@oddisee and the @goodcompnyband in Australia
THIS WEEK FIRST TIME IN AUSTRALIA WITH HIS BAND!
Melbourne heads really need to get down to this THURSDAY so we can continue to have nice things Tickets at oztix.com.au
TOUR DATES:
Thu 29th Nov – @princebandroom, Melbourne
Far from an overnight success that he may appear to the casual fan, ChillinIt has been patiently developing and honing his craft for many years into one of the most exciting rappers to emerge out of Australia. Getting somewhat of a breakthrough via the influential Hustle Hard TV YouTube some six years ago, the talented […]
Far from an overnight success that he may appear to the casual fan, ChillinIt has been patiently developing and honing his craft for many years into one of the most exciting rappers to emerge out of Australia. Getting somewhat of a breakthrough via the influential Hustle Hard TV YouTube some six years ago, the talented and versatile Sydney rapper has recently released his excellent debut album “Women, Weed & Wordplay” to widespread critical acclaim and success. With an impressive independent 1.5 million-plus streams with no playlist help or distribution deal in the first week alone, the proof is in the numbers for the versatile wordsmith with the album charting at #1.
Along with contemporaries Wombat, Nerve, Talakai, Shadow, Huskii, Lil Sknow, Mitchos Da Menace, Triple One, TRYL and Skrub, ChillinIt has led the charge for the new generation of skilled emcees to emerge from down under – aided by the excellent work that the affiliated Body Bag Media platform has been able to develop. Building on the style of the independent foundation created by the likes of Kerser, Fraksha, Fortay, and Alex Jones before him, ChillinIt has certainly emerged in the last year or two with a legion of fans and a strong potential to take his refreshing sound truly global. His music has already organically linked him to the UK, scoring a spot on JDZ Media and a collaboration with English grime emcee Kamakaze.
The charismatic ChillinIt oozes star factor and has cultivated a family of fans known as the #420Fam. It is easy to see why he has developed such a rabid following in the recent years, with skills and authenticity on the microphone only matched by his energetic live shows that have many saying are some of the best in the country. There’s no rapping off phones, there’s no stumbling and fumbling his way through live shows just near complete hungry, raw, professionalism. Amassing tens of millions streams/views in the last year or so alone, ChillinIt definitely has the potential to be one of the first rappers from Australia to truly break through to the contemporary American market and has already sparked significant major record label interest. The hungry rapper is keen to showcase his many different styles with lyrical content to match almost any mood.
If reaction videos were a gauge of his potential overseas, he may eventually prove to be as fire globally as he is at home. With a strong, consistent work ethic already in the young talented artist, it will be an interesting few coming months to see how ChillinIt is able to negotiate his increasingly new levels of success which only seems to develop by the hour. A truly talented rapper at the core, Australia is proud that such an artist is leading the charge and expect him to level up again soon. Expect to see him on further major Australasian tour support and festival slots by his own accord soon – before taking the world by storm.
Check his debut album “Women, Weed & Wordplay” streaming now and catch up on his extensive back catalog before it’s a Chill takeover. #420Family
The wait is finally over! Eminem will grace our shores for four massive Australian stadium shows in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and for the very first time Perth in February 2019. Eminem will also travel to New Zealand performing for the first ever in Wellington in March 2019 – presented by TEG DAINTY.
Eminem’s fiercely loyal Australian fanbase has been willing for tour dates to be added in this territory, constantly spinning the rumour mill into overdrive, and now their prayers have been answered: the rap god is on his way, special guests will be announced soon and join the line-up for this second instalment of the RAPTURE 2019 stadium tour.
Eminem’s Rapture 2019 tour dates are:
Brisbane Wednesday 20 February QSAC
Sydney Friday 22 February ANZ Stadium
Melbourne Sunday 24 February MCG
Perth Wednesday 27 February Optus Stadium
Wellington Saturday 2 March Westpac Stadium
Tickets to Eminem’s Rapture Tour are on sale now from Ticketek.
A VISA cardholder pre-sale was available from 10am on Wednesday 17 October through to 10am Friday 19 October. Eminem’s live show illustrates exactly why he remains the “greatest in the world” of hip-hop. The Detroit rap icon’s rapid-fire flow, expansive phrasing and acerbic lyrics are awe-inspiring to witness live.
