We’ve all heard the clichés and criticisms, but why – despite its long history of growing success from an underground scene to mainstream glory – does Aussie hip hop still get, pardon the pun, such a bad wrap? Let’s untangle some of those clichés and show how they’re simply stereotypes, or at the very least, unfounded misconceptions.
“It will never be critically accepted.”
Easy to debunk this one. Sydney duo Hermitude managed to beat popular choices (and ARIA winners) Flume and Tame Impala to the Cooper’s 8th Annual Australian Music Prize in 2013, earning $30,000 for their their record Hyperparadise. Adding to that, a third of the nominees for the top award that year were were hip-hop acts. Furthermore, Melbourne rapper 360 won Best Breakthrough artist release at 2012’s ARIAs, beating Alpine, Lanie Lane, Matt Corby and San Cisco. Not only that, since 2004, the ARIAs have had a specific award for the ‘Urban’ genre proving that critics and fans alike are falling for the misunderstood genre.
“All Aussie rappers are dumb.”
Speaking of ARIA winners, did you know that 2013 recipient Illy has a law degree? The MC, Al Murray to his mum, has released three studio albums since 2009 and in that time he has also toured extensively. Last year he graduated from Monash University in Melbourne with a Bachelor Of Law. Not surprising really, considering his intelligence is evident in his music when you take the time to actually listen to it. Plus, he’s got the smarts to run his very own label, One Two records.
Looking past Illy, many other rappers are putting in the effort to engage in further education while still making music. One of the boys from Spit Syndicate finished Uni while putting together an album, as well as MC Skryptcha, who graduated from university with a journalism degree.
“It’s about getting wasted.”
Not entirely true. Sure, songs like Drapht’s ‘Jimmy Ricard’ and ‘Run Alone’ by 360 may glorify the party lifestyle a little, but in equal measure, there are Australian hip-hop artists discussing bigger issues. It’s all about balance. Chance Waters broke onto the scene not long ago, and his catchy tunes ‘Young And Dumb’ and ‘Maybe Tomorrow’ discuss the idea of relationships, growing up, and making choices. These are universal concepts that are often the stimulus for music, that are not centred on downing a handful of pills with a bottle of vodka. Melbourne duo Diafrix, made up of two African-born refugees: MCs Momo and Azmarino, are also emblematic of artists championing hip hop with substance, not substances.
“The rest is overly political.”
Is that such a bad thing? The Herd are known for voicing strong political views in their music, ‘The King Is Dead’ was essentially a ‘Fuck You’ to outgoing Prime Minister John Howard. But hey, music is a product of its time. And seeing as Howard actually got kicked out of office, most of Australia must have shared the band’s feelings. It’s true that no one wants to be berated when they listen to music, but raising issues in a clever, catchy way should be praised. After all, nobody told Bob Dylan to shut up when he commented on political issues within his music.
“It will never be anything more than locally popular.”
That’s becoming a shrinking myth. At last year’s SXSW festival in Austin there was a healthy dose of Australian hip-hop on the Texan stages with Seth Sentry and 360 representing Australia. The Melbourne-based Sentry made his appearance at the industry conference happen by winning a fan-voted contest to open the Doritos Bold Stage at SXSW in which fans were asked to pick which artist they deemed worthy via Twitter. The same stage saw Seth Sentry sharing the stage with the likes of LL Cool J, Ice Cube, Public Enemy, and Doug E. Fresh.
A huge deal for the Melbourne up-and-comer considering SXSW is where so many bands go to get their foot in the door. Time will tell if Australian hip-hop will gain more momentum overseas, but the fact that some of our own artists were even there – and reportedly packing out the annual Aussie BBQ portion of the week – is promising. Besides, remember when people said the same thing about Courtney Barnett? And look at her now.
“It’s all just copying what other people have done.”
We live in a time of Girl Talk and Banksy, all art forms are inspired by what has come before. The beauty of hip-hop has always been in taking something old and adding something fresh to it. The Friday Flips series, by Illy and M-Phazes, is a good example of what Australian hip-hop acts have been bringing to the table. The pair took popular songs outside of the hip-hop genre, ‘Dammit’ by Blink 182 or ‘Seven Nation Army’ by The White Stripes for example, where M-Phazes completely reworked the music to give it a hip-hop beat and Illy rapped over the top. The whole thing was released on Soundcloud for free.
Melbourne rapper 360 also set this trend in motion, by putting out free mixtapes to create hype before his album was released. It’s evidence of Aussie rappers giving something back to fans, for free, and embracing the integral hip-hop attitude of making something out of whatever it is you have on hand. It’s not only a sign of the times, but it’s also an homage to the past while still being progressive.
“It will not age well.”
Really? Obese Records has been releasing exclusively hip-hop tunes since 1995 and before that, there were countless DJs, MCs, and freestylers milling about the Australian music scene. In the recent history of the landscape, the Hilltop Hoods, arguably the biggest Australian hip-hop group around, have been together for over a decade. ‘The Nosebleed Section’, from their 2003 debut, is still a fixed anthem in their setlist and was voted into #17 in Triple J’s Hottest 100 of All Time countdown. It doesn’t look to us like Australian hip-hop is losing any steam in its charge for ‘timeless’ status.
Feel free to hate things. Australian hip-hop may not be your style, it may make you cringe or feel ill, that’s fine, but the best kind of opinion is an educated one, so if you’re going to shit all over it, you may as well know the facts.
Australian rap is a viable genre. It does have something to contribute and there is substance in it. Yes, like every other genre out there, there are aspects of it that are less than exemplary but that’s life, and more importantly, that’s art.
