Sydney emcee Skryptcha has been reminiscing on his early days of recent going through his hard drives and what not. After posting an status on Facebook, promising to upload them if he received 50 likes on the status. After an hour or so with 100+ likes there was no way he couldn't post the tracks. So as an early Christmas present from Skryptcha he has decided to upload a track every few days in lead up to Christmas.
Best Day Ft, Skryptcha,Dutch,The Tongue,Alisa Fedele by DUTCH Skryptcha has said "I don't think they're better than anything I'm putting out now.. I was 16-20 years old and still learning my trade haha. I hope you guys enjoy nonetheless." Before these tracks drop check out some of his latest work including a track from Dutch which he features on along side The Tounge.
Check out Ellesquire's film clip for his lead single On The Prowl form his debut album "Ready". If you haven't already copped it, its now now through Big Village Records so head down to your local hip hop store or download it now on iTunes.
Did you manage to make it down to Tripple J's Aus Music Month's Tribute to Nick Cave Shows? If so you will know what a performance it was. If you didn't then make sure that you tune into Live at the Wireless on Tripple J tonight at 8pm. Tonight you will hear the first half of the show and next week at the same time you can hear the second half of the show. Make sure that you also check out these photos, thanks to Urthboy who carried a camera around on tour.
"My favourite versions on the tour were Alex doing Shivers, Adalita doing Straight to You and Lanie doing Jack the Ripper. But I enjoyed every single version performed each night and I had an unreal time on the tour!" - Urthboy
Well its been a big year its been for Australian Hip Hop, the release of several big name albums all which were celebrated at last nights 25th ARIA awards. The Best Urban Album celebrates our beloved Australian Hip Hop Scene. This year Vents was nominated for his release, Marked For Death. Phrase for Babylon, Koolism of The Umu, Illy for The Chase and Drapht for The Life of Riley. If you missed it last night check out Drapht's performance and the announcement of the winner below.
Well its been a few months now since Forbes dropped his ep, Kid Been Waiting which has been more than an success launching Forbes into the next stage of hit career. Forbes has recently supported Pez and 360, Justice and Kaos and will be playing at The Jump Off U18's Festival alongside some of the greats, Mantra, Reason and M-Phazes. Local Melbourne clothing company Bad Meet Evil who look after 360's merch have just released a very limited run of 200 Forbes shirts and singlets. The design is amazing and bridges the gap between merch and fashion. The first 40 orders will come with a limited edition signed print of the artwork by Forbes himself. Head over to www.badmeetevil.com and order yours now.
You can catch Forbes at The Jump Off Festival on the 10th of December in Melbourne and the 11th Of December in Sydney. Head over to http://thejumpoffu18.com/tickets.php for tickets. If you havn't already copped Kid Been Waiting check it out here http://forbes.bandcamp.com/
So its been just over a month since the passing of Australian Hip Hop legend Robert Hunter, SBX. Although he may no longer be with here on earth he certainly has not finished giving back to the scene that he worked so hard to build up from noting back in the day. His last project that he was working on was a fundraiser for children with cancer. The compilation entitled along the lines of Australian Hip Hop Supports Canteen sees tracks from many emcees from around the country, both big names and up comers. The album has recently been sent to be pressed and will hopefully drop in time for christmas if all goes to plan. Check out the videos below and head over to Pass The Buck for more information. Rest In Peace Hunter.
Well it seams that every one is dropping tracks at the moment. Friday saw Sydney artist Dutch drop his new track Best Day ft Skryptcha and The Tongue. On Sunday night we herd Horrorshow's latest track "Did You Hear" on Tripple J's New Music show. Just this morning we got to hear the first single from the Hilltop Hoods new album, Love It Ft Sia. Tonight we get the latest instalment of the Life Is Grande Series from Ry. Head over to his band camp now to check out his latest track Duffles and Jordans. I guess its safe to say that Life is Grande at the moment!
Its been a while since we last herd from Sydney duo Horrorshow, but if you were lucky enough to catch their new song last week on Joyrides radio show on FBI or on Tripple J last night then you would know that its worth the wait! The boys have been busy and are expected to drop an album sometime next year with a few different things in-between then and now.
Did you forget to tune into Tripple J's breakfast show this morning to catch the new Hilltop Hoods single, Love It, Featuring Sia and produced by One Above? Or did you catch it, and thought I have to hear that agin? Well here it is! Enjoy.
Love It will officially be released on Friday the 25th of November. The Hoods will be supporting Eminem on his Australian tour and tickets for the second Sydney show go on sale tomorrow so make sure you get in quick as its sure to sell out. The new album Drinking From The Sun is due out in February 2012.
