Hau from Koolism and Triple J’s Hip Hop Show has done his own take on Brad Strut’s “Belive”. We posted that a few months ago. He obviously loves the track as much as us.

Also in the works from Hau is a solo mixtape due Feb 14 called ‘Love the Beast’ you will be able to download a copy from his site http://hauiebeast.blogspot.com. If that ain’t enough for you Koolism fans. check out ‘Hanz High’ which you can download here http://bit.ly/hanzhigh

Preview Mix: FORCE & SPARTS MYSPACE

Relative new comer to the scene Sparts joins G Force, following his successful debut release Clouded, to bring you a free offering of straight spitting madness to accompany your summer beverages.

Featuring guests Mol One, Haunts, Maundz and Thorts and a mix of exclusive beats from WIK, Blazin Marty and Xcise as well as some jacked favourites ensure it bangs from start to end.

Tracklisting:

Transactions
I Believe
Microphone Madness (Production: WIK)
Powerlines Ft: Maundz
Wage War
Run Ft: Thorts (Production: Xcise)
Straight To The Arm
Full Metal Box (Production: WIK)
Militant Boom Bap Ft: Haunts, Mol One (Production: Blazin Marty)
Deeds Not Words

JAN 15 – FREE

A slick looking CD arrives in my mailbox. Professional polished and eye catching. The album is Inkstains by Phatchance. A lot of effort has gone into the packaging of the product, especially for a debut release. Is it a smart marketing idea, is it someone who appreciates good artwork or is it an artist who is throwing it all out there? More importantly, is the content as impressive?

Phatchance takes this same approach to his music, there is a lot of confidence in his delivery and a sense of belief in his words and style. The title track ‘Inkstains’ over a horn driven, almost Suffa sounding beat, from Konfuzion. Does it impact? Not really, it glides loosely over a general range of topics from war, music, poverty, freedom and racism; unfortunately it lacks direction and only garnishes one line, if that, on each topic. “I Don’t know” has focus and direction and tells the story of this album and the self doubt associated with putting your heart and soul into a project for the masses to hear. There is a lot of emotion, story telling and it works. “The Catchy Song” ft 360, Smiles Again and Joyride is a tongue in cheek look at hooky radio tunes. The problem I have with this track is that it is seemingly done to get radio play, yet it is also dissing the style in a track in the same form. Whether it is meant to be funny or a reach for radio play, you will either think it is good or annoying and a bit try hard. Joyride’s hook is dope but 360 sounds uninterested and slightly hypocritical as he states ‘Festival Song’ was overplayed, I’m sure it really upset you as massive festival crowds hung on for one track.

Chance is an honest artist and his lyrics and tracks are very personal for a major part of the album. Some you will relate to, others may not interest you. It is a double edged sword to put out an album such as “Inkstains”. “Mountain of Glass”, “Build It Up” ft Hr King (the hook is a highlight) and “Battlescars” are prime examples of this. You will either feel them or not. The beat selection is similar to the topics, a bit dark and moody with flashes of catchiness such as the piano loop on “Invisible Queen”, which is possibly responsible for people saying Chance is a lot like Slug. This track has a whole lot of Atmosphere influence, not that it is a bad thing. Chance kills this track, his flow is on point and his lyrics are interesting. Prime pops in for a verse on the Adit (Horrorshow) produced “Reflections” as both emcees discuss past tales of girls and love and it works well. The final track, besides a “Leaving The Nest” band version, is “Angels In My Ears”, which seems to be a sign off and puts the album to rest.

So, did the content match the packaging? In some ways, yes. In some ways no. I think it is reflective of the content that the artist presents. Chance puts it all out there, emotions, thoughts, life stories and himself as an artist. Is it a bit dramatic at times, such as the ink stained white roses in the cover? Yes, it can be a bit overwhelming at times, but the parts where it works are definite highlights of a young upcoming artist who presents himself as an honest, hard working professional who puts time and thought into what he is doing, and that cannot be faltered.

Phatchance Myspace

Phatchance Facebook

Heads are fiending for the New Optimen Crew release, due March 2010. In the mean time, Red Tape Entertainment has been kind enough to let us have a listen to a feature track called Fire Fighters. If you like what you hear you can show your support or hear more tracks at their myspace account below.

In the mean time have a listen to Fire Fighters

http://www.myspace.com/theoptimen

Anyone looking for an MPC? Up for grabs on ebay is Melburn’s MC Tornts from Hired Goons MPC. If you ask nicely he might even sign it for you.

http://tinyurl.com/yde4pm5

Level Headed, Forcast, Slats, Hacksaw and Debate make up the Train Of Thought crew and combined they are bringing some high quality Australian Hip Hop to your ears, a highly impressive debut album that kills it on all levels………….That was something I wrote back in April 04 in a review for Moving Heads, the debut release and first I had heard of Train of Thought and an emcee named Level Headed, I liked it. Fast forward 5 years and Level Headed has gone the solo route, somewhat. His solo debut offering is “The Spice Of Life” and staying true to his crew features Debate on all the production, Hacksaw on the cuts and a slew of guest spots for Train of Thought as a collective and individual members, but how does Level Headed hold it down by himself?

