Hilltop Hoods are being praised for championing rising Aussie talent, with artists saying they helped launch their careers.
In a recent interview with Rolling Stone AU/NZ, Adelaide pop singer Nyassa, who appeared on their 2019 album The Great Expanse and their new album Fall from the Light, says the group has been a huge influence.
“For me, coming from Adelaide, which is such a small place, they are such an inspiration, because they’ve also come from where I’ve grown up and it’s like, look at what you’ve done with your life, look at the career you’ve made coming from such a small place,” Nyassa told us.
She added, “They’re always getting behind people who they think should have more recognition, and they want to champion upcoming artists because they’ve got that platform and know how it feels to be an emerging artist in Australia.
“When I was on their last album, I hadn’t put any music out yet. They just care so much about finding new talent and choosing that over perhaps a more high profile choice. When I found out that I was gonna be on this album, I cried because it just means so much to me, that belief they have in me as an artist.
“Now they’re like my three big brothers… They are the best people.”
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Nyassa will also join Hilltop Hoods on their upcoming UK and European tour
Elsewhere in the interview, rapper and producer Daniel “Trials” Rankine also spoke about how the group shaped his journey in music. He first heard Hilltop Hoods as a teen, thanks to a friend who gave him a cassette with Back Once Again on one side and Wu-Tang Clan on the other.
“I just religiously played that record over and over and over again, man – I can’t even tell you how obsessed I was with it. It just blew my mind that this world-class music I was hearing was being made a couple of suburbs away,” he said.
Rankine also highlighted the broader influence Hilltop Hoods have had on the Australian hip-hop scene.
“There’s the surface stuff with all the records that they’ve broken and all the accolades and awards and achievements, but then there’s all the underground stuff that those guys are responsible for that will never be told or understood,” he says. “I can tell you at least 10 stories straight off the top of my head where albums that have culturally shifted the momentum or started a conversation or just lifted the game, [Hilltop Hoods] are indirectly responsible [for them]. That’s the real history.
Hilltop Hoods will hit the road in early 2026 to celebrate their ninth album Fall From the Light, out now via Island Records Australia/UMA.
The ‘Never Coming Home’ tour will bring the trio’s high-energy live show to capital city arenas around the country, kicking off in Hobart on February 14th before heading to Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Perth.
