May 2013 sees Brisbane locals Mr Hill & Rahjconkas release their sophomore album Dead End Street. In the space of one year they have firmly made a place for themselves in the industry and gained respect and accolades from genre veterans. Since the release of lead single in October 2012 Put The Work In popularity for this young duo has gained increasingly.
Being chosen by Triple j unearthed to play at Brisbane’s hip hop festival Sprung, saw the boys perform on a major platform with overwhelming support. The two are planning to hit the road in July on their own headline tour to all major capital cities following the release of Dead End Street.
It has been a big week for the young MC/producer who is 3 weeks away from delivering his beyond anticipated debut album Where It Starts. Wednesday saw his most recent single Comin Home feat. Illy, Jimmy Nice & Joyride get added to rotation on triple j, a huge feat for an entirely independant artist without label support.
Perhaps the most fascinating and defining detail of Purpose’s recent newfound light is that he has established it by working at a level that has allowed him to keep pace with his peers despite having no backing at all.
The following day triple j Unearthed released their Top 50 Most Played artists of 2012, announcing Purpose as the #1 Highest Played artist of 2012 across all genres! With a long and strong history in the underground and the doors to the industry slowly opening 2013 is set to be an eventful and successful year for Purpose.
Whispers had gotten around on Wednesday that Nova had announced Purpose and Vents as being added to the monster Clipsal 500 line up, and he closed out the week today by taking to social media to confirm this. The event on March 1st will see him perform alongside Hilltop Hoods, Drapht, Illy, Pez & Vents in what is sure to be one of the biggest nights in Adelaide entertainment for the year.
Where It Start’s will be available in stores nationally February 8th, 2013.
Drapht has released another new track with fellow Perth product Ta-Ku. The track titles 1990′s, is set to feature alongside last month’s track Tasty on a brand new EP from the West Coast emcee, due sometime in the first half of 2013.
As well as references to Jennifer Aniston, MacGyver and Axl Rose’s hair, the track features the vocal talents of N’Fa Jones and Joyride. The track made it’s debut on the triple j website here. You can pick it up for free download below. For lyrics to the track and more, be sure to head over to Drapht’s official website here.
Fresh from releasing one of the most talked about albums of 2012, Urthboy hits the road with a new live band and a j Award nomination. Urthboy’s new album Smokey’s Haunt has received a phenomenal response after debuting at #14 on the ARIA Album Chart. It was triple j Album of the Week, The Australian gave it a 5 star review saying it was “absolutely captivating” and it was announced just this morning as a nominee for the 2012 j award.
From Rolling Stone to The Sydney Morning Herald and beyond, Smokey’s Haunt has been lauded for its storytelling, receiving 4 star reviews across the board with many calling it Urthboy’s most accomplished album. Fittingly, he’s put together a live band and a refreshed sound to tour the album in 2013 alongside cohort Jane Tyrrell. If you’ve been to one of their shows you can testify to the infectious spirit of their live performances—there’s a warmth to the music that perfectly suits live drums and keys.
Supporting are two recipients of the Hilltop Hoods Initiative, the latest Elefant Traks signing Jimblah (whose star is on the rise with his signature soulful hip hop sound) as well as One Sixth, the exciting young MC hailing from Namibia and residing in Melbourne, whose stunning debut album Electronic Mail just dropped on Obese.
All pre-sale ticket buyers will receive a free MP3 remix of Knee Length Socks by Trials. Tickets on sale now. Smokey’s Haunt is out now on Elefant Traks.
Australia’s fastest rising indigenous hip hop outfit, Yung Warriors are wrapt to announce their second single, Prey For Better Days, from sophomore album Standing Strong. A national tour in support of the new track (which features Egoz, Diafrix and Little G) has been announced and Prey For Better Days was added to full rotation on triple j Wed Oct 24th. Hardly surprising though since first single, and title track, has been enjoying high rotation on the station since its release.
