and The Bad plus 480 Mintues rounds out this truly impressive EP in serious style. The Deportation endeavours to showcase honest music with substance and does so without the ego. Koolta has delivered a tight package here. Wrapped in creativity, sense of self and a range of diverse production, this release seems to tick all the boxes. We rate Koolta’s – The Deportation EP a large 3.95 out of 5.
Tracklisting 1. Babysitting 2. The Deportation 3. The Journey To Nowhere 4. Python 5. Wash Them Hands 6. Thicker Than Water 7. The Good And The Bad 8. 480 Minutes
All tracks written, produced, mixed and recorded by Koolta Cuts by DJ PT Artwork by Sam Trezise
Adelaide hip hop artist and Terra Firma member Simplex releases his debut solo album Audio Biography. The long awaited album is the hard hitting, thought provoking next chapter of the Adelaide sound, summarizing Simplex’s life within and outside hip hop.
Tackling the issues of identity, relationships and careers, Audio Biography highlights significant events in life that all individuals go through. Describing the harsh realities of the real world, Audio Biography gives listeners a glimpse of his life: the clash of wanting to be your own person while battling society’s norms and routines.
Produced entirely by Simplex, the album weaves together classic hip hop with a modern streak of attitude and personality best seen in the first single, Beautiful Day. An upbeat sounding number about how materialistic objects act as a distraction to keep us focused on competing with each other rather than solving the real issues. The single is the first salvo in the Simplex canon- breaking free from group dynamics to forge a sound of his own.
Featuring a diverse array of guests including renown Australian Hip Hop artist Delta, the very talented Ranto Bokgo from South Africa (in the global sounds of Worldwide, where the issue addressed is that no matter where you are from, we all struggle with bad days, and we should be united instead of divided by borders, ethnicity or religious ideals), the dynamic vocals of Candice Monique (from M-Phazes’ “Goodbye Gravity”) and his fellow crew-members, Terra Firma(“First Things First”), the album boasts a ‘something for everyone’ element.
Through its rich lyrical content, infectious melodies backed by world-class production, Simplex laces in the beauty of maintaining a fighting stance in a world that controls us and each of his tracks boast a subtle rebellious streak that shows his own powerful approach to life.
Track listing: 01. Forward 02. I Have Nothing 03. First Things First feat. Terra Firma 04. Beautiful Day 05. Be Somebody 06. Play 07. Worldwide (feat. Ranto Boko) 08. Signs (feat. Miss Karleena) 09. Opus Operandi (feat. Motion, Delta, Alerts) 10. Work For A Living 11. Schoolyard Politics 12. Me Vs. World (feat. Candice Monique)
From the hills of Mt Hotham to the streets of Melbourne City; from a sold out show with the Funkoars to your best mates backyard; from party raps to lyrical wisdom, City Wide Krew are about to become the one hip hop group you wished you’d heard of first.
Originally a duo consisting of Fusion MC and Sammy Rocswell, City Wide Krew (aptly named, due to Fusion’s home in Melbourne and Rocswell residence in Geelong) overcame geographical distance through a mutual love of listening to and making hip hop music. Long trips down the Geelong freeway become rigueur de jour as the group embarked on the embryonic stages of their recorded career, sparking what would soon become a lifelong love of writing and performing hip hop music.
The group in its current guise was spawned during a fated trip to Amsterdam in 2007, when emcees Fusion and Rocswell joined up with Kaydel and Mutley, coming together as a collective for the very first time. After a night of hip hop, Heineken and herb, the boys formed City Wide Krew with the primary aim of bringing Australian hip hop music back to its essence – this would be hip hop music of the people, by the people, for the people…to coin a phrase. Inspired by the early music of Lyrical Commission, Bias B and Hilltop Hoods, but schooled on a heady blend of Led Zeppelin, Dire Straits, Black Sabbath and Sam Cooke, City Wide Krew create music that is grounded in traditional hip hop sensibility, but flecked with the divergence of Rock n Roll, Soul and Reggae. The result in a sound that is musically intricate, yet universally accessible. In 2009 DJ/Producer Pyrex One joined the group completing the final piece of the band’s puzzle.