First and foremost the chemistry created by being crew for a long time can not be understated. When Debates production is teamed with the relaxed drawl like flow of Level Headed you can see that each element from beat structure, verse structure and pace is purposely built for this album. You can tell that these two know how each other work and it creates a consistent vibe and relationship between producer and emcee. This is immediately highlighted with ‘Down To Earth’ and ‘Bounce’, both tracks providing a head nodding intro to the album with the drums on ‘Bounce’s’ hook lifting it to what would surely be an impressive live track.

Level Headed delivers an honest Australian hip hop album with themes throughout being relevant and positive to most, highlighted on tracks such as ‘Spice of Life’ and ‘Countdown’, featuring one of the most impressive Reason verses I have heard for a minute now. Lyrically Level Headed holds his own, with a lot of multis and flow being on point. Some of the hooks are designed for live shows and whilst they still work on the album they would be better pumping out live. The multi layered 4 bar hooks such as ‘Double Header’ ft Headlock, do hold an impressive flow. The ‘Bring ya back to life’ interlude highlights some early influences and is a good trip down memory lane trying to name every track played, fuck chewed tapes.

The second half of the album features Train Of Thought on a few tracks and Slats on a couple as well and again the chemistry makes these tracks solid. ‘Too late now’ is a morbid tale of a school massacre, possibly a Blackwood high gunman, that is delivered at a level that holds the listeners ear although replay value may be low. An interesting collaboartaion with 8th degree on ‘Bring them down’ is a little confusing. It sounds like a Hed Pe attempt but the hook comes off to me as a bit out of place, we are saved by the heavy guitars on ‘The hills’ to bring it all home though.

‘The Spice Of Life’ is a consistent solo release from Level Headed. The combination of Debate and himself is a winner and provides quite a few highlights. There are a few tracks that seem a little out of place but ‘The Spice Of Life’ is a quality offering from an emcee who has taken the time to put together a complete album rather than a rushed effort of half assed tracks. Pick it up and get down with the Level Head.

www.levelheaded.com.au
www.myspace.com/levelheadedmc

Goto to check the new Video from Level Headed titled “The Hills”

Pick up Spice Of Life from all good Hip Hop outlets and check the launch coming soon near you! Check the flyer on your right for gig details!

You’re both from Melbourne, How did you guys get together in the first place?

(R)oyalz: We met through mutual bong smoking graff head mates back in high school. He had me at ‘hello’. 
(C)hains:  The humble mixbowl has always been good at bringing people together.  That’s really what the middle east needs.  Sit down Palestine and Israel with a mix, a buge, and a copy of the Matrix.  Problem solved.

Sin City has been out a few months now, what’s the general reaction/feeling you are getting from heads?

R: The response has been pretty positive so far. The softer sounding hip hop has been blowing up recently, but some people are still wanting the rawer stuff and we try to punch people in the face with our music.
C: Yeah it’s been pretty positive.  In general hip hop around the world, and in Australia, has been gradually losing its edge.  We’re not really conforming to the ‘easy listening’ movement as such.  We also keep in mind the live aspect of our music, most punters want to go out and have a few drinks and let loose, and we provide a vehicle for that.  I don’t know many people that want to stand in the corner being depressed and wiping away tears.  The scene seems to have become a bit emo of late though.  As far as we know we’ve been getting some radio play in Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra and Perth on the independent radio stations.

It’s been 4 years since your Chaos Theory Mixtape, how have you  both evolved since then?

C: It’s hard to notice personally as you go along because it’s gradual.  It’s really when you listen to old tracks lined up against newer material that you can see how far you’ve come.   I think one of the biggest changes you notice is delivery and presence, which grows along with confidence.
R: We started rhyming around the same time so we’ve seen our style grow and become more polished over time. What Chains said is true though. I had a listen to Chaos theory the other week and you can tell a massive difference, both lyrically and beat wise.

Royalz you are also doing beats now? Did you always make beats?

R: I started out as an emcee first, but picked up making beats early on. With my first beat I actually used the same Debbie Does Dallas sample in Funkoars ‘Boxeaters’. I was really proud of myself until Turps showed me the Funkoars track and I crawled back under the rock I came from. Luckily I kept at it and have a sharper cleaner sound then I did back then.

Tell us a little about Sin City.

