Bias B back on the block

Who is the webmaster over at Obese? The label has premium banner space on the Ozhiphop.com forums where it advertises its forthcoming releases, but a click through to the company website for more info frequently disappoints – no updates for months, nary even a mention of the advertised product. Why? It’s not like they don’t have the resources.

But I digress. Having visited said forums today, I noticed an ad for the new Bias B record (and Obese’s 50th release) Been There Done That. Is it out? If not, when is it coming out? Who knows? All the info we have at this stage is that Bias has been in the lab with not only the usual suspects (Bigfoot, Ciecmate, Optamus) but also some exciting new collaborators (Brisbane soulstress Miss Brown, Art Of War producer Burna) to craft his latest endeavour.

Now I’m not a huge fan of Mr B’s nasal (and arguably simplistic) flow, but his status as an early pioneer of the Australian hip-hop scene (at least in the sense of recording and releasing music on disc) can not be denied, so I’m looking forward to this record all the same. Will he be able to come correct over a synth-laden Burna club banger though? Only time will tell.

Hip Hop release guide: 27.01.07

Starting today, I’ll be posting a weekly round up of hip-hop releases in Australia. This will include local acts and internationals released locally through the majors and indie distributors like Inertia, Shock and Shogun. Keep in mind that these titles come from the releases schedules and actual instore availability may will vary.

Distrbutor: MRA
Foreign Heights – Foreign Heights (Grindin/Central Station): First local signing to Central Station’s hip-hop imprint, consisting of Maya Jupiter, Trey and Nick Toth.

Distributor: Warner Music Australia
Lupe Fiasco ft Jill Scott – Daydreamin’ (Atlantic): Second single from Triple J favoured rapper who apparently doesn’t skate. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Distributor: Inertia
Celph Titled & Apathy – No Place LIke Chrome (Antidote): Album from the Demigodz affiliates on DJ Yoda’s label Antidote.
DJ Shortkut – Going Up Town (Antidote): Latest in a quality series of DJ mixes on Antidote, The Skratch Pikl/Beat Junkie mixes New Jack Swing classics with a turntablist twist.

Distributor: Shock
Busdriver – RoadKillOvercoat (Epitaph): Fourth album from LA-based abstract MC, all beats by Nobody and Boom Bip. Single “Kill Your Employer” rocks the f**king spot.

Distributor: Shogun
Biz Markie -The Inhuman Orchestra (Cold Chillin’): Previously vinyl-only material from the Biz gets the Traffic re-issue treatment with additional live tracks.
Clipse – We Got The Remix (Benzi): Hipster faves and coke rappers of the moment are remixed by Hollertronix heads, Disco D (RIP) and others.
Sean Price – Jesus Price Supastar (Duck Down): Surprisingly solid follow-up to the acclaimed Monkey Barz.
Wu-Tang & Friends – Unreleased (Nature Sounds): Collection of outtakes and remixes produced by DJ Mathematics. Most core clan members appear prominently.

Roll up the dank and pour the drank

Reports indicate Snoop Dogg has been added to the Good Vibrations line up for Melbourne on February 10 and Gold Coast on February 11. Their official site has yet to mention him, but their MySpace does, proving once again that the web will soon be made obsolete by Rupert Murdoch’s popularity contest.

Triple J Hottest 100 Results

The first hip hop entry in Triple J’s annual Hottest 100 poll is Jurassic 5’s execrable easy-listening collaboration with the Dave Matthews Band, “Work It Out” at Number 90.

At this stage, I’ll posit “The Hard Road” for the top 10, if not top 3. I’ll be back later to amend my prediction if it proves wrong.

Update: Kanye’s “Testify” lands at 88 86. Lets hope the L.V.D can keep it together when he learns that Justice vs Simian make the top 20 number 62.

Update: Butterfingers drag themselves out of the dirt at 83, Gnarls Barkley says goodbye to daddy with their Violent Femmes cover at 81, the Hoods make their first entry at 77 with “Recapture the Vibe”.

Update: Hoods again at 56 with “Stopping All Stations”. “The Hard Road” and “Clown Prince” sure to be top 20, if not top 10.

Update: The Herd stampede in at 52 with the multilingual “Unpredictable”, you can love or hate Lady Sovereign at 44, the Hoods continue their great day with “What A Great Night” at 41 and “Clown Prince” at 23. Lupe Fiasco kick, pushes his way into the top 20 at 19, and then Gnarls Barkley (who I admit were my pick for the top spot) lands at 6 with “Crazy”.

Finally, Suffa, Pressure and Debris make their final bow with “The Hard Road” at number 3, dashing my quiet hope that they’d take the top stop. That honour went to Augie March’s “One Crowded Hour”, with the new (and improved?) Eskimo Joe the runner up with their pseudo-goth anthem “Black Fingernails, Red Wine”.

