Witnessing undisputed rap legends live on stage is somewhat of a rarity in Australia. We’ve (surprisingly) managed to get KRS-One, watched in awe as Big Daddy Kane rocked the mic, seen Masta Ace a few times, and we even got Biz Markie and Kurtis Blow once. Once big names through the late 80’s and early…
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Every young rapper has to be the “next something”. The next Jay Z; the next Ice Cube; the next MC Lyte; the next Nas. Reference points are handy for upcoming artists, although they may be frustrating in the long term. It’d be no surprise if Deezie Brown has run into a far few of those…
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When he released Idle Time back in 2014, Compton rapper Buddy immediately showed the world he was bound to be one of the next big names in hip hop. Keeping up with features from the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Pharrell and even pop star Miley Cyrus, the young emcee proved his penmanship was as sharp…
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You on point Vans? The renowned sports and apparel brand have this week announced a special collaboration collection with none other than the legendary A Tribe Called Quest, hooking up with The Thread Shop – a merchandising company from ATCQ and Sony Music – for sneakers which celebrate, pay tribute and honour the style, art…
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With one of eight episodes from forthcoming Netflix docuseries Rapture dedicated to her story, we managed to grab a quick chat with North Carolina emcee Rapsody during a preview screening at SXSW Film Festival. The new series from Mass Appeal and Sacha Jenkins looks at the personal lives and individual contexts of various hip hop…
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Renowned rapper artist Lil’ Wayne will be headlining a new hip-hop festival across Sydney and Melbourne this March as Jumanji Festival makes stops in Sydney and Melbourne. The inaugural event will be one of the only hip-hop focused festivals of its kind in Australia, and it’s looking like the line-up will keep growing right up…
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I’ve never heard a Vince Staples song I didn’t like. The tough, nihilistic tone of his own brand of no-frills hip hop is perfectly placed over just about any contemporary production with even the slightest bounce to it, frantically transforming each beat with his elastic flow and nasal cadence whether it lean towards EDM or…
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Just hearing YelaWolf spit a verse live is a show in itself. The Alabama emcee has an innate talent for the kind of machine-gun rap very few can do so well, making it look easy as he confidently, and clearly, spins verse after verse with head-spinning proficiency, jumping from word to word without ever losing…
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Ari Lennox, EarthGang, J.I.D and Bas. North Carolina emcee J. Cole, now one of the most commanding names in hip hop, is certainly chiseling his Interscope imprint Dreamville Records into something truly impressive, and positioned to grow well beyond 2018. It’s nothing new for a successful rapper to start fielding and fostering their own roster…
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And the Social Media campaign award of the year goes to: Martin Brown. The man formerly known as Smiles Again (one half of the now defunct Mind Over Matter), and now known as Smizzy, has been flying a bit under the radar for these past few years. But that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been hard…
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Oh how I would have loved to be a fly on the wall when a young Pete Rock lifted that immortal saxophone sample from Tom Scott‘s version of “Today”. The peerless beatmaker used that second-long loop to create what is arguably the greatest rap production of all time, that which became “They Reminisce Over You…
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You hear that? That’s the sound of Hip Hop fans all across Australia counting their lucky stars. At the turn of the century it seemed like heads the world over would never see the legendary duo of Pete Rock & CL Smooth reunite, but fast forward to now and things done changed; one of the…
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For Hip Hop, 2016 was the year of cosigning anything and everything. So called ‘mumble rap’ became a thing and there was a massive push back against the term ‘real Hip Hop’, championing newcomers like Lil’ Yachty and Lil’ Uzi Vert (who, like it or not, have been attached to the music and the culture)…
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Get ready to welcome the new year with menacing grime beats and furious street-minded rhymes as UK duo Krept & Konan plan a visit down under. The underground South London heavy hitters will be charging into the first week of 2017 with a whirlwind visit that’ll see them play two shows: one in Sydney and…
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“Relevance” is a confusing term when it’s applied to hip hop. Whenever I discuss the music I tend to switch off as soon as someone says “so and so isn’t relevant” – it’s the most overused word by those who lack the knowledge or familiarity with such a complex culture and art form (I’m not…
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One of Detroit’s sharpest emcees and hardest working beatsmiths, Black Milk, will be heading down to Australia and New Zealand this November, performing a string of shows to complement his festival set at Tocumwal’s annual Strawberry Fields. After consistently delivering quality projects like 2010’s Album of the Year and 2014’s If There’s a Hell Below,…