Good Morning! local Sydney emcee Dutch has just dropped his new "best day". The layer back beat and tempo of the track featuring some big names from Sin city, Skryptcha and The Tongue with Alisa Fedele is a killer combination. This is defiantly a new level for Dutch so be sure to watch out for his debut album featuring some big names in both the production and artists involved. Catch Skryptcha and Dutch tomorrow the 19th of November at Graffiti at the Island which is a free gig so be sure that you get down.
Last year we saw the Graffiti Festival presented by Jack Rock at The wall. This year we see the Graffiti Festival team up with the Outpost Festival at Cockatoo Island. There's something for everyone with an incredible 7 hour line up. The line up includes some of Sydney's best local talent including, Skryptcha, Phatchance, The Next Step and loads more along with over 100 street art exhibitions, Ref Bull DJ's, Secret Wars, Film Nights and more so be sure that you get down to Cockatoo Island this Saturday the 19th of November. For more information head over to the Facebook Event.
Check out this video below by HSN Populous who will also be playing on Saturday at Graffiti At The Island.
The the release of Hoods 6th album due out in early febuary next year its almost that time, when the singles start to drop. The Hilltops announced today that the first single off the album titled, I Love It featuring Sia will drop on the 25.11.11 however it has just been announced that they will premier next monday (nov 21st) on the Triple J Breakfast Show so make sure that you tune into the J's!
Before the hoods drop their new album they will be preforming a series of shows as listed below.
Hilltop Hoods Western Canadian Tour
Thurs 17 Nov – BC – Club 9one9, Victoria
Fri 18 Nov – BC – The Legion, Tofino
Sat 19 Nov – BC – Garfinkels, Whistler
Hilltop Hoods With Eminem
Thurs 1 Dec – VIC – Etihad Stadium, Melbourne w/ Eminem SOLD OUT
Fri 02 Dec – NSW – Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney w/ Eminem SOLD OUT
Hilltop Hoods – Big Day Out
Sun 22 Jan QLD Gold Coast
Thu 26 Jan NSW Sydney
Sun 29 Jan VIC Melbourne
Fri 03 Feb SA Adelaide
Sun 05 Feb WA Perth
Sydney based solo hip-hop artist NJE will be dropping his 3rd LP titled LIKE FOOD FOR THE SOUL early 2012 featuring the likes of KOOL G RAP, Wu-Tang associate SOLOMON CHILDS, HYJAK, HAU of KOOLISM, CHASE, UNDA DWELLA, SCEPTIC & DSEEVA, UNTAYMABLE & a few local soul singers. The album is produced mostly by Melbourne's CASTAR. As well as a track by US producer DOMINGO & previous beat makers like SO FLAWLESS (Who produced "FALL BACK") & PAUL ANDREAZ (Who produced "SIGN OF THE TIMES"). The album's lead single & film clip (dropping in the coming months) "RAW LIKE CHIPS" produced by Sydney veteran MR.ZUX (Who worked with BLISS N' ESO in their early days) is a pure head nodder which is quickly becoming a favorite on NJE's promo tour of the album. The single will drop on itunes with the video release too. Stay tuned on the video drop & exclusive downloads via NJE's facebook page here:http://www.facebook.com/pages/NJE/13612523219?ref=ts
Up coming shows.
- Sat 10th DEC @ FACTORY THEATRE (SYDNEY) - XZIBIT (SYD SHOW) Supported by NJE w/ DJ RILEY JM + UNTAYMABLE & MATTHEW JAMES on the keys (Tix via TICKETEK) - Sat 7th JAN @ SWAN BASEMENT, NORTH FREMANTLE (WA) - NJE - LIKE FOOD FOR THE SOUL :: THE EXCLUSIVE PERTH PREVIEW SHOW (Tix via OZTIX)
- NEWCASTLE/TASMANIA/BRISBANE Shows TBA soon (Stay tuned via NJE FB page)
Are you hesitant to buy your music off iTunes? figure that if your going to buy your music you at least want the hard copy? Well Elefant Traks are once agin paving the way with an industry first for online album sales. When you purchase either a CD or Vinyl, delivered to your letterbox you will also receive a digital copy in your inbox. This means theres no waiting time between purchase and listening to those sweet tunes.
Many choose to purchase hard copies for the feel of the album, the album booklets or the signed pre orders and higher quality sound, but the MP3's are in full 320kb sound meaning there is no wait for quality. So make sure that you head over to the Etracks Store and pick up your next album.
