Melbourne’s own Producer / DJ / Watermelon Man, Tom Showtime is back with a massive free download EP! Following on from the success of his acclaimed debut album The Jam Thief (Obese Records) with a tasty selection of Mashups. Serving up a mixture of the best of the best including Dr. Dre, Biz Markie, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Eminem, Talib Tweli & The Roots.
Grab these free tunes now and watch out for Showtime’s future releases The Chippa Irie EP on Booty Fruit (Out April 4th via JUNO) and his upcoming Artist EP on Ghetto Funk (UK).
Mashiona Tasty Mashups Vol 1: A Free Download EP By Tom Showtime 1. My Name Isn’t Biz (Eminem vs Biz Markie) 2. Listen & Don’t Say Nuthin’ (Talib Kweli vs The Roots) 3. They Call This The Message (Classified vs Dr Dre) 4. Holtful Shimmy (Ol’ Dirty Bastard vs Young-Holt Unlimited)
New to the game but old to its’ ways, 21-year-old Melbourne lyricist Remi ‘REMi’ Kolawole exudes a unique style, rhythmic flow and an honest delivery. His semi tongue-in-cheek braggadocios style, by no means overshadows his lyrical abilities. Remi’s rapping persona is comfortable sitting amongst varying musical backdrops and tempos, and his singing voice is as smooth and catchy as the hooks he sings.
Expertly balancing singing and rapping, Remi’s content is highly self referential, littered with pop-cultural tid bits and tales of a life equally footed in fantasy as it is reality. On the back of releasing two EP’s in 2011 (Childish and Five Beats I Love) his debut 2012 album Regular People Sh#%t not only cements his previous forte’s, but also displays a confidence in showing several new ones.
The album (produced in full by local duo J Smith & Dutch) covers a varying subject matter and has equal nods (lyrically) to everyone from Slum Village to Drake as it does Black Thought and early Kanye West. Remi’s 1st single of the album, APE caused a bit of a commotion down at triple j. As a result, Remi was made an Unearthed feature artist, and his debut LP Regular People Shit, dubbed the Hip-Hop Show’s feature album.
Since then he has supported XXL freshman Danny Brown, MED, N’fa Jones, M.A.F.I.A, Jade McRae, and played at the 2012 song summit held in Sydney, along side fellow RunForYourLife members. REMi present’s his brand new film clip, entitled Get Some (tribute to Tariq Trotter). The track, (consisting of 62 bars of raw rap, a huge drum break and 808’s) is dedicated to The Roots front man Black Thought, and not unlike BT, the tune oozes attitude. If you combine this with super fine ballet dancer’s and a live band, you have yourself one hell of a film clip. Get Some is lifted from REMi’s debut LP, Regular People Shit.
Whisper is the triple threat. He’s an experienced emcee and producer, plus, the boy can sing! Whisper has been steadily producing beats for over 7 years and rapping for over 10, but he has only just begun to unleash his melodic vocal stylings, at the insistence of those who have worked with him.
In 2005, hip-hop crew Equills, consisting of Whisper, and his partners in crime, Mantra and DJ Wax Vandal, released an LP The New Threat to wide critical acclaim. The New Threat shows Whisper’s talent as, not only an emcee, but as a producer, with a large proportion of the beats being Whisper productions. Equills played at many festivals, such as, Livid and Kiss My Grass, and shared the stage with artists such Looptroop, Hilltop Hoods, Bliss N Eso and The Roots. Following the success of The New Threat, Whisper was inspired to pursue other creative projects – and to complete a degree in design – but has not ruled out a future Equills album.
Right now, Whisper is concentrating on his solo release with a possible release date mid next 2011. A few days ago, Whisper dropped a mixtape titled The Free Album.
The Free Album is 10 cracking tracks featuring some of Australia’s top emcees including 13th Son, A-Diction and Mantra. You can check The Free Album below and also download in 320kbs glory.
Make sure you visit Whispers new Triple J Unearthed page here, and leave a comment!
Alternative Energy is the title to your second full length LP dropping today. How are you feeling about the finished product?
I feel like its my best work to date. I’m working with the best producers, I’m writing the best songs of my career, all the guests brought their A-game….I’m really proud of this album…
It’s a slick-looking package for sure, is there any meaning behind the title Alternative Energy?
The human race is headed for disaster….I don’t believe in that 2012 crap but all the signs suggest we need to change our ways. If we don’t find a better way to think/live/treat each other than we are in big trouble. We need to switch from greedy to considerate, from racist to accepting. We need to look for new ways of existing because our current approach is simply not working. Each one of us needs to find our own Alternative Energy.