On Eminem’s 2018 headline Coachella set, Rolling Stone gushed, “Everything that made Slim Shady one of the most essential voices of his generation was onstage this weekend.”
When the 15-time Grammy award winner and biggest-selling rapper of all time dropped his surprise tenth studio album ‘Kamikaze’, unannounced, on 31 August this year it was impossible to ignore, flying straight to #1 on the Australian Albums chart where it retained pole position for four consecutive weeks, becoming the MC’s ninth chart-topping album in this country. And the record-breaking rapper just keeps on racking up the accolades. ‘Killshot’, Eminem’s standalone single, scored the highest 24-hour YouTube debut for a hip-hop video (the third-highest music video debut overall) upon its release last month.
Eminem’s previous Australian visit for 2014’s Rapture Tour thrilled audiences at sold-out stadiums across the country and every seat was filled during his previous Lose Yourself Australian tour in 2011. He’s no stranger to selling out stadium shows in less than 30 minutes in this country.
Paul Dainty, President and CEO of TEG DAINTY said: “Eminem is a global superstar and his live shows are phenomenal, we’re proud to once again present his Australian tour”.
You do NOT wanna miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to catch Eminem live! Tickets to Eminem’s Rapture Tour are on sale now from Ticketek.
Eminem’s Rapture 2019 AU tour dates and local on sale times below:
Brisbane Wednesday 20 February QSAC On sale 1pm
Sydney Friday 22 February ANZ Stadium On sale 4pm
Melbourne Sunday 24 February MCG On sale 3pm
Perth Wednesday 27 February Optus Stadium On sale 2pm
The five nominees for Australia’s industry voted annual Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) awards have been announced for “Best Urban Release.” Familiar hip-hop faces in Hilltop Hoods, Esoterik of Bliss N Eso and 360 all received nominations, as did R&B/Soul singer Mojo Juju. Somewhat surprisingly, independent Sydney rapper Kerser was not overlooked this year and […]
The five nominees for Australia’s industry voted annual Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) awards have been announced for “Best Urban Release.” Familiar hip-hop faces in Hilltop Hoods, Esoterik of Bliss N Eso and 360 all received nominations, as did R&B/Soul singer Mojo Juju. Somewhat surprisingly, independent Sydney rapper Kerser was not overlooked this year and finally received a much-deserved nomination after many years of being unfairly ignored.
Australia’s undisputable independent king of hip-hop in Campbelltown-bred rapper Kerser has finally been recognized by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) and nominated for Best Urban Release for his seventh solo studio album “Engraved In The Game” that dropped last November. Despite his previous six albums all charting, selling well and providing a self-made platform to tour the country independently all made off his own back, an ARIA nomination had alluded him until now somehow. Kerser has proven to be one of the most influential music artists of any genre in Australia over the last decade, coming from local rap battles to selling out his own major tours like no one before him has and inspiring a new generation to rap.
With a change in requirements and name of what can be nominated this year, we see the ARIA award for this category changing from “Best Urban Album” as it has been since 2010 to “Best Urban Release” as it previously was from 2004 – 2009. This change in rules allows two releases to be in the running for consideration this year that would not have otherwise been possible. Those include the 8/9-track “My Astral Plane” E.P. by Esoterik (of Bliss N Eso) and Hilltop Hoods’ excellent single release featuring Adrian Eagle “Clark Griswold”.
The five nominees for this year’s Best Urban Release award are;
– 360’s “Vintage Modern” album on Forthwrite / EMI Australia (Album)
A comeback album of sorts, 360’s 17-track album featuring Pez, Seth Sentry, I.E., Travy P and Hein Cooper was released late last October. It is his fourth solo studio album since his debut album “What You See Is What You Get” was released in March 2008 on Soulmate Records. It was not until late-2010 that his career really started to significantly develop commercially, with the release of the single “Just Got Started” featuring Pez going Gold as well as charting at #59. A number of Platinum-selling singles followed, as well as two ARIA-nominated albums in “Falling & Flying” (2012) and “Utopia” (2014). 360 was relatively quiet on the music front since late-2014 until he came back with a bang in mid-2017. A solid and widely well-received album, 360 is a strong contender to potentially take out the ARIA award this year along with Kerser.