Got noting to do this sunday? Why not head on down to Camperdown Memorial Rest Park and join in the Newtown Music Festival. The festival is run bu the local Newtown Neighbourhood Center which has run the festival as a free event for the past thirty years. This year the festival is serving up a diverse range of activities including:
- 3 Music Stages
- Huge Kids and Family Zone
- Vocal Local Village
- Winters Stage
- Eco Area
- Mc Cyclery Games Arena
- Interactive Workshops
- Street Theatre and Art Spaces
- Newtown Festival Dog Show
- 280 Market Stalls
- Food Stalls offering a taste of the globe
- Licensed bars
Spit Syndicate will be playing on the Main Stage at 4pm so make sure that you get down and support the boys. The day also features a range of other talented local acts from 11am onwards so be sure to head down early. For more information on the festival http://www.newtowncentre.org/festival/
We caught up with emcee Ry to find out more about his latest project, Life Is Grande. Make sure to check out all the tracks at the bottom of the post and his latest video "The Gift".
What is your life is grand project all about?
LIFE IS GRANDE (Pronounced 'Grand') started when I had a catalogue of songs built up that were all basically mixtape tracks. I honesty had enough for two mixtapes (about 25-35 tracks) so I figured why not have a weekly series, then also release a mixtape after that. I really like the phrase 'Life is Grande', and just think it has a dope kind of sound and energy about it and is generally positive, so I went with that. It's kinda funny, I did it purely to just 'purge' out tracks as quickly as I could and to begin working on new material, but as it went on I gained more and more fans from it. It's now at the same amount of downloads as 'The Wonderkid' had. I see fan's using the hashtag phrase #LIFEISGRANDE on twitter, quoting it back to me and all that. It's cool.
Any gigs comming up? My sound is really out there apparently. When I listen I don't hear it, but that's what everyone says. So to find similar acts for shows is a job in itself. I got plans of bringing out my homies from Byron Bay Peezo, Griff and The Hated down to gig around a bit, but it's all about numbers. I HAVE to build my fan base more, there's no running from it. Once that happens, I'm doing shows everywhere. Over and Underage. No excuses. I can't wait. #LIFEISGRANDE.
Do you have any plans after the project?
I have projects ready to drop after this, but I'm going to put them on hold for a bit and hopefully put out more videos to build my base up a bit more. The rate I work at is extremely quick, so I figured there's no point dropping mixtape after mixtape if there's not really a huge fan base as of yet to listen to it, so the videos right now work great and my videographer D. Hammond is always ready to work. More Fans, equals more shows, so that's the aim right now. Build, Build, Build.
The Elefant Tracks headquarters is filled with hundreds of stories and tracks that many of us may never know about or hear. However Urthboy has been doing some digging through the hard drives and released his "Exclusive Ep" to the Urthboy mailing list. The Ep includes 9 unreleased tracks which span Urthboy's carrear from pre Signal and post Spitshine. It features remixes from Joyride and Platoniclab. This exclusive ep is available for free download below via sound cloud. Urthboy is currently preparing for triple J's Aus music month tribute to Nick Cage.
Your first EP, All Roads dropped not too long ago now. How has the response from the public and industry been?
S: Really good man, we road tested it with our friends and fam before we released it and got a really good response which made us a lot more confident in it. Since it’s dropped we’ve moved a few hundred hard copies and managed to get ourselves some love on Triple J courtesy of Hau (Hip Hop Show), and on FBi. So overall, real stoked.
All Roads isn’t one particular style of music, there’s Boom Bap, a bit of Dubstep and even an Acoustic track. What is your process of choosing beats, and who produces your
music?
J: We listen to whatever we’re given and we try and write to most of it. If we can build the track up nicely and it fits the vibe of what we we’re trying to write about, it makes the cut.
On the EP we had a few different producers, Daniel Neurath (SS, Horrorshow), Jacob Giles and the Jackie Onassis boys. For our upcoming mixtape and album, a lot of the production workload will be handled by the new addition to the crew, Jmaculate. He’s a real boss with a beat.
The track Cold Streets reflects on the city of Sydney. “See I’m walking city streets but I’m sick of the concrete, from Sydney’s inner city all the way to long beach” How has coming from the Inner West Suburbs of Sydney inspired your music?
J: Man, all of Sydney is a beautiful place, but there’s just something special about the I-Dub. It’s birthed a heap of talented artists and seems to have and endless supply of stories. So I guess growing up here has inspired it a lot. The inner west has something in the water.
What and or who is your greatest inspiration for your music and what was the concept behind the ep?
J: I’d have to say our friends, fam, and experiences. The feeling you get from telling a story. It’s amazing. Concept? I guess the concept was, “there is no concept”. We wanted to tell what we’d been through and seen, good-bad, beautiful-ugly. Just showcase a whole range of things.
How did the two of you, Jax and Sayso first meet and form a bond which has led to this point in your life?
J: We grew up in the same friendship circles, so we always knew of each other, I dunno. We lived close and went to the same gigs so eventually we started kicking it and writing the EP. It kinda just happened...
S: Have you ever heard of a Chinese finger trap? We got caught in one one time. Down there. Haven’t managed to break free yet ay..