You’ve just released an amazing film clip for the lead single The Show. What was the creative motivation behind this clip?
That video was a collaboration between myself and the director Prad Deep. We only had 8 days to script, organize and shoot the video…the fact that it turned as great as it did is a testament to Prad and his team’s professionalism. Their company is called Artifact (www.artifactdigital.com.au) They also did the Spit Syndicate “Starry-Eyed” clip, “Nothing To Loose” by Gully Platoon, “I Go” by Jess Harlen and the Astronomy Class”Where You At?” video. Prad is going to be a big director in the future…I can feel it.
We really must mention the beats on Alternative Energy. We see tracks from Dizz 1, P Major, M-Phazes and Kid Fiction, but it’s Elgusto that we see you teaming up with most on AE. What did you think Elgusto could bring to your album?
El Gusto is simply a freak. If you listen to his catalog of music…all the Hermitude albums, all the production he’s done he’s done for Urthboy…there are so many styles, so many fresh sounds. I feel like he is truly original with his production. He’s definitely in the top 3 producers in Australia.
I have nothing but praise for all the other producers, none of whom I had worked with before. They all gave me amazing music, no question. I could write an each on why each of them is dope. The aim of this album was for every beat to sound nothing like ‘Aussie hip hop’ as we know it. I feel like there are too many style of hip hop which are ignored here in Australia…theres too much ‘boom-bap’….while I’m a fan of Bias B, Pegz, Hilltops etc I don’t want the average listener to confuse me with them. I want my own sound. Think about it: If Dizzie Rascal rapped over standard ‘rap’ beats he would never have the success he’s enjoyed…it was by finding his own sound that he separated himself from the pack. I feel like we hit the mark with production on this album…its something fresh for your ears.
I wanted to make a record that would stimulate the listeners body and mind….kinda like when a girl talks dirty into your ear while giving you a really good hand-job.
Was it your idea to put the lyrics in the booklet. We see alot of artist shying away from that these days under fear of lyrical scrutiny.
I express myself through my writing…so I’d like people to be able to read what I write. If you hear a song on the radio once or twice you might miss the more subtle lyrics…if you are at a live show it’s often hard to hear every word. By giving you a lyric-booklet you can see exactly what I’m saying and what I stand for.
The track Proof Of Life gets right on that soulful tip, we loved your approach. How did you feel heading in to the booth to record this one?
Proof Of Life was scary for me to do- obviously I’m not a trained singer nor do I consider myself to be a particularly talented singer. But there are plenty of great artists out there who have average singing voices (Bob Dlyan, Kid Cudi, Tom Waits, Jay from Frenzel Rhomb). They may not sound sweet or hit every note but you can hear the passion and the emotion in their songs.
The music industry is full of people with perfect voices and nothing to say. Also- I feel like Australian hip hop needs more people pushing the envelop…artists shouldn’t be scared to experiment and be themselves…thats how we progress. Too many dudes are putting on an act.
“Alternative Energy” is a cool album because its honest….on some tracks I’m taking the piss, on others I’m damn near crying in the booth rhyming about homelessness. Ask El Gusto…I was choked up while recording “What A Day” because the emotions are all real. People will have a much better sense of who “The Tongue” is after hearing this record.
Oxymoron is one of the stand out tracks lyrically. Here is an example for our readers: “Terrified of cancer, kill for a tan. Hate slave labour still buy the brand”. Do you draw motivation from these types of social and political issues?
That track is about how ridiculous life is. We are all walking contradictions. I AM terrified of getting cancer but I try to get a tan in summer. I don’t eat burnt toast but I do smoke and drink…it makes no sense. We should all be able to admit how back to front our logic is….a lot of people who want to ‘save the whales’ are happy to eat deep-fried chicken.
You just got back from an overseas trip to New York City, what was the highlight?
The whole city is one big highlight. It really does make Sydney seem very tame and conservative in comparison. Every day there is something amazing going on- you go to a bowling alley and Questlove (from The Roots) is djing in the corner…you go to Central Park on a Sunday and Public Enemy are doing a free concert…people there really know how to have fun. I couldn’t recommend it highly enough.
I think people would have seen the vision by now, for those who haven’t, at your album announcement things got a little heated and you threw down with some jerk reporter. Will there be any repercussions from this?
He was a dickhead and I’m glad I popped his eyeball. The court case is next month…so lets wait and see what happens….although considering I just admitted I’m guilty (and its on tape) I’m pretty sure I’m going to jail.
Final words?
The single launch for “The Show” will be at the Sandringham Hotel next Friday the 17th in Newtown, Sydney.