C: I’d describe it I guess as having a somewhat dark, uptempo, boom-bap style to it.  Hip Hop production should get your head nodding, and the lyrics should get your mind ticking over.  And not only the first time you hear it.  I like it when people pick up on a new metaphor or something even after listening to a track a number of times.

You have a few Aussie collabs including Raven from Hungry Humans, how did they come about. How was it working with similar artists? Do you think you blend well? Where there any problems?

C: Collaboration is a great part of the artform.  We recorded the track with Raven in his bedroom haha. He’s on a similar tip to us and we’ve always loved his music so was great to work on a track together.  The DBO Track was a bit of a problem logistically and was recorded in fits and spurts, and the A.I track was hard to pin Esvee down from Ballarat, but it all worked out.
R: Yeah although it was logistically difficult, I think working with similar artists and being with them at the studio helps the chemistry that hopefully translates to the tracks that we collaborated on. We don’t pay for myspace verses.

What’s your focus at the moment ?

R: We’re currently working on a free mixtape called the GRHYME Lab, which will feature new tracks from Sinergy Crew, Broken Aesthetiks and our crew Associated Illness. Then we’ve also got the Associated Illness album in the works. Dudes aint ready haha.
C:  Yeah just doing Sinergy and A.I shows, the mixtape and then 2010 will be the Associated Illness album – gonna be a banger!   There’s also a focus on building up the GRHYME name, as the distribution situation in Australia isn’t great – so were trying to build a platform to release ours, and soon other head’s music.

What’s your hustle game like ?

R: I don’t do drugs. 
C: As independent artists on our own label – that’s the only game we can play! 

Sinergy Crew are hustling around Melbourne and you can check gig dates and pick up a copy of their LP below. If you like ya shit grhyme – cop this now.
www.myspace.com/SinergyCrew
www.myspace.com/GRHYME1

Well the “official” line up has been released for next years BDO and I was right. Well, not entirely, there is a chance BDO still doesn’t support local Hip Hop with NO Australian Hip Hop acts on the first annonoucment (what a fucking suprise aye) but there will be further annoncements today.

I haven’t heard from my source Re: Eminem, however It is pretty evident that things must have gone pear shaped towards the end of negotiations with BDO organisers promoting local band “Muse” to the headliners position.

Possibly (probably) cause they couldn’t get any one decent with such short notice.

Anyways here is the 1st announcement for those that care:

Muse, Powderfinger, Lilly Allen, Eskimo Joe, Groove Armada, Grinspoon, The Mars Volta, Ladyhawke, Dizzee Rascal, Karnivool, Peaches, The Temper Trap, Kasabian, Midnight Juggernauts, Rise Against, Magic Dirt, Mastodon, Lisa Mitchell, The Horrors, Bluejuice, Calvin Harris, Kisschasy, The Decemberists, Tame Impala and Girl Talk”

Yea, like, don’t classify Bluejuice as Austrlaian Hip Hop either:

“We really hate the Aussie hip hop tag,” Stone agrees. “As soon as people started saying that we were horrified because we knew it was going to three or four years or even more of just this constant tagging press. Half the time you don’t even get the time to be answerable to it.”

Link to story http://www.shturl.com//bjrfags

Guess what fags?  We never did.

Oh yeah and the pic? Well fuck all of those bands, Sophie Monks tits are far more impressive.

From an eager teenager taping shows from underground radio, to a DJ of world standing, the last five years have seen Australian spinner DJ Perplex soar. Set for the release of volume 2 in his ultra-fly ‘Digital Killed The Vinyl Star’ Mixtape series, Perplex has also been enlisted as the spokesperson for new Nintendo DS game ‘DJ Star’.

Having made a name for himself by taking out the Australian DMC title in 3 consecutive years, then going on to claim 7th place at the world finals in London late 2008, Perplex has established himself as an in-demand DJ, regularly playing the hottest clubs and festivals across Australia, Asia and Europe.

More than just playing record after record, Perplex’s highly evolved Turntablist skills play an integral part in his DJ show, as he mixes Electro, with Soul, Funk, Hip Hop and Baltimore, with layers of atmospheric undercurrents. The result is a genre-bridging mash-up style that is as original in its delivery as it is eclectic.

Approached by Madman Interactive to be the ambassador for their new game ‘DJ Star’, Perplex only needed to play the game once and he was hooked. Simulating life as a vinyl slinger, DJ Star challenges the player to mix together over 40 available tracks, with the objective of getting the crowd dancing and reaching the dizzy heights of world stardom. You can even create your own dance floor destroyer. The more people you get up dancing, the more points you win. With 200 unique audio samples to draw from, players can create tracks in the ‘Creation Studio’, bringing them into the game or share them with friends via the Nintendo DS Wi-Fi connection.

