Browsing Tag

Australian Hip Hop

Sydney’s hip-hop heavyweight, T.C.W, will force heads out of the sand with his juggernautical alt-rap track, DAMN I AM U

Posted on 9 March 2024

T.C.W’s latest alt-rap juggernaut, DAMN I AM U, hits so hard you will be torn between shedding tears over the atrocities elucidated and responding to the call to arms by following suit, standing up, and fighting back against the relayed injustices rather than leaving tyrants’ blood pooling in our hands.

DAMN I AM U is a formidable force that proves our sanctity may be more comfortable with our heads in the sand, but we’re sleeping through history that is doomed to repeat if we see resistance is futile. The track begins with a harbingering outro of war horns, reminiscent of the epic scores in Game of Thrones, yet infused with a tribal edge which echoes the annals of Viking folklore. The intro sets a high bar, and TCW surpasses it with his dynamic and raw rap bars that reach the pinnacle of tensile conviction.

The instrumentals go beyond the usual rhythmic hip-hop tropes with their possession of a dark indie post-punk and progressive rock quality, creating a backdrop that amplifies TCW’s fervent lyrical delivery; it’s the ultimate anthem for seeking vindication for their contemporary angst and nihilism.

T.C.W’s lyrical prowess reflects his intricately intellectual depth, reminiscent of artists like Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole, while also nodding to his New York influences like ILL Bill and Vinnie Paz. His self-taught production skills shine through, marking ‘DAMN I AM U’ as a foundational piece in his journey towards creative greatness.

The track’s vocal performance is a rollercoaster of emotion, starting with a low, anticipatory tone before exploding into a passionate outcry, mirroring the passions of a modern revolution.

Stream DAMN I AM U on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Jakezar waxes lyrical on his legacy in his dark rap track Blood in My Veins

Posted on 5 December 2022

At 21 years old, the Sydney-hailing rapper, Jakezar already has an eight-year spanning discography. By the time he was ready to drop his latest fervent single, Blood in My Veins, with his producer Cavula Beats, he was primed to make a fiery mark on the airwaves.

The dark experimental beats set a cinematic tone from the prelude before Jakezar blazes in with his bars that would be enough to make Sage Francis’ head spin. There’s also a fair amount of thematic reminiscence between Blood in My Veins to the production of GRACE by Sage Francis. But, judging by the dynamic range in Jakezar’s back catalogue, he moves to the flow of his expression and creativity and is never one to assimilate.

Blood in My Veins was officially released on November 23rd. You can check it out on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Kamanda is a voice of compassionate reason in his latest melodic hip hop single, HETTIE II

Posted on 13 July 2022

Liberia, West Africa-born, Newcastle, Australia-residing artist, Kamanda went into his latest pop meets new wave hip hop single, HETTIE II, with his soul blazing. If you’re anything like me, and it has been a while since you appreciated the irony of our existence, this contemporary feat of lyrically melodic hip hop has all the makings of a playlist staple.

From arresting lyrical lines, “we kill each other just for attention, my legs are getting tired from trying to chase to perfection”, to resonant admissions of depression and anxiety that are more a symptom of our society rather than our individual minds, it felt like Kamanda ran through every source of grief I feel for our contemporary existence.

Kamanda started rapping and writing at the age of nine. In 2022, his ability to open eyes to the psychological pitfalls we blindly plunge into is beyond sharp. And if I’m being completely honest, hearing the yearning for fairness and peace within the uplifting indie production that knows just where to stab with the minor keys choked me up before the first verse ran through.

HETTIE II is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Melbourne hip hop artist Prymal tells us ‘When It’s Real’

Posted on 4 April 2021

Prymal is a Melbourne-based hip-hop artist with an eye on story-telling and lyrical flow, rather than aggression or high-impact. Opening up with some chiming tubular bells before deep throbbing bass, fast dotted-note rimshots, and hi-hats and flashes of strings fill in and populate the groove of ‘When It’s Real’, Prymal’s in-your-face attitude given extra weight by the laid-back, nonchalant delivery.

Working with more established rap artists such as Empathy, on whose album ‘Mirror Mirror’ Prymal guests, has clearly paid off, helping the twenty-year-old establish a mature rhyming pattern and delivery and a genuinely solid flow. ‘When It’s Real’ shows some epic promise, and bodes well for Prymal’s forthcoming album ‘Lions Den’, due later this year.

In the meantime, you can check out ‘When It’s Real’ on Spotify, and follow Prymal on Instagram.

Review by Alex Holmes

NA$A takes mindful Hip Hop to the next level with his sophomore release ‘O.G.’

Posted on 23 November 2020

Brisbane-based, Auckland-hailing Rap artist NA$A dropped their second release, O.G. on November 20th, which takes mindful Hip Hop to the next level. In turn, the sophomore release allowed NA$A to establish himself as an essential artist to add to your high-vibe Hip Hop playlists.

The bass behind the trancey EDM Hip Hop beats allow the instrumentals to parallel the energy which NA$A vocally brought to the high-octane mix which isn’t just accessible from the first hit. You’ll become transfixed by the rhythmically convictive progressions as they weave through the infectious yet intricate melodies.

In essence, O.G. is an invitation to realise your responsibility to make big things happen. Not just for yourself, but for those closest to you too. All this is done through a nostalgic throwback to hood days and recognising the trials and tribulations which many people need to overcome. There’s a nuanced recognition that not everyone shares the same vantage point in life, but that’s no reason why you can’t strive for success – whichever form you want that to manifest in.

With the way in which NA$A addresses morality and mindfulness in a religious context while not alienating atheists or faith followers, he sets an incredible example of how music can be the ultimate unifying tool.