We are announcing the national tour next week…I can’t give you details just yet but there’s a good chance it will be a co-headline tour with a big act on Obese Records…we’re coming to all capital cities
1.Alternative Energy is the title to your second full length LP dropping today. How are you feeling about the finished album man?
I feel like its my best work to date. I’m working with the best producers, I’m writing the best songs of my career, all the guests brought their A-game….I’m really proud of this album…
2.It’s a slick looking album for sure, is there any meaning behind the title Alternative Energy? Maybe some cosmic undertones here?
The human race is headed for disaster….I don’t believe in that 2012 crap but all the signs suggest we need to change our ways. If we don’t find a better way to think/live/treat each other then we are in big trouble. We need to switch from greedy to considerate, from racist to accepting. We need to look for new ways of existing because our current approach is simply not working. Each one of us needs to find our own Alternative Energy.
3.You’ve just recently released your film clip to the single The Show, which features some colourfully masked luchadors. What was the creative motivation behind this clip?
That video was a collaboration between myself and the director Prad Deep. We only had 8 days to script, organize and shoot the video…the fact that it turned as great as it did is a testament to Prad and his team’s professionalism. Their company is called Artifact (www.artifactdigital.com.au) They also did the Spit Syndicate “Starry-Eyed” clip, “Nothing To Loose” by Gully Platoon, “I Go” by Jess Harlen and the Astronomy Class”Where You At?” video. Prad is going to be a big director in the future…I can feel it.
4. We really must mention the beats on Alternative Energy. We see tracks from Dizz 1, P Major, M-Phazes and Kid Fiction but it’s Elgusto that we see you teaming up with most on AE. What did you think Elgusto could bring to your album? Innervision beat just makes us want to break out all the crazy bboy moves.
El Gusto is simply a freak. If you listen to his catalog of music…all the Hermitude albums, all the production he’s done he’s done for Urthboy…there are so many styles, so many fresh sounds. I feel like he is truly original with his production. He’s definitely in the top 3 producers in Australia.
I have nothing but praise for all the other producers, none of whom I had worked with before. They all gave me amazing music, no question. I could write an each on why each of them is dope.
The aim of this album was for every beat to sound nothing like ‘Aussie hip hop’ as we know it. I feel like there are too many style of hip hop which are ignored here in Australia…theres too much ‘boom-bap’….while I’m a fan of Bias B, Pegz, Hilltops etc I don’t want the average listener to confuse me with them. I want my own sound. Think about it: If Dizzie Rascal rapped over standard ‘rap’ beats he would never have the success he’s enjoyed…it was by finding his own sound that he separated himself from the pack. I feel like we hit the mark with production on this album…its something fresh for your ears.
5. Did you want an album that people could get their groove on to, or was that just more of a result of the guys you were collabing with?
I wanted to make a record that would stimulate the listeners body and mind….kinda like when a girl talks dirty into your ear while giving you a really good hand-job.
6. Another that plays a big part in the album is the don Joyride, do you feel a bit ripped off that he is featuring on another album dropping today? Nah just kidding what was it like recording with this guy? We keep hearing stories of how talented this dude is.
Joyride is the Nate Dogg of Australian hip hop. He’s a quadruple threat ; singer, rapper, DJ, producer. And he can play a bunch of different instruments…and at 6’10 he doubles as a bodyguard.
7. The album has been described as political, witty, poetic and globally minded and we’d have to agree. Was it your idea to put the lyrics in the booklet. We see alot of artist shying away from that these days under fear of lyrical scrutiny.
I express myself through my writing…so I’d like people to be able to read what I write. If you hear a song on the radio once or twice you might miss the more subtle lyrics…if you are at a live show it’s often hard to hear every word. By giving you a lyric-booklet you can see exactly what I’m saying and what I stand for.
8. The track Proof Of Life is gets right on that soulful tip. The whole album seems like you’ve just tackled it from a whole different angle from previous efforts, did you go into this album wanting to make something completely different from what you’ve done previously or does it come down to more of and evolution for yourself?
Proof Of Life was scary for me to do- obviously I’m not a trained singer nor do I consider myself to be a particularly talented singer. But there are plenty of great artists out there who have average singing voices (Bob Dlyan, Kid Cudi, Tom Waits, Jay from Frenzel Rhomb). They may not sound sweet or hit every note but you can hear the passion and the emotion in their songs.
The music industry is full of people with perfect voices and nothing to say.
Also- I feel like Australian hip hop needs more people pushing the envelop…artists shouldn’t be scared to experiment…thats how we progress.