This latest run of dates, and the release of Prey For Better Days, comes after a stellar trajectory supporting the likes of American hip hop heavyweights D12, Akon, 50 Cent, The Game and Outlawz, as well as local hip hop pioneer Urthboy; two sets of showcases in the New York and L.A. in the past twelve months alone. That’s without even mentioning a 2012 Deadly for Best Hip Hop Act (Yung Warriors played Standing Strong at the ceremony with feature artists Dizzy Doolan, Sneake 1, Dubbzone and Karnage and played the after party with a live band), a Best New Talent gong at the first Indigenous Hip Hop and R’n’B Bump Awards and a nomination for Best Independent Hip Hop Album at last month’s Jagermeister AIR Awards.
Yung Warriors have in-fact been paying their dues and honing their art for 7 years though it’s certain their artistic upbringing was facilitating creativity years before they chose a moniker for their music. Their maternal grandfather is revered Australian Aboriginal artist Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri, D-Boys parents, too, are both artists, and as a youngster Yung Warriors’ Tjimba often accompanied his father Selwyn Burns (Coloured Stone, Mixed Relations, Blackfire) on stage first getting an opportunity to control the mic at the age of 15.
Coming across TZU around that time woke Tjimba up to the idea that Australian’s could write hip hop – in fact TZU’s Joelistics invited him onstage at his own shows – and from there his skills as a musician on guitar, bass and keyboard started getting a serious work out. Producing beats and strengthening his power as a lyricist was just one of the creative outlets Tjimba was able to share with his brother D-Boy, who as a formidable beat maker in his own right, has also developed his own distinctive sound within Yung Warriors: specifically, his smooth vocal style, organically developed through his love of reggae, jazz, alternative rock and of course, hip hop.
Though they spent their childhood’s separately – as Tjimba explains: “D-Boy went this way and I went that way,” – they never lost their kinship; when Tjimba played his beats and rhymes to D-Boy, the latter knew “this is what I want to do.” Starting life in the Northern Territory, moving to more urban cities for schooling, or their parent’s work commitments, not to mention travelling extensively for the past five years through both inner city and outback Australia in support of their music, the brothers admit to seeing “a lot of struggle through our people, and a lot of people wanting to succeed” but realised they had a unique vantage point as “urban blackfella/bush blackfella.”
We’re both sides of the fence,” says Tjimba. “Put that together; we could do something with that. I just [thought I’d] put my culture into hip hop culture and see what I could do.”
With Standing Strong released on Payback Records [the indigenous label founded by prominent indigenous AFL player Nathan Lovett-Murray], and produced by Momo from Diafrix, Yung Warriors knew they were in a comfortable, mentoring, environment. Of the collaboration with Momo, Tjimba reckons not only was Momo “just an awesome brother to hang around with,” but he “teaches us a lot about beats…and about putting music together. We were all the same level.”
Standing Strong marries hip hop flows and beats, smooth r’n’b stylings and pop hooks with universal themes of culture, pride and family, growing up, trying to understand the fairer sex and discovering marijuana and nightclubs. While Yung Warriors are proud of the way they can connect with their own indigenous community, and offer encouragement to those who need to be reminded to hold their head high, ultimately, says Tjimba, “Music brings people together. To see people smiling and having a good time: that’s what I love.” The added dimension? “We’re finding ourselves, too.
You can catch Yung Warriors on the Hip Hop Corroboree Tour on the following dates:
Fri 23 Nov – Amplifier Bar, Perth, WA Sat 24 Nov – POW, Bunbury, WA Thu 29 – Karova Lounge, Ballarat, VIC Fri 30 Nov – Factory Theatre, Marrickville, NSW Sat 1 Dec – Yours & Owls, Wollongong, NSW Fri 7 Dec – Sand Bar, Mildura, VIC
To celebrate AusMusic Month along with triple j, producer C1 will be remixing some of Australia’s favourite songs and uploading them every couple of days. The first remix Big Jet Plane by Angus & Julie Stone is up now along with the second remix Xavier Rudd’s, Let Me Be.
You can participate in Beats By C1′sAus Remix Month by visting C1′s Facebook page here and let him know what Australian artist or song you’d like remixed! C1 recently released the huge underground EP, Skateboard Soiree with rapper Allday.