– Hilltop Hoods ”Clark Griswold” feat. Adrian Eagle (Single)
A single-track release from the kings of hip-hop from Australasia in the Hilltop Hoods was enough to earn them a nomination this year. This is their sixth nomination (having won with each of the previous five ARIA nominations in this category) and their first non-album nomination since taking out Best Urban Release in 2006 for their “The Hard Road” Album. They followed it up with wins with “The Hard Road: Restrung” (2007), “State of the Art” (2009), “Drinking from the Sun” (2012) and “Walking Under Stars” (2014) with all of the original releases going #1 and 2x Platinum, with the exception of The Hard Road which has earned Platinum itself so far.
Despite being an excellent song with a notable feature chorus from the talented Adrian Eagle, it does seem hard to objectively compare singles to albums in this newly reconstructed ARIA category.
– Esoterik “My Astral Plane” (E.P.).
The eight-track plus opening interlude EP on Flight Deck / Mushroom Group is Esoterik’s of multiple award-winning, 2x Diamond selling group “Bliss N Eso” debut solo release. It also features James Crooks, ASTA, Spazzy D, imbi the girl and Ev Jones. Released back in May, the EP spawned the two single “Bless Up” and “Be Like You” featuring ASTA, with the latter attracting an official KLP Remix.
– Mojo Juju “Native Tongue” on ABC Music / Universal (Album).
The excellent 16-track album released in late August is her first release since 2015’s 12-track “Seeing Red/Feeling Blue” album. “Native Tongue” debuted at #76 on the ARIA Chart upon release in its first week . The project features the talents of Lay the Mystic, Joshua Tavares and the excellent Pasefika Victoria Choir on the lead single “Native Tongue”.
The lack of a stand-alone category in the ARIA awards for “Best Soul/R&B Album” means that Mojo Juju is up against four hip-hop artists for Best Urban Release this year. In years to come it is likely that the Best Urban Release category will finally be split into two separate categories in Best Hip Hop Release and Best Soul/R&B Release. The lack of a category for Best Funk Release, Best Folk Release, Best World Release further makes it difficult for artists in these genres to also break through and win an ARIA award.
– Kerser “Engraved In The Game” on the independent ABK Records (Album).
Kerser’s 15-track “Engraved In The Game” album is his seventh solo studio album self-released in seven years and features his ABK Records label mates RATES and Jay UF, long-time collaborator Fortay (of At Large Productions) as well as talented singer Alicia Renee. The album was produced by Allrounda.
The past year has shown Kerser remains consistently strong and also spawned arguably the biggest American – Australian hip-hop single collaboration ever with “Total Concentration” featuring Future, Young Buck of G-Unit and Kerser all dropping verses over a Ghosts In The Room beat. Officially Australia’s most viewed rapper on YouTube at nearly 200 million, next year promises to be even bigger than this year with his eighth album set to drop in February, a national tour set for March/April and further potential for Kerser to develop in international markets in New Zealand, Europe, America and the UK all on the horizon. Kerser and 360 with strong album releases appear to be the two clear standout favorites to battle for this year’s award and it appears we may see a new 10th ARIA award winner for this category.
Only once has a single song won the ARIA award for Best Urban Release, in Melbourne R&B singer Daniel Merriweather’s “She’s Got Me” second non-album single off his debut Promotional EP “Merriweather” back in 2005. An EP has never been nominated previously and a single has not been nominated since Bliss N Eso’s 2006 “Up Jump The Boogie” produced by LA’s DJ Hoppa that was the lead single to their second studio album “Day Of The Dog” on Illusive Sounds. Despite dozens of nominations from New South Wales and Sydney artists over the last 14 years, only Bliss N Eso (2008) has managed to take out the top prize with their third album “Flying Colours” a decade ago.
