Fruitonica

This thread has hovered on the edge of my thoughts for a while now, but Anteater's post of a cool aussie group I've never heard of gave me the motivation to actually make it.

In one of the first reviews I did here I touched on Aussie hip hop's confusion with itself. We don't have a true cultural background for the music, other than what we steal from America, and that makes the scene kind of directionless. Generally, Australian acts are still underground and our mainstream is almost all American, only one or two acts have made something resembling a breakthrough.

But there is still a lot of good hip hop coming out of Aus, I'll start off with some of the more successful/established groups just to give you an idea of the scene. Hopefully other people will post their favourite acts as well.

Hilltop Hoods



The undisputed grand dames of Aussie hip hop, and for the most part they deserve it. Suffa and Pressure have strong aggressive flows and a fair helping of lyrical dexterity (though they consistently fall short of insight), and Debris is a great commercial producer who has cooked up some brilliant hooks in his time (example, the pipe sample on their breakout single Nosebleed Section). Plus they can put on a blistering live show.

The Hoods cop a bit of **** about how Americanised their sound is, but to be fair, they mostly appropriate the battle rap bragging aspect and leave the tired gangsterisms and thug posing.

Best Album - The Hard Road Restrung

The Herd



Another long running act, and in my opinion if any band has a real Australian flavour in their music, it's them. They're a live band so their sound has less of a sheen than the Hoods, with more of a focus on warm muscular grooves and organic arrangements. The flow is relaxed, with occasional dashes of nimbleness.

What really sets them apart is their lyrical focus, with a strong focus on social and political justice. I first heard them on their live version of the classic "I was only 19", now this is only a cover but it perfectly fits their type of song writing - elegant simplicity and a powerful message.
The first original song of theirs I heard was 77%, a response to the Tampa affair. And I was impressed that they went after more than just the politicians, and basically told the entire country to **** off on their lead single.

Best Album - I would say Summerland but I think popular consensus would be The Sun Never Sets

Ok, I'll put in a few more later, but hopefully someone else will pitch in.

LoathsomePete

Good idea for a thread

I really enjoyed Summerland but I still can't force myself to like it more than The Sun Never Sets.

I gave Hilltop Hoods a try but I just wasn't digging their sound. Well I really only gave it one real listen, but close to the end I was pretty done so that's usually not a good sign regardless. Still from what I hear they're quite popular both in and out of Australia so the more power to them if it brings attention to a truly under appreciated scene.

A few other artists I've come across over the years:


Phrase



He had a really catchy single, but the rest of his album Clockwork did nothing for me. Still that single "Clockwork" was enough for me not to chuck the album altogether. Perhaps one of these days I'll give the album a second try to earn my good graces.



True Live



This is a live band effort that includes a classical element to it so it really helps them stand out... kind of like that Simpsons episode where Cypress Hill played a song with the London Philharmonic.



Casual Projects



I think jackhammer was the one who introduced me to this band. I really haven't delved that much into their sound but I do recall enjoying it immensely. As with True Live, they employ a live band element so it adds a deeper sound than just studio magic, not that that is ever a bad thing. They kind of remind me of an American live band hip hop group called The Blend for their intensity.

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Monk

while i'm not the biggest fan of hip hop in general, i do love the hard road restrung - definitely one of my top albums.

Astronomer

Great idea Fruitonica!

I was never into hip hop until I saw The Hilltop Hoods live at a festival. Have loved them ever since, definitely agree with you about their deserving status in the scene.



I never really got into The Herd, but to be honest I should check them out more.

I also really enjoy Bliss N Eso:





And in Australia at least everyone either loves or hates this song by Drapht:



Other notables include Muph & Plutonic and The Funkoars.

I'm homesick now!

EDIT: Pete, I'm really digging that Casual Project's song!

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Fruitonica

I had the exact same experience with Phrase, except that I ended up chucking the album - that one song couldn't sustain me. I still pull up Clockwork for a listen every now and then..

I like True Live, just not quite enough for me to download an album, at least right now. At some point I will, I think if I delved a little more I'd get into them. Maybe I'll go see them live next time they're in Sydney now I'm no long living in the middle of nowhere.

This is exactly what I was hoping for, I have never heard of these guys but that song blew me away. Will definitely be checking them out as well as The Blend.

Fruitonica

Bliss N Eso were the next guys I was going to cover, I've been really getting into Flying Colours lately. The hook on Bullet and a Target is so anthemic it makes my ears bleed. Lyrically they can be hit or miss, the sincerity they deliver

So on a rainy day I made my way
to the promised land and back
And now its safe to say in a crazy way
this song is where its at

is hilarious - but when they're just talking shit they can make me laugh. More than anything they remind me of two average aussie blokes who just love music. Which is one great thing about the Australian scene, none of the artists are painting themselves as elitists.

Haha, I am a hater up until the fourth beer or so. Can I ask what you are doing in New Zealand?

Astronomer

Agree with you about the lyrics comment, but like you said they've got a nice, relaxed and carefree feel about them which is also one of the reasons why I love Australian music so much.

I am definitely a hater of that song as well until I have a few drinks in me. I think it's an amusing/fun song per se but man am I sick of it! Suffered some overkill, I think.

Studying I've got family in NZ, so I decided to complete my graduate diploma at UoA because it's cheaper and I pretty much love it here.

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Stinkfist

Figg kid- kind of a poor mans eminem, can't be arsed finding and posting a clip, because I don't really care bout hip hop. Look him up if your a fan of the genre. I do dig some hill top though. Would the avalanches qualify, still waiting for the follow up to " since I left you" more cut and paste than hip hop i suppose. Also not Aussie but Scribe is not bad. He a kiwi aye brew.

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Astronomer

Scribe isn't bad either, and he tends to spend a lot of time in Aus and has a massive following there so Australians may as well claim him:

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Captain Awesome

Bliss n Eso are easily the greatest hip hop duo around right now.

Also worth checking out Hilltop Hoods, Phrase, Pez and Drapht.

Also this hip hop band, all of their music uses live instruments. They're called Illzilla.

I don't like dividing hip hop by countries, but if any country was on top in the rap world right now it would be Australia. Simply because there it's still a culture not an industry.

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