Tagged By Hip Hop

LISTEN: Curse ov Dialect – Twisted Strangers

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Curse Ov Dialect

Melbourne-based outfit Curse Ov Dialect are without a doubt one of the most interesting hip hop acts to emerge from Australia. Their penchant for surreal costumes and onstage theatrics, and their outspoken criticism of Australia’s underlying racism puts them at odds with the endless stream of generic drivel currently being churned out. Instead of weakly mimicking US hip hop, a music intrinsically linked to the culture in which it was born, they instead incorporate their own cultural perspective and experiences into a hip-hop framework.

Over the course of their output the group’s crafted a unique sound. Trawling for samples through psychedelic rock, traditional folk and various electronic oddities, they hold these seemingly disparate elements together with a hip hop backbone courtesy of beat maestro Paso Bionic. The distinctive style of each MC and the interplay between them is another defining element of the Curse, with the rapid-fire delivery of Volk Makedonski, the endearing multiple-personality disorder of Raceless and the ethereal flow of Atarangi all adding to the tapestry.

This formula has struck a chord with local and international audiences alike, with the group’s first two full-length LPs released via Mush Records. At the time, the label was leading the experimental hip-hop charge, repping artists like cLOUDDEAD, Busdriver and Aesop Rock.

Seven years on from last album Crisis Tales, Twisted Strangers finds the group in fine form, picking up where they left off – poignant, politically charged lyrics underpinned by their signature multicultural grooves. Guest spots on the album include Japanese furioso Kaigen and Hemlock Ernst, aka Samuel T. Herring of Future Islands. Herring’s been clocking up notable appearances with a number of indie rap’s finest, including Busdriver and Cavanaugh, and it’s great to count Curse Ov Dialect alongside such luminaries.

Watch the video for the title track below and grab the full album on CD or vinyl via Monotype Records or digitally via Valve Records.

Curse ov Dialect will be launching Twisted Strangers at Ding Dong Lounge in Melbourne on Friday, 13 May. Full details here.

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SEQUENCE: Sampa The Great

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Sampa The Great-26

photos by Pat O’ Hara

We recently spent a cruisy Sunday with Sydney via Zambia songwriter Sampa The Great & her producer Dave Godriguez.

Sampa really hit her stride last year – rousing our attention with her expressive spoken-word prose, flanked by Dave’s progressive funk & jazz tones.

Pat shot series at Dave’s house in Newtown, before rolling onto their show on the rooftop of the Museum of Contemporary Art (how about that sunset, hey).

Get your free download of Sampa’s debut The Great Mixtape, then head along to one of her upcoming dates at Golden Plains, WOmadelaide or supporting Guilty Simpson. More information right here.

 

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(View full photo set below) 

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SUBURB SERIES: RaRa

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RaRa

Craft is transient, as are its makers. When the creative hunch strikes, it’s not uncommon to move as far as we can from familiarity – but more often than not, we seem to return back to the places from where we begin. We spent a day driving around suburbia with Melbourne based alt hip hop group RaRa for our new ‘Suburbs’ series, which aims to shine a light on local musicians and their ongoing relationship with the places where they live.

Nestled in the cosy suburbia that is Melbourne’s inner east is Doncaster; more commonly known to locals as ‘Donny’. A leafy, working class suburb bordered by Eastlink and the Yarra, ‘Donny’ is marked by prams, modified Commodores and rendered 80s brick family dwellings with sloping double carparks.

Middle class Pleasantville seems miles from the the stomping ground where you would have expected RaRa’s slanted genre-bending hip-hop to have taken shape. But from what we saw driving around the neighbourhood; touring empty swimming pools, wandering into unused houses that were former party sites and visiting the family homes the boys still reside in – even if the four boys claim they’re “from another planet”, this will still be home.

Director / Film: Anthony Juchnevicius

Photography: Bec Capp

Animation: Nelson Armstrong

With thanks to: RaRa, Bec Capp, Annie Toller, Oscar McMahon

Featuring: RaRa (Ll’vo, The Lovely Me, KL, River Deep)

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RaRa are launching their new EP Planet 2016 at Shebeen in Melbourne on the 19th of December, supported by ESESE & friendships.

Planet 2016 is out now via Zero Through Nine.

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INTRODUCING: Samuel Dobson

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Samuel Dobson

Samuel Dobson is an MC and multi-instrumentalist from Sydney, with a few years of remixes and production credits under his belt. I want to call Dobson’s latest track ‘Aussie weed rap’, except that is an awful phrase on many, many levels. But if you dubbed any voice from A$AP Mob over the downbeat, orchestral sounds that sprawl out beneath Dobson’s verses, you’d get where I’m coming from.