Last year’s ARIA winners were A.B. Original (Briggs and Trials of Funkoars) with their excellent debut album “Reclaim Australia” on Golden Era Records / Bad Apples Music, fending off tough competition from Tkay Maidza, Remi, Thundamentals, and Illy. The other eight different winners for Best Urban Release since its inception in 2004 include Drapht (x2), Seth Sentry, Hilltop Hoods (5 wins from five nominations), Illy, M-Phazes, Bliss N Eso, Daniel Merriweather, and Koolism. Before there was an exclusive Best Urban Release or Best Urban Album Categories, Melbourne hip-hop legends 1200 Techniques in 2002 won the ARIA award for “Best Independent Release” with the lead single “Karma” from their debut studio album “Choose One”. 1200 Techniques were hugely influential in being the first hip-hop act in Australia to win an ARIA and subsequently broke down many barriers for hip-hop in Australia.
Strong album debuts on the Australian Urban Album Chart by both Lil Wayne and Logic were not enough to knock Eminem’s Kamikaze off the top spot, which he has occupied since debuting their five weeks ago. Tha Carter V debuted at #2, just ahead of Logic’s YSIV at #3 and represents a re-entry for both […]
Strong album debuts on the Australian Urban Album Chart by both Lil Wayne and Logic were not enough to knock Eminem’s Kamikaze off the top spot, which he has occupied since debuting their five weeks ago. Tha Carter V debuted at #2, just ahead of Logic’s YSIV at #3 and represents a re-entry for both of them into the Australian charts. Wayne also has six songs from Tha Carter V currently in the Single Charts, a feat only matched by Eminem and Drake.
Eminem continues to reign supreme, with a further four albums on this Top 40 Album chart demonstrating his continued longevity down under. His 2002 classic The Eminem Show is the highest selling Hip-Hop album ever in Australia, being one of the only rap albums to achieve Diamond certification locally as well. The Eminem Show is the highest selling hip-hop album worldwide with over 27 million units sold, ahead of his The Marshall Mathers LP album at 21+ million copies sold since 2000. Eminem also has the two top-selling hip-hop albums of all-time in America with these two landmark releases as well.
On the domestic front, Thundamentals remain in the top 30 after their new fifth studio album “I Love Songs” debuted impressively at #5 last week and features the talents of Eves Karydas and the rising superstar that is Adrian Eagle. With ten years deep in the game now, Thundamentals continue to hit their stride and show no signs of slowing up with an ongoing packed touring schedule that has helped them develop such a wide fan base.
Australia’s hip-hop kings Hilltop Hoods also remain in the top 30 with solid sales of their latest Platinum-certified album release Drinking From The Sun, Walking Under Stars Restrung continuing despite being on the album charts for over the last two and a half years – a testament to the legacy they have built for themselves over the years.
Melbourne’s Pegz has released a long-awaited new 9-track album with producer Silent Titan titled Equilibrium last week. The impressive 38-minute offering released on Brisbane’s legendary Hydrofunk Records (Resin Dogs, Blunted Stylus) features Jace XL, DJ Cost was long in the making and a somewhat unexpected release when it finally dropped. Silent Titan is a well-established, […]
Melbourne’s Pegz has released a long-awaited new 9-track album with producer Silent Titan titled Equilibrium last week. The impressive 38-minute offering released on Brisbane’s legendary Hydrofunk Records (Resin Dogs, Blunted Stylus) features Jace XL, DJ Cost was long in the making and a somewhat unexpected release when it finally dropped. Silent Titan is a well-established, talented producer / DJ from Australia having worked with Thundamentals, Prince Po of Organized Konfusion while Pegz is one of the most important figures in hip-hop to emerge from Australia yet.
Coming up as a young graffiti artist before beginning to rap in the early 90’s, Pegz then known as Pegasus had an early track featured on a release from the hugely influential Melbourne hip-hop label Nuffsaid Recordings. Upon starting to work at a then-emerging hip hop shop/record label called “Obese Records”, Pegz released his debut self-titled EP Pegasus in 2001 that really kick-started a prolific next decade that had not been seen before on such a scale.
Before Pegz released his classic debut album Capricorn Cat back in 2003, he had purchased the Obese Records shop he was working at and had continued to significantly develop the release side of the emerging business. With landmark, early releases from the likes of Brad Strut (Lyrical Commission / Unkut Recordings), Hilltop Hoods, Reason, Funkoars, Bias B, Hunter & Dazastah as well as the Culture of Kings compilation releases, Obese Records had positioned itself nationally as having a significant market reach at the time. Local Australian-made hip-hop at the time was just beginning to find a larger market audience and commercial acceptance off the back of Resin Dogs, Downsyde and 1200 Techniques influential local releases / festival appearances, and the Obese Records releases of Culture of Kings Volume 2 compilation and especially Hilltop Hoods’ The Calling smashed through the glass ceiling that appeared to exist then.
