Aussie rap? It ain’t a new thing

So I was cleaning the house over the weekend, as one does, and (due to a busted laser in my portable CD player) was forced to resort to the good ol’ fashioned radio for background entertainment. Yep, that old chestnut. Fox FM in Melbourne, I found out, have a little ‘Australian music only’ show slotted into their Sunday afternoon timeslot – ensuring the Austereo station ticks all of its Government-enforced Australian music quota boxes without risking pissing off fans of the Pussycat Dolls and Matchbox 20 during the breakfast show and drive time. Nice work guys!

Anyway, you’ll never guess what happened to grace the airwaves on this particular Sunday afternoon… none other than the dulcet tones of Radio Freedom! Huzzah!! For those not in the know, RF were an early 90s Aussie pop/dance combo, who looked pretty suave in Ray-Bans, love beads and unbuttoned white linen vests over freshly-waxed torsos. More importantly, they had real-life black American chicks singing their hooks and – what’s this – even incorporated rap vocals into their music! Peep this stellar snippet from their 1992 hit ‘I Can Feel It’:

Crisp like wafer/razor sharp and hot like laser

Woah! Fiyah! It got me thinking about all the other Aussie rap pioneers – Eric Sebastian droppin’ heat on Peter Andre’s ‘Let’s Get It On’, ex-E Street star Bruce Samazan’s surf rap classic ‘One Of A Kind’, even that ill joint by junior firecrotch Brooke ‘Mikey’ Anderson. And that dude from Euphoria had rhymes for days! But strangely, these people are never mentioned in the same breath as Def Wish Cast, Just Us or Mama’s Funkstikools. Why? Surely their contributions are worthy? Where’s the love for the originators?

And don’t even get me started on those early pop collabos that paved the way for some of today’s Aussie rap legends! Jase and Scarz On 45 kickin’ science on Melbourne harmony quartet CDB’s debut album! DJ A.S.K. from the X-Fader Raiders cuttin’ it up on neo-Motown crew Human Nature’s ‘Sleepin’ Alone’! Ah, the memories…

Bonus audio: Bruce Samazan – ‘E Street We Outta Here’

Try telling Snoop ‘it’s not cricket’

I’m trying to think of a funny joke involving Snoop “gettin’ on the greenery” or “chillin’ in the pad” (as in cool-black-guy slang for “house”) but it’s all coming off quite lame so I’ll just let the picture do the talking.

GroundUp has the scoop on the Doggfather’s Sydney promo shoot for Australian MTV. I doubt Snoop could hit a six off a Warnie fast bowl, but then again Boony would never look this good in Crip-blue sweats. Enjoy.

James Brown, RIP.

The Godfather of Soul passes, Christmas Day 2006.