9. The creative approach to the track Wargames see’s you and Joyride put a fresh spin on the old going out on the town type track. MIA’s hot right? HA Maybe a future team up?
MIA has got her thing going on…but to be honest thats kind of a personal joke as I was seeing a girl who looked like MIA for a while. I don’t know if she’s heard “Wargames” yet…
10. One thing we really enjoyed about the album is that you haven’t at all lost your classic sense of humor. It’s what made us fans, when we first caught you back in the BFS days. Do you think it’s important in life not to take yourself and life to seriously?
I think its important for artist to be themselves. Too many dudes are putting on an act. “Alternative Energy” is a cool album because its honest….on some tracks I’m taking the piss, on others I’m damn near crying in the booth rhyming about homelessness. Ask El Gusto…I was choked up while recording “What A Day” because the emotions are all real. People will have a much better sense of who “The Tongue” is after hearing this record.
11. Oxymoron is one of the stand out tracks lyrically. Here are some lines “Terrified of cancer, kill for a tan. Hate slave labour still buy the brand” then further on in the track This is my home but I’m still an invader”. Do you find alot of motivation from these types of social and political issues?
That track is about how ridiculous life is. We are all walking contradictions. I AM terrified of getting cancer but I try and get a tan in summer. I don’t eat burnt toast but I do smoke and drink…it makes no sense. We should all be able to admit how back to front our logic is….a lot of people who want to ‘save the whales’ are happy to eat deep fried chicken.
12. You just got back from NYC, how was the trip any highlights?
The whole city is one big highlight. It really does make Sydney seem very tame and conservative in comparison. Every day there is something amazing going on- you go to a bowling alley and Questlove (from The Roots) is djing in the corner…you go to Central Park on a Sunday and Public Enemy are doing a free concert…people there really know how to have fun. I couldn’t recommend it highly enough.
13. There were recently reports in the media, and I think people would have seen the vision. At your press conference things got a little heated and you threw down with some reporter who just had no idea. Will there be any reprocutions from this?
He was a dickhead and I’m glad I popped his eyeball. The court case is next month so lets wait and see what happens….although considering I just admitted I’m guilty (and its on tape) I’m pretty sure I’m going to jail.
14. Final words (tour album launch etc)
The single launch for “The Show” will be at the Sandringham Hotel next Friday the 17th in Newtown, Sydney.
We are announcing the national tour next week…I can’t give you details just yet but theres a good chance it will be a co-headline tour with a big act on Obese Records…we’re coming to all capital cities
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.
We recently spoke to Pete and Paul over at the Bigger Than Hip Hop Show on Melbourne’s SYN 90.7FM. If you haven’t heard of this show, don’t sleep for much longer. It airs live Wednesday nights, 9 – 10pm, across the city as well as the Mornington Peninsula & Geelong.
These guys have only recently started the show and already have delivered some huge nights of hip hop, live to your radio.
Recent shows included some top interviews, including the likes of Solo from Horrorshow, Jes Won from Thundamentals, plus a host of DJ specials, and a shit load of raw hip hop.
Here’s a few questions we threw at the lads from Bigger Than Hip Hop, we like to call this article getting to know your radio hip hop radio emcee.
What’s your main concept behind the show that is ‘Bigger Than Hip Hop’?
PAUL: The idea behind the show is that there is so much good hip hop out there that we couldn’t limit our playlists to a time, place or style. So what our show tries to do is play hip hop from all around the world (and locally, of course) whether it was released thirty years ago or last week.
PETE: Yeah, I’d like to think that we source a slightly different brand of Hip Hop than what most people would be used to and completely comfortable with. Paul and I have very different tastes in music and I think we take a broad approach to the show.
What’s the best thing about hosting a show like BTHH?
PAUL: One of my favourite things about BTHH is the opportunity it gives for us to reach out and interview some of our favourite artists in hip hop at the moment, both locally and internationally. We’ve been lucky enough to talk to Solo from Horrorshow, Jeswon from the Thundamentals as well as Thes One from People Under The Stairs and One Be Lo from Binary Star. Those guys are definitely a handful of guys I think are ahead of the curve in the hip hop scene.
PETE: I’m constantly hearing new tracks or learning new things, whether it be through Paul, researching segments or even from listeners who text in. It’s also a great platform to get a range of opinions on issues and topics, which is something we do every show.
What kind of hip hop will you be playing?
PAUL: Anything and everything good. Every week we’ll play something different.
PETE: As I mentioned before, we try to keep it broad. If we can put a listener on to even one group or rapper they’ve never heard before then the mission is complete. In saying that, we’re always going to be chucking in a few loved classics for the heads.