With Obese Records now on fire throughout the mid-2000’s with a string of quality releases, Pegz released his own acclaimed albums in “Axis” (2005) and “Burn City” (2007) to great success. The 14-track Axis features Hilltop Hoods, Hyjak N Torcha, Oregon’s Debaser, was largely produced by Plutonic Lab and certainly cemented Pegz in the scene as a talented emcee. His latter Burn City released in late-2007 featured Vents, Drapht, The Funkoars, Illy, Muph and Cali’s Planet Asia and proved to be commercially more successful peaking at #70 on the ARIA Album Chart, #10 on the ARIA Urban Album Chart and #4 on the ARIA Hitseekers Albums chart as the audience widened.
Following Burn City, Pegz developed a trio group called “Gully Platoon” with Joe New and Dialectrix (both formerly of Down Under Beats Crew). They dropped a 14-track album in mid-2009 on Obese Records called “The Great Divide” featuring DJ 2 Buck, Plutonic Lab, future members of the current award-winning group Remi and reached #5 on the local independent Top 20 Album charts and #18 on the ARIA Top 40 Urban Album charts. This period continued a string of successful and critically acclaimed releases on his Obese Records including Drapht “Brothers Grimm” (2008), Muph & Plutonic “…And Then Tomorrow Came” (2008), M-Phazes “Good Gracious” (2010), Mantra “Power Of The Spoken (2010) and Bias B “Biaslife” (2011) amongst others.
By the time Pegz’s fourth solo album perfectly titled as “Drama” dropped in 2011, Obese Records in retrospect had somewhat hit a high watermark. The leading group from Obese Records in Hilltop Hoods had left and gone independent forming Golden Era Records, the physical record pressing arm of the business had closed down and his large influence had led to some concerns of Obese monopolizing the rapidly developing local hip-hop market. “Drama” largely marked Pegz exit from hip-hop as an active rapper, leading him to focus more on the label aspect, management and distribution arms of Obese Records.
Pegz legacy as both an emcee and through Obese Records is of incredible importance to hip hop’s development and wider embracement it now enjoys throughout Australia. This recent EP drop with Silent Titan was more than a welcomed surprise and re-opens the door to continuing the Pegz story – or closes it again. Time will tell, but the messages touched on throughout Equilibrium are timely in a musical landscape that has changed so much in recent years. Stay tuned to The Source for an upcoming article on Obese Records – Australia’s most influential hip-hop record label to date.
Thanks Pegz.
Pegz & Silent Titan’s new Equilibrium album out now.
This week Strange Music Inc’s Tech N9ne and Krizz Kaliko make their way to Australia yet again for a string of shows across all major capital cities. Just last week both of their New Zealand shows were sold out in advance, highlighting just how popular Tech has remained throughout the years internationally. Tech N9ne is […]
This week Strange Music Inc’s Tech N9ne and Krizz Kaliko make their way to Australia yet again for a string of shows across all major capital cities. Just last week both of their New Zealand shows were sold out in advance, highlighting just how popular Tech has remained throughout the years internationally.
Tech N9ne is widely ranked as one the most successful independent hip-hop artist in the world and has had his unique brand of music attached to numerous video games, movies and TV shows over the past two decades with Strange Music Inc. He most recently released his 20th solo studio album entitled Planet, featuring the likes of Machine Gun Kelly, Snow Tha Product, Krizz Kaliko, and Jordan Omley. Planet not only topped the US Independent Album charts but also impressively charted on the wider Billboard charts, proving that his fan base remains strong.
Immediately following their Australian tour, Tech and Krizz make their way to Hawaii before they both embark on their extensive “Independent Grind 2018” tour with Futuristic, Dizzy Wright and Mackenzie Nicole (selected dates). The 49-date tour starts October 6 and runs almost back-to-back throughout America until its culmination on December 1. Tech may have announced plans for retiring in the coming years, but he certainly shows no signs of slowing up as he continues his jam-packed touring schedule which is almost second to none with well over 120+ shows this year alone. Technicians be ready – he’s most certainly coming to a city near you soon.
