“If it were visual art like a painting, it’s still your art. You paint it on the canvas, interpret it as your own, and hang it to show the world – it’s your art. That’s all a song is.”

Interview and photography by Mike Greene

Do you feel that there was any part of your upbringing that affected the way you produce today? Whether it be where you’re from, how your parents raised you, or your environment?
Growing up in Australia, I was very involved in hip-hop in terms of the subculture, the underground of hip-hop. I was definitely coming up around the ruff riders and lyrical rappers, like 90’s style rappers – that was something that affected the way i still wrote and still write my lyrics. My mom’s always been behind me 100% of the way – she didn’t expect me to be a doctor and knew i was going to do something artistic. As long as I was working hard, and actually doing something – not you know, using art as an excuse to do drugs, she was always behind me.

Would you say the support that your mom provided you with gave you the inspiration to create? How your mom raised you with that free-spirited attitude?
I think my mom regretted not fulfilling her creative aspirations in life – like she could have been a writer, or a painter – and because of that she instilled in me this “do what you want to create success” attitude. She was definitely a supportive push which is what I’m really appreciative for .

You have your mother’s backing, your inspiration, and your aspirations. How did that all flow into the underground scene? What’s it like in Adelaide, South Australia?
From the start, at such a young age, everyone in my area was doing graffiti, and blackwork. Everyone painted, and kids were just rapping. It was freestyles, off the top of the dome. My bestfriend and I, we were 12 years old freestyling and recording raps into tapes. He started battling at 14, and I, at a bit older age, started at 17. It was just the world that we were in. There was always something there.

Was it more you and your friends battling, or was it more going to the bars and clubs to get on the mic?
Exactly! Back when it was freestyle battles, not acapellas, but more drop a beat for 45 seconds and freestyle. That was the funniest shit where anything could happen. Fights were popping off, dudes were getting stabbed. It was just crazy kids battling.

“From the start, at such a young age, everyone in my area was doing graffiti, and blackwork. Everyone painted, and kids were just rapping. It was freestyles, off the top of the dome.”

Was that the norm, or was there a separate side of Adelaide that wasn’t like that?
Of course, I was apart of a subculture. There was a metal scene, a hardcore scene, a hip-hop scene, etc. You know, the subculture I was in was really before there were any mainstream Australian rappers, and there were so many kids doing it. That’s how it all started.

Was there any particular musician from your childhood that you, or your parents, listened to that affects how you created music, and how you create today? Do you see any of those old-school artists in the way you pronounce your rhymes?
It probably wouldn’t be noticeable for anyone, but for me growing up I was listening to Big L and Big Pun, and all of those New York styled east coast rappers. I don’t hold myself to the same lyrical standard as a Big L verse. He’s obviously one of the best ever, but I definitely come from the same school of thought about songwriting in terms of rhythmical craft. This is getting into some real deep songwriting rapshit but like Lord Finesse, or Big L would use a multi, 3 or 4 syllables of rhyme to have that flow and emphasism, and that’s the school of thought that I come from. Although music’s changing and I’m not quite like that anymore, that’s definitely how I think and find the best.

Soft-Grunge Love Rap…
See that’s my origins and I listen to a lot of music so I realized a lot of my songs are about girls, partying, and having a good time. I realized I was doing stuff that no one in Australia was doing and that’s how that came about. It’s it’s own genre, and I don’t subscribe to the rules of any individual’s interpretation of hip-hop. I have long hair and I do whatever. I make the music I like to make.

Do you feel that because there are so many genres of music the market is saturated?
You may call your music soft grunge love rap, but someone else may call it hard-pop hip-hop and because of that everyone is coming out with their own exhibition of music. I like to think of it this way, and we were actually talking about this the other day at a gig – If it were visual art like a painting, it’s still your art. You paint it on the canvas, interpret it as your own, and hang it to show the world – it’s your art. That’s all a song is. You make it how you want and express whatever it is you’d like, and then leave it for other people to go and interpret. That’s how I view my music and it’s my own interpretation. The music is your own, and you’re expressing whatever it is you’d like to express. People like it, and that’s all that matters. At the end of the day, it’s hung up for others to enjoy.

Do you think there’s a difference in creating music for Australia versus creating music for America? You’ve charted in Australia, now how do you think that happens in America? Is there a different route to go about?
I’m not sure, but I’ve definitely been thinking about that more recently and I’m sure I’ll find out sooner or later. I have a song where I say “If she doesn’t make you wear an Ansel that means you’ve gotta wear an Ansel” – Ansel is a brand of condoms which you don’t have here, and Trojan just didn’t rhyme. It’s weird that there are those little things. Just like 40 oz’s in rap songs – we call them longnecks and no one in Australia knew what a 40oz was but we were still saying it.

The thing is, if you like the song then you’ll like the song. If you want to know what Ansel is, you can look it up and see it’s a brand of condom.