Initially gaining notoriety for their energetic live shows, City Wide Krew quickly found themselves supporting some of Australian hip hop’s biggest names; sharing the stage with the likes of Phrase, Funkoars, Ash Grunwald, Illy, Terra Firma, Mantra and Low Budget. Not ones to rest on their laurels however, 2009 saw City Wide’s first foray into the studio, with their ‘ode to travelling’ On The Push receiving national airplay on Triple J’s Hip Hop show.
In 2010 City Wide Krew are set to release their debut EP The Garden State through Red Fox Records (more on Red Fox Records below). Executive produced by Matik (Pez, Bliss N Eso, The Herd, Seth Sentry) and featuring production from Simplex (Obese Records), Motley (Dynamite MC, Bliss N Eso) and Pyrex One, The Garden State traverses the musical landscape, creating a style and sound that is unprecedented for a debut release. As always, lyrically, the EP is infused with wit, probing insight and a very healthy dose of City Wide humour.
In a little under four years, City Wide Krew has gone from relative unknowns to playing sold-out shows with the Funkoars and receiving national airplay on Triple J. It has been a meteoric rise in a cut-throat hip hop market and one that doesn’t look like abating. With the boys setting the hip hop agenda in 2011, don’t let us be the ones that said, I told you so.
Red Fox Records Red Fox Records is a Melbourne based, independent record label, dedicated to unearthing and establishing Australia’s next wave of local hip hop talent. Established in 2009, Red Fox Records was created to provide an outlet for emerging and niche independent artists and to give rise to an alternate voice in local hip hop music. In accordance with the labels core aim of fostering new talent and only signing artists that adhere to the labels’ easy-going, no ‘bullshit’ values, Red Fox’s initial signings were up-and-coming local hip hop collective, Citywide Krew (Melbourne) and emerging Certified Wise MC, LevelHeaded (South Australia). With the crew putting the finishing touches on their brand new fox-hole and with two new releases slated for later this year, Red Fox Records is set to stalk your speakers soon.
This is the title track off the Levelheaded album The Spice Of Life (2009) remixed by DJ Pyrex from City Wide Krew.
Pagen Elypsis will be launching their debut album One Way Ticket on October 9th in Adelaide at Fowlers Live, North Terrace (opposite the skate park). Special guests Crate Creeps and Dialect & Despair will be performing on the night…bam…plus an underage emcee comp. (This is an all ages show!)
Line up: Pagen Elypsis Crate Creeps (QLD) Dialect and Despair
Hosted by Simplex of Terra Firma Tickets $20 Licensed ALL AGES. Pre-sale tickets are now available from selected stores. Tickets available from Clinic116, Da Klinic, Cold Krush and through DON. Email donstudios@gmail.com. Doors open at 7.30pm. Visit Pagen Elypsis on Facebook to check out the T-Shirt & Hoody designs. Available on the night T-Shirts $29, Hoodies $49.
Underage MC Comp details: Double or Nothing is putting on a emcee Comp for any underage emcee’s out there and offering them a chance to perform at the biggest album launch this year!
Congratulations to the winers Of the Pagen Elypsis Album Launch Under 18 MC Competition: Locky Birrell, Ben Knoll, Chris Villanueva, Andrew Foster & Luke Madonna!!!! Good luck boys.
On the night each of the 5 contestants will get to perform there song live and the final winner (judged by the crowd) will receive $100 & prizes! Beats will be provided by Purpose.
In celebration of this great event, PE have organised some top new tracks for you to download and get you pumped for Friday night.
Pagen Elypsis – Feat. Crate Creeps – Arrival
Direct Link here.
There have been rumblings and rumours, today it was announced officially that all-rounder Simplex, has signed a solo deal with Obese Records. Obese sent out their newsletter today and here’s what they had to say about the signing:
Adelaide MC, producer and member of Terra Firma, Simplex, has signed a solo deal with Obese. After hearing the rough drafts, all we can say is that the album is original, quirky, funky, light-hearted and pretty damn dope. Simplex has been an Adelaide pillar for years producing the Terra Firma and Damo album, along with beats for Hilltop Hoods, Drapht, and Downsyde. His debut solo album is scheduled for release around mid year.