Rapper / Actor Bow Wow aka Shad Moss is about to embark on an extensive 13-date tour of Australia and New Zealand, taking in all major cities and many regional centers over September and early October with Lucky URBN. Bow Wow has previously toured Australia on multiple occasions including in 2017, 2015, 2012 and in […]
Rapper / Actor Bow Wow aka Shad Moss is about to embark on an extensive 13-date tour of Australia and New Zealand, taking in all major cities and many regional centers over September and early October with Lucky URBN. Bow Wow has previously toured Australia on multiple occasions including in 2017, 2015, 2012 and in 2011 (w/ Snoop Dogg, The Game, Nelly, Busta Rhymes, DJ Nino Brown, Fat Joe plus more for the Supafest concert to ur). Well and truly out of rap retirement, Bow Wow has released a string of new music film clips in recent months – watch below.
Bow Wow then returns back to America for the 11-date arena So So Def 25th Anniversary CULTURAL CURREN$Y Tour w/ Jermaine Dupri, Xscape, Da Brat, Jagged Edge, Anthony Hamilton, Bone Crusher, Youngbloodz, Dem Franchize Boyz and J-Kwon throughout October and early November. This anniversary tour builds off the back of the recently released compilation, “Jermaine Dupri Presents So So Def 25”.
Bow Wow recently released the song “Too Real” with Sydney DJ / producer DJ Willi, with the film clip filmed on location in Sydney – check it out below.
Australian producer Ghosts In The Room earlier this month released the four-track joint EP with G-Unit’s Young Buck titled Until Death on Mudd Music. The short but sweet release builds on the single in which they teamed up with Future and Kerser titled “Total Concentration” which proved to be one of the biggest American – […]
Australian producer Ghosts In The Room earlier this month released the four-track joint EP with G-Unit’s Young Buck titled Until Death on Mudd Music. The short but sweet release builds on the single in which they teamed up with Future and Kerser titled “Total Concentration” which proved to be one of the biggest American – Australian hip-hop collaborations yet.
Although Until Death itself clocks in at only 13 minutes long, it is also blessed with a wealth of features from Australian rappers including Manaz Ill, Mitchos Da Menace, TKO, Fortay, Omac, Cortext as well as Alabama’s Rich Boy.
Ghosts In The Room himself is a Hip-Hop producer from Australia’s capital Canberra of Mudd Music who has been producing beats since the early 2000s and cites The Alchemist, RZA and Just Blaze as key musical influences. Ghosts In The Room has worked previously with Iron Solomon, Kool G Rap, Okwerdz, Havoc of Mobb Deep, Bishop Lamont, Big Pooh, Mistah F.A.B., Block McCloud of Army Of The Pharaohs, Ras Kass, Ruste Juxx, Shabaam Sahdeeqplus a stack of talented locals over the last few years. Stay tuned for more from GITR soon.
Grammy-awarding winning R&B star Eric Bellinger returns to tour Australia and New Zealand, playing 11 shows across the stacked fortnight for his Eazy Call tour promoting his fourth studio album of the same name. Eric Bellinger has proven to be particularly popular “down under,” having toured multiple times over recent years. The talented singer and […]
Grammy-awarding winning R&B star Eric Bellinger returns to tour Australia and New Zealand, playing 11 shows across the stacked fortnight for his Eazy Call tour promoting his fourth studio album of the same name. Eric Bellinger has proven to be particularly popular “down under,” having toured multiple times over recent years.
The talented singer and songwriter have worked with the likes of Usher, E-40, The Game, Chris Brown, DJ Mustard, Ashanti, Brandy amongst many others. His latest charting release in Eazy Call which was released in April this year follows a string of mixtapes and EPs that he has released in recent years, developing his legacy as a talented performer in his own right. Eazy Call is a 15-track offering that reintroduces Bellinger to his fans as the talented artist that he is, linking up with the likes of Dom Kennedy, Ne-Yo, Mila J, Wale and Ma$e. Australian fans catch Eric Bellinger coming to a city near you, tour by Lucky Ent. X Lucky URBN.