To officially launch ‘Digital Killed The Vinyl Star – vol 2’ and ‘DJ Star’, a special Melbourne event is happening at First Floor on Friday 23rd October. Perplex will be playing for 2 hours alongside his hand picked local lineup of B.Two (Simply Bread), Mu-Gen (Slap n Dash), Scattermish (Slap n Dash) and Who (The Late Show). To add some more sugar to the mix, there will also be a massive door prize and copies of ‘DJ Star’ given away throughout the night thanks to Madman Interactive.

Not sure why I am posting this Press Release at all cause nobody has sent me a Nintendo DS and I normally hating the arse raping corperates so let’s call it a one off.

Where: First Floor, Fitzroy
When: Friday 23rd October
Doors: From 9PM
What: A night of superb DJing and loads of giveaways!
Tickets: $10 on the door

Congrats to Melbourne MC Defron for taking out last nights Revolver Upstairs 11th Annual MC Batte.

Defron faced it off against MC Illuminate (last years runner up) to take the $10k in prizes. Condolences to Illuminate, who is probably nursing a hangover and a half, for being voted 2nd, 2 years running.

It is a great thing when an artists goes from an EP to a LP and shows progression and creativity and two years on from the well received ‘Coffee, Biros and Death’ Requiem has done just this with ‘Grassroots Anarchy’.

The ten track offering displays a defiant, angry young man that is using hip hop as his outlet to show his frustrations with the society we dwell in. Defiant dishes up the intro and the leading track ‘Apeshit!’ (listen to this track below) as Requiem attacks the industry and politics involved and why it makes him go this way.

Straight away you can notice his flow and voice are not your usual clear concise, there are certain lines and words that at first sound a little rushed but they work within his style and different verse structures.

A reflective hip hop influence track with a twist is offered on ‘Counter Culture’ as fakes are called out for the music they supposedly rep and Req tells us exactly what he listened to with a few surprises in there over a funky Wizard beat.

Req has stepped up his flow and presence on the mic, growing from his previous work and obviously taking advice and learning his own style to a more comfortable level when he is spitting. This is shown on tracks such as ‘Pacifist’s Dilemma’ produced by Doc Felix, and ‘Linephile Confessions’ produced by Pabstrakt.

Req has also stepped up on a story telling vibe with ‘The Violence of Love’, a tale of revolutionary Oscar Romero and also on his own personal tale in ‘It’s Getting Late’. Guest spots are kept to a minimum but at an effective level on the gritty ‘Street Journalists’ featuring Fluent Form and Maundz and produced by Ciecmate, raw.

To be honest I was not the biggest fan of ‘Coffee, Biros and Death’ and I was hoping this would rise above it. Not only did it rise above but it blew it the fuck out of the water. It has a vibe to the whole product which you get into. There is an air of anger with reason that works and the beat selection and topical matter sits well with Req’s delivery and style. Definitely worth a look.

By Gareth M

Requiem Grassroots Anarchy is available now from the usual outlets or gab it online here

Requiem – Apeshit! by requiem

Gully Platoon is a new crew consisting of three emcees; Pegz, Joe New and Dialectrix. Each as an individual has more than pulled their own over the past on their respective releases but can they pull of a formula that works as a crew over some production from Jase, J Squared and Plutonic Lab?

The Great Divide is a collection of pretty good tracks but the album seems to lack a bit of direction in topics and styles. Joe New and D-Trix have spat together on a heap of tracks and they bounce off each other easily in this sense, even at times confusing the ear as to who is spitting. Blue Mountains hip hop has its own style when it comes to flow and structure and both Joe New and D-Trix spit in this fashion. Pegz spits like Pegz. His flow is on point when lined up against the other two which could have been an issue as he has a unique presence but the contrast works well. Tracks such as “For Those That Don’t Know”, highlight the fact that all three emcees can seamlessly blend when done correctly however on tracks such as “Late Nights”, the slower tempo suits Pegz better than the others as ‘Bank Job’ works better with a quicker flow that Joe New and D-Trix bring. So overall it evens out but there are certainly tracks that suit each emcee better than the next. There is a lot of rap about coming up hard, hip hop and the Gully Platoon theme and vibe. It works on a lot of the tracks but after about ten tracks it sounds a little familiar, there are a few late charges with Late Nights and Where Do I Go which offer a more personal approach from the emcees but this could have been sprinkled throughout the album instead of pushing it into just a few tracks.

Production wise once the needle crackles and the guitar licks kick in you can kind of feel where this album is gonna go and that is large. With Jase and Plutonic Lab handling 99% of the beats it should sound large and in line with both these Oz Hip Hop kings reputations it bangs. There is a varying range of production from guitar heavy bangers, Bank Job, to the keys driven ‘Gully’s In Town’ and the electro bounce of ‘Nothing To Lose’. Production is on point throughout the whole album.