The first batch of acts vying for Australian Album of the Year at the 2012 J Awards were announced recently on triple j Breakfast with Tom & Alex. The 2012 Unearthed Artist of the Year and The Music Video of the Year nominees have also been announced.
Out of the five nominees, two of the acts - The Rubens & Alpine – are being noticed for the debut long-players. Hermitude pick up their first nomination for their fourth album Hyper Paradise. Ball Park’s nomination comes just a year after their first, for their debut Happiness & Surrounding Suburbs and Tame Impala follow up their 2010 J Award win for Innerspeaker with another nod for their sophomore Lonerism.
Kingswood, Flume, The Rubens, Chance Waters and Thelma Plum have all picked up nominations for the 2012 Unearthed Artist of the Year.
Six clips are set to battle it out for Music Video of the Year at this year’s J Award’s. The crew behind videos for the likes of Alpine, Gotye, Flight Facilities, Kirin J Callinan, Bertie Blackman and Hilltop Hoods are all in the mix ahead of the November 23 awards ceremony.
Never branding himself to any particular style or sound, Ry has built a loyal following over the past few years in a city already filled with talent – Melbourne. Born and raised there, some may call this twenty-something’s music Hip-Hop or something completely different.
Such work has received airplay on triple j, PBS, SYN FM and also on the College Radio Circuit in the USA. Back in September Ry released his brand new EP – Wall Street. Be prepared to again see Ry venture to new heights and solidify himself as one Melbourne’s most promising new talents.
Featuring production from new go-to producers C1 and Soul Marauder, and a cameo from teammate Allday, Wall Street is a guaranteed entry point to the world of a kid named Ry.
Since the release of his collaborative project The People Vs Tycotic (2006), which received spins from triple j and featured guest vocals from names like Phrase, Spit Syndicate and Torcha, Tycotic has become an unstoppable force in the scene, with his punchline heavy rhyme style and rock-solid all terrain flow.
With a reputation for delivering an electric live show, Tycotic has toured Australia and landed support slots for the likes of Tech N9ne, Bone Thugs n Harmony, Bliss n Eso, 360, Drapht, Illy and Kerser, just to name a few. 2008 saw Tycotic release Conversation Domination distributed through MGM, and soon after embarked on the Conversation Domination Tour.
As well as working on his own music, Tycotic was the executive producer on Xrsize’s debut LP Lyrikally Fit (2007), and even more recently has directed music videos for Kerser. With a brand new video (The Weed Song), and an EP titled Epica about to drop, Tycotic is back with a vengeance. So don’t say you weren’t warned.
Jimblah is well known as a strong young Aboriginal man, highly respected amongst his peers and wider community. As well as his music, Jimblah has worked hard as a tutor over the past seven years. He is employed by organisations such as Deadly Vibe, Lower Murray Nungas Club, Carclew Youth Arts and Kurruru Youth Performing Arts.
Through mentoring and teaching, Jimblah has had the chance to teach what he loves – Hip Hop. He has had the opportunity to run workshops in regional areas such as the Flinders Ranges, Ceduna, Leigh Creek, Maree, Copley, Iga Warta, Port Lincoln, Port Augusta, Swan Hill, Townsville, Albany, Goulburn, Broome and the list goes on. He also teaches in various schools and detention centres around Adelaide.
Jimblah has toured extensively across Australia, using both his music and intellect to give voice to young people, particularly Indigenous Australians. As such, Jimblah was invited to represent Australian and Indigenous Hip Hop, nationally and international as a member of the Australian Youth Music Council, attending the 3rd International World Music Forum in Tunisia, North Africa. Jimblah made such an impression, he was invited to run his own session at the 4th International World Music Forum in Tallin, Estonia, Hip Hop As a Tool For Social Change.
To date, Jimblah is the only Indigenous Australian to have represented Australia at this prestigious international forum, a role he carries with enthusiasm and great respect. Jimblah has just released his self produced debut album Face The Fire, and has a national tour planned for 2012. A couple of film clips are also in the works, so make sure you keep a lookout for this artist in the near future as big things are promised.