What kind of content will we see on the show?
PAUL: Each week we play a brand new track that’s just been released, look back at an era/album that was monumental, discuss a ‘topic’ in hip hop & ask for people’s opinions, play a song and the song it was sampled from, give away CDs, give shout outs on air and if there’s time, play some requests. If you’re really lucky we’ll play an interview as well.
How did you personally get involved/set up the radio show?
PAUL: SYN is a really good station to get involved with. We just signed up for radio training that runs every few months and then we pitched our idea for the show to the station’s organizers. They liked our concept and we’ve been hosting the show since.
How important do you think it is to have your type of independent radio show in Australia?
PAUL: Personally, I think its pretty important. Without student and community stations there’s not much room for diversity in music. I get tired of hearing the same songs on commercial radio and in the end, they’re running a business so they cater to their consumers, but we’re trying to do something different. We want to give musicians exposure, we want to show listeners groups who wouldn’t get heard any other way.
In your opinion who should we be on the lookout for in 2010 (musically)?
PAUL: Where to start… I’m really hanging out for The Roots ‘How I Got Over’ CD, I think Mantra and Spit Syndicate are set to make a big splash in 2010 as will The Tongue & Lyrics Born. I think the Beastie Boys are set to make a big comeback too. I’m hoping Lupe Fiasco and Common’s new albums will be better than their last and I’m intrigued to hear how Andre 3000s new one and Doom & Ghostface’s collab will turn out. Then again, the best act of 2010 could always be a newcomer.
PETE: I’m really looking forward to seeing if Low Budget get around to putting out anything new this year. Their release last year was pretty killer. Digging a bit deeper underground I’d be watching the Crate Cartel crew. As a collective they’ve been coming though with some really top-notch production lately on both Fluent and Geko’s releases. The quality production level of some of our underground releases is in Melbourne is astounding.
How do you see the current state of Australian hip hop internationally and locally?
PAUL: Aus hip hop has definitely started getting acknowledged and respected in the wider community. Personally, I think the majority of our releases coming out are better, on average, than the majority of American rap at the moment. As for other nations, there’s a lot of stuff from Europe that I’m really digging at the moment like Pete Philly & Perquisite, Fettes Brot, Looptroop etc. I mean most countries have their own scene now which I think is great.
PETE: I think there’s still a lot of room for growth in the Australian for hip hop scene. I feel that the more money there is in an industry the more people you are going to have doing it for the wrong reasons, like in the U.S. That’s why Australia has maintained such a genuinely dope hip hop scene, because there’s no money in it!
To contact Pete and Paul, you can reach them on ther Facebook page, “Bigger Than Hip Hop Radio Show” where you can give us join in discussions, listen to past shows and interviews and links to free mixtapes
The Photo above was painted by Pete in Frankston 23/1/10
BTHH Radio Intro Samples: Pete Rock, Lyrics Born, Ugly Duckling, Nas, Pegz, Beastie Boys, Talib Kweli, Common Low Budget, K-Os and our interviews with Thes One, Solo and Jeswon.
The track is called, ‘Stand Up’, and the beat was produced by M-Phazes, featuring Lee Sissing on the hook. It also features a whole bunch of the Obese Records fam. Here’s a bit of what Whisper had to say about his latest work.
‘Stand Up’ is the first single off my upcoming free-album, ‘In Good Company’. Which will feature a heap of collabs with some amazing local emcees, vocalists and producers.
Check out the ‘Stand Up’ clip on a earlier post here.
Whisper is the triple threat. He’s an experienced emcee and producer, plus, the boy can sing! Whisper has been steadily producing beats for over 7 years and rapping for over 10, but he has only just begun to unleash his melodic vocal stylings, at the insistence of those who have worked with him.
In 2005, hip-hop crew Equills, consisting of Whisper, and his partners in crime, Mantra and DJ Wax Vandal, released an LP ‘The New Threat’ to wide critical acclaim. ‘The New Threat’ shows Whisper’s talent as, not only an emcee, but as a producer, with a large proportion of the beats being Whisper productions. Equills played at many festivals, such as, Livid and Kiss My Grass, and shared the stage with artists such Looptroop, Hilltop Hoods, Bliss N Eso and The Roots. Following the success of ‘The New Threat’, Whisper was inspired to pursue other creative projects – and to complete a degree in design – but has not ruled out a future Equills album.
The New Threat has been a fav of ours since it dropped way back when, to see Whisperteam back up withMantra and DJ Wax Vandal, would be something special. With both artists appearing on the Obese fam anything’s possible.