The spaced-out production spins the age-old “where ya from” narrative of hip hop writing into a pretty listenable flow, with zero forced crowd participation or calls for where you represent on the map etc. It’s a fluid, shimmery track, with Dobson’s verses pacing and then racing over the persistently sluggish beat. It kind of feels like a more well thought out version of the first track off his forthcoming debut – and I’m interested to see if he can sustain the dynamic over a full-length release. For now, this is a nice addition to the growing bank of sophisticated Australian hip hop and RnB.

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INTRODUCING: Fortunes

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If you’ve ever listened to Usher’s ‘Climax’ you’ll understand the vocal gymnastics involved. For Fortunes’ Conor McCabe, this wasn’t an issue. He hit every single note. That means he hits two full octaves (Usher ranges from Eb3 to a falsetto D5). He did this when Fortunes opened during Oscar Key Sung’s residency at Melbourne’s Hugs & Kisses. It was one of those moments that slaps you in the face—much like discovering Banoffee’s vibrato, or the first time somebody demands you listen to D.D Dumbo. In McCabe’s case, his falsetto will keep ringing in your sleep.

Fortunes are McCabe and Barnaby Matthews, a Melbourne-via-Auckland duo. You can’t really separate these two from their origins once you’ve seen them live a few times. The first thing you notice is McCabe’s Kiwi twang. The Melbourne in them a lot harder to discern, given the subtle cultural differences between these two cities. Melbourne’s a city composed of villages—we let others know who we are and what we’re about.

Fortunes cut through this bullshit. Auckland breeds minimal fuss because (a) there’s not enough of a population base to generate microscenes and (b) its mainstream doesn’t see indie/hipster culture as something exotic to consume.

So enter Fortunes’ Hoodie EP—a ridiculously tight compilation of four tracks, to its last ounce oozing contemporary RnB and highlighting connections between NZ and Melbourne. Auckland’s Louie Knuxx features on ‘Communion’, for example; a steely, stripped-back affair done in the fine tradition of cinematic hip-hop storytelling.

The EP’s narrative is strongest on ‘Paper Thin’, a track rich with metaphorical flourishes. It initially tos-and-fros around the lyrics, “I’m grabbing papers to roll up and light up and spell out and (write up) / the lines they don’t line up”. It’s a slow burn building to a subdued chorus: “the line is paper-thin / it’s rippin’ / it’s rippin’” – a brooding moment where you can almost picture a spliff being stamped out on a bluestone laneway.

Throughout this release Hoodie’s sense of place grips you firmly, whether it’s signposted through McCabe’s Kiwi accent or through its noir-esque imagery. This is an assured, confident record that distils honest memories, not just trends.

Though it clocks out at 16 minutes, rest assured that won’t be long enough to absorb everything Hoodie packs in.

Image: Ben Clement

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GIVEAWAY: Baro + Milwaukee Banks

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baroresizedmbdark

Baro and Milwaukee Banks are Melbourne acts that have performed the minor miracle of creating Australian hip hop that actually sounds contemporary. Milwaukee Bank’s gauzy, sputtering production calls to mind A$AP Rocky’s debut LP – if you substitute MC Dylan Thomas’ good humour for Rocky’s gaping vacuity – while 17-year-old Baro’s jazzy beats reflect the current preoccupation with boom bap shared by young rappers like Joey Bada$$ and Earl Sweatshirt.

Baro and MB are playing a double headline show tomorrow night at Melbourne’s John Curtin Hotel, with rising producer (and Grimes lookalike) Stax Osset supporting. We have two passes to give away – email editors@whothehell.net for your chance to win.

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WATCH: HEAVY – ‘Coming Out’

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heavy

Self-described as “Weed and Vaseline Gangstas”, Auckland’s HEAVY follow up their excellent EP ‘Tasty‘ with a video for ‘Coming Out’.

HEAVY are a hip hop duo whose music is defined by droning basses, mangled vocal samples and some damned tasty rapping. It’s hazy and smooth, while lyrically being anything but shy. With almost all their material clocking in at under 2 minutes a piece, there’s something very punchy about their ‘get up on a pedestal fo’ these fools’ attitude.

The video is a disorienting endeavour filled with outfit changes, jewelled lips and slow-mo snack foods. It’s equal parts glamorous and grubby, with an unsettlingly slight divide between the visuals and the duo’s warped vocals.

Watch the video above and download ‘Tasty’ right here.

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