So is Gully Platoon the next big crew in Oz Hip Hop? They will be large that is for sure, with Pegz at the helm and the hunger of Joe New and Dialectrix it is hard to not see them killing it live and getting lots of deserved Triple J love. With an album full of solid production and good flow most should enjoy the offering but it doesn’t deviate too much from what you would expect from each emcee as a solo artist whether it is topics, flows or presence it is all there from each separate emcee and as a crew the formula should only get better.

By Sam P

Gully Platoon is – The Great Divide is out NOW. The Obese Crew will be touring near you soon, with the 2009 Block Party!

For More info check www.obeserecords.com

“Talking shit with a hero of yours, that’s a good vibe,
As good as the first time you saw Hilltop Hoods live”

The first time I saw Hilltop Hoods live was way back in 2001 (when most of you probably didn’t even know Australian Hip-Hop existed). It was the album launch for Left Foot, Right Foot at Cherry Bar in ACDC Lane – a venue that holds about five people. How far they have come since then, playing to thousands at sold out shows, and tens of thousands at festivals in Australia and around the world.

I have gone to a majority of the shows the Hoods have played in Melbourne over the years, including the Big Day Out and the massive Stopping All Stations Tour at Festival Hall, as well as two or three of the phenomenal four sell-out nights in a row at the Corner Hotel in 2004.

So did I enjoy this show as much as all the others? Well to be honest, no, not really. It was the same hits from the previous two albums that I’ve already seen a number of times before, with the addition of songs from the latest album, which besides Chase That Feeling (in my opinion one of, if not the greatest hip hop song to come out of this country) I’m just not really feeling.

It was great to see Chase That Feeling live, but aside from that, I spent the most part more in awe of seeing the huge crowd all getting into it. While the show itself I could take or leave, seeing three guys from back in the day rocking the stage, and thousands of adoring fans singing along to their songs and loving every minute of it, is a fantastic thing to see. We’ve come a long way from Cherry Bar…

And the atmosphere really was amazing, with the Hoods performing with the same energy as they always have. They are consummate performers, and second to none in this country.

If you’ve seen the Hoods before, you don’t need a review to tell you about their show because you already know how awesome the Hoods are live.

And if you haven’t…well, you’re missing out on a good vibe.

By Patrick Ho

Image provided by Kez Photography.

State of The Art is availble now, well, everywhere.  For those after a copy of this on vinyl,  it is now availble for a whopping $100.00. You might want to call a head before heading down to your local record store because chances are they aren’t stocking it and you will need to pre-order. I have no idea why it is so expensive but apparently it’s been blessed by a pope and the wax is actually made from the tears of small children. Ed

THORTS INTERVIEW

G FORCE (G): Congrats on your recent release Bleeding Heart Muzik. The album is a very personal piece of work, how long was it in the works for and do you think it took you longer because it was on that tip?

THORTS (T): Thanks bro, a few of the tracks on this album were originally Mankind tracks and there are a couple that are actually remixes by different producers. I worked on this album at the same time as I was wrapping up other projects and collabs and then once the music part was done all the other shit took time you know, I wanted to plan it out and make it the best release I could, I didn’t want to rush it and just get it out there like my other releases, I wanted to put everything I had into this release and making sure it got out there and heard.

G: I will admit to following your hip hop development closely as I enjoyed the old radio frees, Field Trip, Mankind and other Hungry Humans projects and I commented once that this is exactly where I thought your debut release would sit. Do you think this was a natural progression in your style as a solo artist?

T: Word! Yeh me and my crew use to always spit live on pbs the formula back in 1999-2001, those were some fun days back then, it’s a shame we never put anything out back then though it would have been fresh! Well actually me and Dan Murphy made a cassette under the name “The Alliance” the tape was called Blak Calix but it would be very hard to find now. I have changed a lot since then though, I was a teenager and on drugs so what I rapped about back then and what I rap about now are 2 totally different things. I progressed as a person first, through life experience, getting my life in order, having a family, working hard, so yeh of coarse this came through into my music as well.

G: From these older days we saw acts such as Lost Souls and yourself in Field Trip yet we have not seen anything new from either duo only solo releases from Raven with Humble Beginnings and now yourself. Why not a full length Field Trip and what made you as a solo artist keep pushing to put out product?

T: Well basically, me and 86 live two separate lives, we recorded the Field Trip ep when I was living in Melbourne, but after moving to Geelong 86 had a family and focused more on being a father than making music and I focused more on solo tracks, we basically went our separate ways, music wise, the last track we did together was in 2007 absolute obselenc which I think is on the Field Trip myspace page. I think also we have different tastes in music and what we wanted to do so I decided to branch out and work with different producers and try different things, where still good friends but just work on our own thing, As for Lost Souls I think it’s pretty much the same story although I’m not sure if Budsa is working on anything at the moment but I know Raven is always hard at work.