Overall, a watershed for the deserving Hilltop Hoods and SFA for the rest of hip hop in general. Let it not be said that the lack of rap in the poll is reflective of JJJ’s attitude toward hip hop. Though they clearly exercise discretion, I’m confident in saying they play more real rap now than ever before even if the listeners in our rock-drenched land still needs their guitars. Robbie Buck’s year-long flogging of “Hand-Me-Downs” by Soul Position came to naught and even high rotation for The Roots, Ghostface Killah and Nas didn’t make an impact on the listening audience. I’d also hoped that The Tongue’s devastating “Bad Education” could have made a dent in the higher numbers, but ultimately Australia-at-large is still a one-hip-hop-act nation.

Voting commences in ozhiphop.com awards; ozhiphop.com goes down!

Can an influx of eager voters ready to click the polls in OzHipHop’s annual user-voted gongs have brought the already heavily-trafficked site to its knees? It’s been down for a few hours now, no doubt depriving some of Australia’s most enthusiastic hip-hop fans of their only source of amusement.

UPDATE: OHH is live again as of yesterday afternoon. Vote here. Funkoars hold an early lead in the Best Album, Group and Track categories, with Delta ahead in the Solo album stakes.

Rap dudes on televison

OK, so I’m not a Foxtel subscriber but word around town is that Sydney’s DJ Diaz (resident scratch monkey for Elefant Traks signee The Tongue and recent guest on the Overproof album) has scored himself a role in Fox8’s new locally-produced (and heavily-hyped) action vehicle Dangerous.

That’s all the info I’ve got (apart from the fact that his character is called ‘The Tipper’!), but it’s a good look nonetheless for Lil Diaz.  Seeing Melbourne gangsta ‘Big’ Phrase comparing rap anecdotes with ‘Keep It Real’ Kochy on Channel 7’s Sunrise was probably more impressive, but this is still cool.

As an aside, I’m not sure if Diaz shares any screentime with Dangerous starlet Brooke ‘Whoop That Trick’ Satchwell, but D, if you can shed some light on the Matthew Newton situation, holla at me mayne! I want details.

Supastition dates finalised, Overproof added to Sydney show

The flyer pretty much says it all. Tickets are around the $30 mark.

Mixtape roundup

Australia better be on the look out for drama-bringing RIAA-tipped-off SWAT teams because artists are rolling out mixtapes full of jacked beats on the daily. Most of ‘em are chock full of throwaway freestyles and not-quite-fly-enough-for-the-LP verses, but there’s definitely some entertaining material amongst it all.

Hykoo’s Ghost Who Walks mixtape contains freestyles over jacked beats, remixes, offcuts from the Crooked Unseen and is hosted by Okwerdz, who also drops a verse on the track “Change of the Guard” with Justice.

Groundup Mixtape Vol 3 is mixed by Frank Force and boasts current/pre-release US tracks, local contributions from Anecdote, Forthwrite, GMC and a name dropping verse from the much talked about 360.

The Mugshots Crew’s Landmines mixtape features Tommy Illfigga, Pure Product, Makcheeze and is assembled by Sammsonite of the Optimen.

Sean Lov’s Mix CD is a collection of cuts from Shawn’s ten-year career, and lead-in to the upcoming Waiting For A Ghost on Nuffsaid. End to end lyrical heat.

The divisive FOB Mixtape finds Justice, Kaos, GMC and Anonymous riffing on the theme of racial tension (witness Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy” flipped into “Kuwaiti”) and builds hype for Justice and Kaos’ forthcoming EP. Nice concept, but perhaps not one for repeated listens.

Months old but worth a mention is Overproof’s Bad News, which was a lead in to The High Life, with remixes and exclusives. Posted here by Kinetic.

DJ-led mixtapes are thinner on the ground, but DJ Flagrant has bucked the trend with The Business, Man Vol 1, a DJ-mix consisting of big name US acts with a few well known Aussies thrown in.

Macromantics album drops in US

Australia’s most prominent hip hop artist to be signed internationally (Curse Ov Dialect’s inking with Mush hasn’t attracted anywhere near the attention) sees her first US release today (well, yesterday, but today local time). Macromantics’ Moments in Movement drops stateside on femme-focussed label Kill Rock Stars.

For those who haven’t heard the Melbourne-based spitter’s distinctive, acquired-taste flow, Pitchfork have her joint “Scorch” available for download.

Moments is out in Oz on Remote Control.

ITM reports Roots dates.

Inthemix.com.au is sponsoring five dates from The Roots, including the Illadelphians’ appearance at the Blues and Roots Festival in Byron Bay.

The Roots tour dates:
Sat Apr 7 – Byron Bay, East Coast Blues & Roots Festival
Tue Apr 10 – Sydney, Enmore Theatre
Thu Apr 12 – Adelaide, Thebarton Theatre
Fri Apr 13 – Melbourne, The Metro
Sat Apr 14 – Perth, Metro City

While jaded punters in the US have been reporting for a while that ?uesto and Co. are becoming staid on stage, it’s most likely due to repeated exposure that Australia has avoided thanks to the tyranny of distance. There’s no doubt that these (okay)players are one of the hardest touring acts on the rap circuit and worth seeing at least once in everyone’s life.

Support comes from another “live” hip hop group, Melbourne Triple J favourites True Live (that ‘TV’ song).

The Roots website