Growing up in the Inner West of Sydney what sort of music did you listen to? Was there much hip hop around and did that have much of an impact on who you are today?
S: Man, growing up I was that kid bumping hip hop from home to school, all day during class and then back at home til early in the morning...and I never heard the end of it, everyone gave me shit about it...fast forward ten years and everyone’s a rap kid; it’s practically my DNA.
What do you wish to achieve through your music? and where do you see yourself in 5 years?
S: Getting laid mostly...nahh...but yeah. Haha man I want to make something that reflects me and what I’m about and gives me the opportunity to do what I love doing most, which is hip hop. And we wanna have some fun, meet some cool people along the way.
J: As above, in 5 years. It’s 10:30 on a Saturday night right now though,...so hopefully something more exciting than sitting at a computer.
The name Crochet Crooks, what does it mean and where did it come from?
S: Man we kicked it with a few different names for a while, and then one day we were just knitting some sweaters with gran and it kind of clicked. I like the way it sounds, and let’s face it; it gets people talking, hard to forget.
If someone was to listen to your music for the first time which track would you recommend to them? And do either of you have a personal favourite?
J: It depends what background they come from, we feel like we have a bit to offer everyone in that regard. All sorts of different people could feel our shit. From the stay at home mum (Anywhere but Here), to hard matey down the road (Cold Streets) and the heartbroken girl or guy (All Roads). I like Cold Streets for my favourite.
S: Cold Streets.
I hear that there is a new video clip about to drop? Can you tell us about it?
S: Of all the tracks we thought we’d make a clip for, Cold Streets was the least likely in my mind. Then Hau played it on JJJ, we got some mad love from heads on it, and seeing as it’s our favourite track off the EP, we thought why the fuck not. It’s all filmed through Sydney and the IW, but you’ll have to watch it to see more.
What’s next for the Crooks?
J: Well we’re both heading to the Americas. Without each other though. Need a little break. We’ve compiled a few beats from some dope producers so we’ll be writing to them on our travels as well as writing this mixtape.
S: Both of us have got our hunger on, we’re real fired up and we wanna step to the next level. AIN’T NO SUCH THINGS AS CROCHET CROOKS!
Each year November 1 sees the sprouting of thousands of Moustaches across Australia and the world in order to raise both needed funds and awareness for mens health in particular Prostate Cancer and Depression in men. It is such an important cause and I would erge you all to get behind it. Skryptcha has decided that he will be taking part in the cause this year starting today. Lets see which other artists will join to support this cause? or do you know of any that have already started their cause? If so let us know at bottomoftheatlas.gmail.com
Last night saw the opening of the largest street art festival in the shorthorn hemisphere located in the middle of Sydney Harbour. The exposition features many artist from across Australia and the world including Bansky. The festival is due to run over the next five weeks so make sure that you head down and check it out if your in town it is defiantly worth it. For more information heat to outpost.cockatooisland.gov.au/
The Thundamentals are calling you and asking one question, How you been? As they embark on filming their second film clip from their latest and greatest album, Foreverlution they are looking for Thundacats in Sydney who would be willing to come down with their best mate and be part of the clip. They are filming at the HUB in Newtown opposite the station from 12:30 to 3pm. However if you can't make it or aren't in town then head over to their Facebook page and submit a photo of you and your best mate which could be used in the clip as well.
Its been sometime since the Hoods have been on stage since they have been busy in the studio recording their new LP Drinking from the Sun, due out early February. Hilltop Hoods are headlining at Garfinkles on the 19th of November before they head over to Canada for a few days to play three gigs. They will then return to Sydney and Melbourne as support for Eminem on his Australian tour. Eminem has just announced that both Sydney and Melbourne however a second Sydney show has been announced so make sure that you get in quick as tickets will sell out agin (tickets on sale November 16). The national Big Day Out tour is the next stop where you will get your first taste of Drinking From The Sun. All Tour Dates are below and don't forget to head over to our Facebook page to keep up to date with all things Hip Hop
Hilltop Hoods Western Canadian Tour
Thurs 17 Nov – BC – Club 9one9, Victoria
Fri 18 Nov – BC – The Legion, Tofino
Sat 19 Nov – BC – Garfinkels, Whistler
Hilltop Hoods With Eminem
Thurs 1 Dec – VIC – Etihad Stadium, Melbourne w/ Eminem SOLD OUT
Fri 02 Dec – NSW – Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney w/ Eminem SOLD OUT
Hilltop Hoods – Big Day Out
Sun 22 Jan QLD Gold Coast
Thu 26 Jan NSW Sydney
Sun 29 Jan VIC Melbourne
Fri 03 Feb SA Adelaide
Sun 05 Feb WA Perth