G: You are influenced greatly by artists that you enjoy and seem extremely passionate about hip hop. What are your current thoughts on the Aus scene and hip hop in general?

T: Hip Hop is alive and well! Real hip hop is FAR from dead; you just have to know where to look! I am inspired mostly by American artists that I listen to and work with people like Pigeon John, Brother Ali, Atmosphere, Escape Artists, Sontiago, Living Legends etc there is so much good hip hop around but I suppose everyone has there own taste with what they like, I just like real, innovative, creative, blue collar sorta stuff. As for the Australian scene, there’s only a few artists that really interest me, I really like Subsketch, Crixus, Morgan Macmanus, all of my mates of coarse haha but yeh there’s not too much I can relate to really, not really my sound, I really just focus on creating my own music, I guess that’s why I don’t have a similar sound to any other artists in this country.

G: There is a range of production credits on the album yet a similar vibe and sound throughout the whole lot. How did you go about selecting producers, beats and how heavily did having a ‘concise, complete sounding album’ weight into this?

T: The producers I worked with on this album are all friends of mine, which is great, I basically just wrote to beats I dug and beats I dig usually gel together nicely, I am very happy with the way they work together, I dint think they would gel that easy haha.

G: Lyrically throughout the album there is a similar personal vibe. Be it through story telling or a first person perspective there is a heavy dose of honesty and emotion in there. Are these tales closed books now and what will we hear from Thorts in future rhymes?

T: Is life a closed book? Unfortunately I never really learn from all my mistakes haha I write what I feel at the time, there’s no great story really to why I write, it’s just whatever i’m going through at the time, my music is more like a journal entry, so unless I had a crystal ball I couldn’t really tell you exactly what to expect, all I can say is I will be working with some dope international producers and mc’s and my overall sound will just keep getting bigger and better!

G: Does it bother you at all that you may be pigeonholed as an ‘emotional emcee’ or similar tags and people may not peep your music because of this when obviously there is a lot more to it than just that aspect?

T: Well the only bad thing about being pigeonholed is that yeh some people might not check my music, I know that if people at least got to hear my music then they might open up to it but as for being labeled as an emotional mc haha I couldn’t care less, being real to yourself and expressing what you feel is called being a human, people do this day to day so I do it in my music. I’m not gonna be one person in real life then a totally different person on the mic, there are mc’s that do that shit and it’s not for me, It is what it is, I am who I am.

G: Your partner Kadyelle is also an emcee. Are you guys going to release anything together and how much opinions and influence do you have on each others content?

T: Me and Kady have tracks together on her upcoming releases. She has an ep with Fathom (u.s.a) and a full length album titled “silence the piano” they both should be out later in the year. At the moment we have songs together on her stuff and mine but nothing in set in concrete about doing an album together, I think my brother Esvee is first on that list! Basically we listen to the same music and share our lives together so in that aspect we have lots of the same influences but when it comes to writing and recording we do our own thing, don’t sleep on Kadyelle! She is diggity dope!

G: You have moved around a bit the past few years and had some life changes, did this impact on the topics you were writing about and put hip hop to the background a bit?

T: Well I have only had one move in the last 6 years so it hasn’t impacted me greatly creatively but yeh life changes, I have had a huge life change recently with the arrival of our little boy Isaiah Malekai and moving over to Bunbury w.a with my family that has definitely put my music on hold for a little bit, just trying to find myself here and get settled with a good job which I still haven’t done yet but once that is done im sure I will be able to get stuck into my music again.

G: You and Esvee vibe really well on the album and on past works and live shows as well. Any thing in the works with him and why we are on the topic what is next for Thorts?

T: Yeh me and Esvee first met back in 2005 at a show in Geelong, since then we have been best mates and made heaps of dope tracks together. He is a dope mc and a great person in general. His music is much like mine but he still has a distinct feel to his music that makes him heaps different. We gel together nicely and I hope to work on an ep or album with him sometime in the future. At the moment I am working slowly on a free digital ep with the help from Sydney producer Proph 1 who has some amazing beats! The ep is mostly filled with features with artists such as Reach (u.s.a), 1/6 (melbs), 7ravesty & Rival (Brizzy), Kadyelle, Marksman (Perth) & Morgan Macmanus (Canada/Brizzi), I’m just making this for fun and the chance to work with different artists while I’m trying to settle down. After that I have a couple of albums to work on with 2 different producers and some dope international and oz hip hop mc’s which I am really looking forward to, but that’s all I am going to say about those for now, Oh Kadyelle will also have a new clip up very soon and we will also have a clip together, both clips are for tracks off her new album so make sure you peep them once there up and if you haven’t peeped my new clip for my track “into the wind” then go have a look now!