The short and soulfully sweet drop is set to make a massive impact on the airwaves, and with plenty of forthcoming releases in the pipeline,  you’ll definitely want the trailblazing artist on your radar.

You can check out O.G. for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

Stay up to date with NA$A’s latest releases by following him via Facebook and Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Debut track ‘Lonely Star’ from Australian artist Kenzo is an emotional journey to find that true shining light

Posted on 7 November 2020

Debut track ‘Lonely Star‘ from Australian artist Kenzo is an emotional journey to find that true shining light in your life when you are feeling really down. This is a fine debut effort from this talented new singer/rapper with a huge future.

You get the feeling that you are listening to a new musician that has something special on ‘Lonely Star‘. With a Post Malone type of vibe, this is a song that will be appreciated by all new school rap fans who love this sound.

The honesty shown by Kenzo is quite inspiring as he raps about his feelings currently. This is about looking in your life and realizing who is really important to you when you are down, perhaps there is only really one person who truly gets you deep inside your soul.

‘Lonely Star‘ takes us on an emotional roller-coaster of a ride and you might need to get the tissues out.

The beat is one that seems similar to a lot of songs but the lyrics are not, this is an in-depth look into life in 2020. The world is lonelier than ever and this is a massive issue right now globally. This is an artist with a way with words and the Australian musician is here to stay.

Click here for the Soundcloud page.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Australian emcee Dawn Laird dusts off the mic in style on excellent ‘Doreen’

Posted on 8 September 2020

‘Doreen‘ is the new moody classic Hip Hop release from Dawn Laird as she impresses on this fab 10 track full album.

Newcastle emcee Dawn Laird has been a staple of the Australian music scene for the last 5 years, with countless supports, radio slots and features. This is now her time to shine.

‘Doreen‘ is named after Dawn’s grandmother who sadly passed away a couple of years ago. Dawn Laird, dedicates this release to someone whose unconditional love is the reason she still in this world, due to the massive impact that she made.

The album is unapologetically Dawn, a larger than life personality with no punches being pulled. She doesn’t dance around topics such as sexism, weightism or her experiences in Hip Hop and life in general.

She wrote and recorded a lot of the tracks on ‘Doreen‘ during a time when she moved from Newcastle to the mid north coast to be closer to her grandmother. She’d gone into an aged care facility and Dawn wanted to be there for her. She was the kind of person who wanted to speak up but seldom did. She didn’t do a lot of pushing back or advocating for herself which meant the world wrote all over her in many ways. She believed in kindness over everything but that was often taken advantage of or mistaken for weakness. Rightly or wrongly, it never changed her belief that people were fundamentally good.

It’s taken a long time for Dawn to learn how to stick up for herself and other marginalised people in a meaningful and unapologetic way. ‘Doreen‘ is fundamentally a body of work about identity, courage, pushing back, catharsis, making space and transcending fear. ‘Look Nan, I can do courage now!’. – Dawn Laird

This is such a sad but inspiring story. The music matches the story and the lyricism is of a high standard with beautiful beats.

‘Doreen‘ from Dawn Laird is quality and my favourite song is by far ‘Days Like These‘. The lyrics are deep and I love how the song builds and builds, yes.. this is such good Hip Hop. In a genre that is so saturated, this has me smiling and also shedding tears for this artist’s loss. However, from loss we learn and the strength from the lost loved one is there for you to look after, you just have to grab it and never let go, maintaining your honesty throughout.

Doreen is so proud of you right now Dawn, please carry on your journey and helping others learn how to stick up for themselves, Please don’t let the cold world freeze you up, your kindness is really strength.

Click here for the Spotify link.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

”Springbreakers” is a tale of misspent youth from Marshall Stannus

Posted on 9 June 2020
https://soundcloud.com/marshall-stannus/s-p-r-i-n-g-b-r-e-a-k-e-r-s/s-t3wHNAaPNay

Getting caught up in the party scene and seeing it right in your face is a fun time with life-altering memories, all the good times seem to last forever and caring about too much seems pointless in the moment. When you finally face the facts however, reality smacks your mind harshly and hits you solid in the face like a Mike Tyson knockout punch.

Marshall Stannus shows passion in his lyrical delivery and youthfully crafts a memorable new track called ”Springbreakers” that will relate to many out there who have taken it a bit too far.

I love the beat in this song, it teases you in the beginning and has the rough vinyl cut, before launching into melody with the voice and rhymes of a future star who is now ready for his big moment to shine.

The Melbourne, Australia native Marshall Stannus raps through a vivid lens that has captured the picture of youth perfectly but painfully. ”Springbreakers” is such an underrated track that takes you on a reflective journey of wild parties that never seem to end. When they do however, the crash and the emotional funk afterwards is very real.

Get this song into your ears now on SoundCloud.

Review by Llewelyn Screen

MC KREWD proves that comedy does have a place in Hip Hop with her single “Single Mother Malady”

Posted on 12 May 2020

I’ve always been a firm believer that comedy has as much of a place in music as it does in Film. That belief is rock solid after listening to up and coming Aussie Hip Hop artist MC KREWD’s wittily satirical track Single Mother Malady.

If Kath & Kim did a Rap track, I have a feeling that it would sound a little like this. I mean, let’s be honest, we’ve heard enough Rap artist attempting to glamorise themselves and put us under the illusion that they’re baller deities. It was about time an artist shattered the illusion. MC KREWD absolutely obliterated it with her sense of humour.

MC KREWD’s approach to Hip Hop may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but artists so unapologetically bold and expressive will always have a place on the airwaves.

To fully appreciate Single Mother Malady, watching the official music video which premiered on April 30th, 2020 is a must. You can check it out for yourselves via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast