Kid Mac Talks Recording, Filmmaking, & Plans for 2014

The year 2013 has been pretty big for Macario De Souza – better known as Kid Mac. Balancing an illustrious music career with an array of side projects, the Sydney hip-hop artist has almost wrapped up a national tour in promotion of his sophomore release, Head Noise.

“The WA leg was by far the best. There’s always a good reception out there,” the 30-year-old says. “It’s great making that trip because it’s a good place to go surfing and just have a good time.”

“There have been so many unreal moments in my career, like a couple of awards and big tours. When you turn up to your own headline show and go from 10 people to like 100, that’s the best. I sold out a place recently with over 400 people. When you feel like your music is getting to the masses, that gives me goosebumps.”

His second album, Head Noise, is a delightful, upbeat record that sees the hip-hop star influenced by “dubstep and a lot of drum and bass”.

“No Man’s Land [debut release] had maybe three and four electronic tracks whilst the others were very indie and rock orientated,” he says. “I guess with this record I really wanted to hone in and tailor it for my live shows. I prefer to get the party started at shows and get everyone jumping up and down. I really wanted to make a record that I’d enjoy playing live.”

“People see me as a filmmaker-turned-musician but really it’s the other way around”

“The title came from a personal space and the idea of me trying to juggle a few projects and personal stuff all at once. Lyrically, the content is kind of deep and meaningful, but the vibes are upbeat, dance – kind of happy. It’s a good little mix and it’s great that people seem to be enjoying it.”

Head Noise was mixed by Scott Horscroft, the man behind award-winning records from acts such as Silverchair, Birds Of Tokyo, and The Presets, to name a few.

“I wanted to reach out to him because he’d done a lot of work in a similar ballpark. We went up to his farm near Peats Ridge and mixed the record together. To have someone of his calibre give me feedback…it was a reassurance that we were really onto something.”
Establishing himself as a respected part of the Australian hip-hop scene, Mac is also an ambassador for alcohol-related problem awareness – sending out a particular message to the community.

“Coming from Maroubra, there’s a lot of talented kids out there, but they just don’t have the opportunity because they have drug addicted parents or abusive alcoholic parents, or even they themselves start getting into that activity,” he says.

“I was going down that path – partying a lot, heavily drinking, and getting into trouble. But I had positive friends to pull me in the other direction. I just want to push a message towards kids, that you should be aware of the path that you’re leading…it could make or break your life.”

As well as spreading those vibes, Mac is behind the camera on a regular basis. He is responsible for films like Bra Boys and Fighting Fear.

“People don’t realise that I started doing the music stuff first,” he says. “It [the film career] took off in a bigger way. People see me as a filmmaker-turned-musician but really it’s the other way around. Film is one of those things that I can always go back to. It’s kind of like a red wine – it gets better with age. I’ve got some bigger film projects I want to do, but I’m taking my time in getting them off the ground.”

“…when Wu-Tang were coming out here for a tour, he requested me to join him as the support act. To have that call-up was pretty surreal!”

One of the projects includes the television show The Crew. Aired on Fuel TV earlier this year, the series has just been picked up by Channel Nine’s GO channel and will hit the small screens over the summer.

“When I directed Fighting Fear, I had a lot of behind-the-scenes film leftover from that project.”

“We had some content for a potentially interesting show following me and two of my friends, Richie “Vas” Vaculik and Mark Mathews. They’re both big-wave surfers and Richie’s an MMA fighter. With the success of that, we’ve managed to get the funding and have just about wrapped up filming the second season.”

Whilst talking to Mac, it’s evident that he’s already had such an incredible career – including a moment of rubbing shoulders with Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA.

“That was more of a case of who you know, not what you know,” he laughs. “I’m friends with Russell Crowe; we’ve worked on projects in the past. He was friends with RZA who was working on American Gangster with him. I pitched a project that I wanted to do, a song with the South Sydney Rabbitohs, and Russell flew over RZA and his family to spend a week together in the studio. A few months later, when Wu-Tang were coming out here for a tour, he requested me to join him as the support act. To have that call-up was pretty surreal!”

So, what’s next for the Sydney star?

“I’ll be heading to the South By Southwest Festival in March. It’s on just about every musicians bucket list, and to be accepted is such an honour. I’ve been to Texas before. There’s such a great reception and it’s an awesome town,” De Souza says. “I’ll hopefully get in the studio to plot my third record, head back to Canada and the States to do some shows, and, of course, be filming. There’s plenty on the cards for 2014.”

Listen to our premiere play of Head Noise here accompanied by a Kid Mac’s track-by-track description.