G: A few tracks such as Sleep at Night are predominately made up of singing. I thought at times it was a bit of overload on something that I thought worked well with hooks. Can you tell us more about this style and the importance of these varied styles of hip hop to your music?

T: Well I am influenced by artists who do what they want when they want no matter what people think or say so I do the same. I sing songy hip hop so if that’s the feeling or vibe I get off the beat and that’s what I want to do then I do it. I know I don’t have a great singing voice but I enjoy doing it, that’s it!

G: There are quite a few lines spread across the album that I replay and really think they are poetic, not just a hip hop lyric. Do you explore other facets of art and rhyming such as poetry?

T: I don’t write poems as such but when I write I try to write in a way that’s poetic and not just straight up rhyming, I like to push myself to write differently each track, make it interesting you know, I think it’s most evident in my track “when it’s all been said and done” I really sat down with that one and though about what I was writing and how I was writing it and I will be doing this a lot more in the future with my new music too.

G: Thanks heaps mate. I really enjoyed the album and I think it is a solid piece of work. Any final shout outs, thank yous and the like?

T: No worries bro, glad you enjoy the release! I just want to say that I aint going nowhere! Music is my life and I will be doing this till the day I die! Peace

THORTS SOLO ALBUM – BLEEDING HEART MUZIK Is availble NOW in all good record stores. Featuring Esvee, Crixus, Class A, DJ Bogues, Amber, Mata, Must, JP, 1/6, Urban Monk & J.Waters plus production by Crixus, Saint Surly, Crytearia, Must, Simple Simon & Geko.

http://www.myspace.com/thortsthescorpion

G Force (G): Congrats on the release of the EP ‘Ritual Law’ fellas. Was it always on the cards to drop an EP after the freebie ‘Mixtaste?’

Deece: cheers dude. To be honest the original plan was to drop Mixtaste then the LP, but as always time gets away like a runaway bride. As soon as we looked like rapping up the album over a year had passed since mixtaste and we didn’t want to risk missing the stand up citizens of this scene suffering from short term memory lose. We re-jigged a few track arrangements and come up with a formula we thought would give peeps a good ear to who we are and what the LP will offer.

G: You seem to have a good idea of what you want to be doing with the timeline and progression of things. Not many artists would drop a video clip with an EP let alone having two of the four tracks with a clip, what’s the idea behind this?

D: We’re both just mad fans of a good clip and of the opinion that a good clip can give a dope track a whole new dimension, plus there just mad fun to do. We’d do a clip for every track if we had the time.

B wiv: Were also lucky to have a few hook ups that have helped us out and I’ve been able to edit them myself so we thought why not?

G: The professional and serious approach extends to the final sound side of things, using Sing Sing for mixing and Jack the Bear to master. You both have a big interest in equipment and the recording process so did getting the right final sound play heavily on your minds?

D: Fuckin oath! That’s pretty much the whole reason it’s taken us so bloody long. We’ve always been on the hunt for the perfect vocal chain and the perfect mix. We’ve had the tracks written for a while but couldn’t bring ourselves to let them loose not sounding up to scratch. We’ve constantly upped our game in the studio on a mission to get our shit to what we thought was releasable quality. We eventually got the recording down but still couldn’t get the mix exactly we’re we’d envisioned it. We did some research and got onto Tony Espie (his mixed everything from the classic Avalanches ‘Since I left you’ LP to TZU’s latest ‘computer Love’). Working with Tony in a room full of vintage eq’s and compressors was unbelievable. He used what we had already done as reference then took it to the next level. Of course Jack then tied it all together to get it to sound consistent because each track really has a mind of its own sonically.

G: Production wise B Wiv has a pretty unique style, what are your influences and how do you go about your own production?

B: Man my influences range from DJ Premier, The Rza, Nu-Mark, Suffa, Trials to Rage Against the Machine, Bob Dylan and John Lennon. I have no set way I go about making my beats, I guess it starts with the sample or a melody I’ll have in my head and then I’ll structure the beat around that.

G: Deece, the track 40 days and 40 fights is a deeply personal track. Was hip hop a big outlet for you to relieve some stresses and emotions involved with this or was this track used as a closure to the experience?

D: It’s both really. I’ve been on the mic longer than I’ve been sticking myself with insulin. Something I don’t expected people to pick up on is the fact I refer to myself in the third person up until the time I’m diagnosed in the track. When I look back on life before the needle it’s like looking at a different person. I didn’t want the track to come across like I was looking for sympathy because I’m really not. Just being in the hospital after knocking on deaths door made me realize how lucky I was. I was in a bed across from a stroke victim in his 40s who was totally paralyzed and I was kept up at night listening to the nurses trying to shove a tube down is throat to feed the poor bugger. I had nothing to whine about next to that dude and many others around me so from that day onwards whining and wasting time was over with.

G: How would you describe your sound and how it differs from other Aus hip hop releases at the moment?

D: In one word I’d say aggressive. B wiv’s production can be simple or it can be epic, but most of the time it’s just plain epic. His got a good music brain and it comes across in his production, especially when there’s no sampling involved. It’s always suited my style and helping push it. If I had to put a point of difference between us and others it would be simply that we don’t sound remotely like anyone else out there at the moment. Although I see originality as a good thing it is a catch 22 in that it has also alienated us to an extent. I reckon it would take balls to say you think B wiv Deece is the shit to your one track minded hip hop buddies haha.

G: Being brothers you probably argue at times. How does this work with creating music together? Are you honest and critical with each other on both production and lyrics and has this led to any problems?

D: You know what? I probably argue with Mr Wiv the least out of the whole crew. We grew up 2 of 7 siblings and there was plenty of arguing no doubt, but our personalities are chalk and cheese and the only reason we’ve got this far. I’ve been involved in plenty of musical relationships and this incest situation has defiantly been the most productive. I’d say we’re very honest and critical of each other but in a positive way. One of the reasons we work so well musically is because we grew up sharing bunk beds with the same posters on the wall listening to the same shit. We both know what we like and have very similar tastes, so when he goes na that sounded whack, nine times out of ten I take a second listen and agree. The other one time I slap the shit out of him.
B: Yea that’s pretty much how it is except the complete opposite haha.

G: So, from here what can we expect? A full length release and when?

D: the full length is in the can awaiting its chance to shine. At the moment we’re pushing the EP to ready people for it. We’re also sorting out all the behind the scenes stuff like lable/distro. Ritual Law is a 100% independent release but for the full length we’ll be seeking assistance to get it out to as many suckers as possible. Regardless of how we end up releasing it, it should be out late this year.

G: Maundz features on the EP, any plans for him or other features on the full length?

D: Not at this point, however I’ve just recorded a verse for his upcoming LP ‘Mr. Nobody’. For the amount of time we spend in the studio together it’s lame how much we don’t rock tracks together. At the end of the day it’s probably just that we have such different styles that rarely relate to the same beat and concept. In saying that though we’re talking about dropping a joint 12” after we both finally get our LPs out but we’ll see.

G: What else should we be looking out for from B Wiv Deece, live shows, guest spots, production credits?

D: Defiantly some shows in the next couple of months. We’re working on getting interstate as well for some launches. As far as guest verses from myself go there’s not too much on the cards apart from the Maundz LP. I guess I’ve been so busy recording that foul creature as well as mixing the whole thing I don’t have time for much else. I then of course have to deodorize the house after he leaves, it’s a lot of work but it’s very nearly done!

B: I’ve laid down some beats and cuts for Maundzs LP, he pretty much gets all the B wiv Deece leftovers haha

G: I thank you greatly for your time, good luck with the release and do you have any shout outs or final words?

D: Go out and cop it! The easiest way is directly from www.myspace.com/bwivdeece via paypal. You get the EP + postage + your very own B wiv Deece stubby holder for the bargain price of $10! It’s a steal. It’s also in local shops and on itunes so keep an eye out.

B: You can also check out our clips on Vimeo or Youtube

What do you get when you mix a little Kanye West a twist of Cannibal Tribe and a whole lot of Shepperton based grass roots Oz Hip Hop? Well, you get Homemade Bombs the Debut EP from Briggs.

Actually there is very little of Kanye West styles on this EP, in fact quite the opposite but the opening track Greetings Featuring B-Pain does include some Autotune work which is an interesting tact for Oz Hip Hop. Are you still a pioneer of a style if no one else has done it locally? I don’t think so but it actually works well in this instance and is fairly limited.

Briggs tells it how it is with Bad Move and if one look at this bloke isn’t enough to make you cross the road, well then this track surely will…[insert witty analogy here, pass me another bong please] Luckily for you Briggs and Hazard productions have given us permission to let you be the judge.

Click >> Briggs \’Bad Move\’ from the HOMEMADE BOMBS EP

My Priority Featuring Reason is a hilarious contrast of personalities. Briggs a piss head, pie eating dole bludger and Reason a hard working family man who likes to spend his spare time investing in the stock exchange.

The final and feature track Homemade Bombs (produced by Trials), is a short biography and an insight into the mind of Briggs. Struggling with adversity and being pushed around by those who thought they where better than him is something we can all relate to.

Briggs plays at the Social Change Gig at The Laundry (VIC), this Saturday 9th of May. Go cop his EP now or beg him for a copy at the Gig or check him out online http://www.airbriggs.com/