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With the recent release of his fourth studio album Blank Face, Black Hippy emcee ScHoolboy Q has announced that he’ll be touring Australia this spring, bringing his latest material and rich back catalogue to Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, and Perth, and This That festival in Newcastle. Fresh off what is perhaps his best and most realised…
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High profile releases from the likes of Kanye, Drake, and Beyoncé, plus show-stealers from Chance the Rapper, Skepta, Anderson .Paak and dvsn have fleshed out what has been a very strong six months for hip hop and R&B. We’ve also seen emerging talents like Gallant and Joyner Lucas, comebacks from Fat Joe and Maxwell, and…
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After only making his debut in Australia earlier this year through a series of NYE festivals and, UK grime emcee Skepta has announced an epic return to this side of the world with seven shows across Australia and New Zealand. The man, who just released his long-awaited 4th LP Konnichiwa, has marked a monumental push…
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Last year’s If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late was a bold move for Drake, moving away from the ultra-relatable, slightly neurotic rapper-singer and towards something closer to street-minded hip hop, taking aim at critics over dark, brooding beats that were glued together by an adrenaline-inducing energy. It was mafioso rap for the selfie generation,…
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Hip hop legends in their own right, Chicago’s Common and Brooklyn’s Talib Kweli are both heading down to Australia for a four-date tour this May. Known for their strong poetic lyricism and influence on the more socially conscious side of hip-hop, this will be a good chance to see two of hip hop’s most undeniable…
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Coming off of some very well received support slots earlier this year for the likes of Vince Staples and Tuka, Sydney emcee B Wise has given us a listen of some new material with single “40 Days”. Producer Nic Martin has matched B’s relaxed, melodic flow with a steady drum flow, allowing the SMAC award…
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Mid-west hip hop legends Bone Thugs-N-Harmony will be making their very welcome return to Australia in May of this year as they headline a series of shows dubbed This Is Hip Hop; even better, the collective will be performing their seminal sophomore E. 1999 Eternal in it’s entirety, 21 years (and two months) after it’s…
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First off, who is this Pablo to whom Kanye West refers with his album title, The Life of Pablo? Picasso? Neruda? Escobar? Is he inexplicably trying to revive Petey Pablo’s career? Referencing Radiohead’s classic debut? Maybe he is likening himself San Pablo (St. Paul), another biblical reference following the religious megalomania of Yeezus. Most likely…
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Yesterday morning, many Australians in Adelaide, Melbourne, and Sydney woke up early to stream an unprecedented worldwide listening party-cum-fashion show by Chicago emcee Kanye West, debuting his new album, The Life of Pablo in full (or so we thought). So far, the album has been very well received if publications across the globe are anything…
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The team behind popular Glebe joint Thievery are bringing a new concept to Surry Hills, planning a hybrid sneaker bar and eatery titled Butter to be opening up this month, described as a “street meets luxury mash-up.” Inspired by New York’s hip-hop culture and designed by Alex Zabotto-Bentley of AZB Creative (Pink Salt, Casablanca), the…
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The team at Surry Hills staple The Carrington are readying their b-boy stances, preparing to turn the venue into The Hip Hop Chicken Shop from 5pm every Saturday throughout February with a specially designed chicken shop inspired menu backed by an equally delicious soundtrack of nothing but hip hop. While the venue’s boomin’ system is…
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Guilty Simpson remains one of the quintessential figures in Detroit hip hop, standing alongside the likes of J Dilla, Phat Kat, Royce Da 5’9 and Slum Village as one of the most consistent artists to come from the city. He has been known for his sharp dedication to every aspect of The D, mainly sticking…
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Okay, so maybe Kanye West’s “GOOD Fridays” series isn’t exactly back on track. Many thought the Chicago rapper-producer would be releasing a new song every Friday in the lead-up to the highly anticipated Swish, much like he did in the weeks before My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy was released in 2010. While we were wrong…
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The deep, booming voice of Chali 2na will be heard once again in Australia as the iconic member of Jurassic 5 and Ozomatli plans a return down under for a few shows with Canadian duo The Funk Hunters. Promised to be a one-of-a-kind AV experience combining DJ culture and hip hop, funk, soul, and electronica,…
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