One of the all-time talented West Coast lyricists Ras Kass has teamed up with Australian rappers Alerts and Simplex on the new single “The Vortex” filmed across Los Angles and Brisbane in Australia’s northeast. The near 4-minute single has long been in the works and delayed by COVID-19 travel restrictions, with film production companies No.One Network and Revolving Productions seamlessly overcoming the physical distance barriers to provide a quality product of the highest order befitting of the lyrical content – watch below.
The new single finishes off in some respects Ras Kass’s recent debut tour of Australia’s East Coast in which he was supported nationally by rising Australian rapper Alerts prior to the global pandemic that has meant all major international tours are on hold for now. This first natural collaboration between these three extends itself to potentially not being the last time we see them together on a track carrying on with that classic boom-bap flavor that has gone well and truly international. A new and exciting chapter for the legendary Ras Kass, proving his influence as one of hip hop’s greats knows no real boundaries. “The Vortex” is out now.
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
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-based producer Royalz has recently released his debut album Live 95 on local imprint GRHYME Productions. The impressive debut features the likes of Conway aka Conway The Machine of Shady Records / Interscope and Roc Marci aka Roc Marciano over a stacked 12-tracks will no fillers. A hip-hop purist at heart, Live 95 is the […]
Melbourne-based producer Royalz has recently released his debut album Live 95 on local imprint GRHYME Productions. The impressive debut features the likes of Conway aka Conway The Machine of Shady Records / Interscope and Roc Marci aka Roc Marciano over a stacked 12-tracks will no fillers. A hip-hop purist at heart, Live 95 is the capstone project so far in a career spanning almost 15 years and a dozen or so various releases of sorts since his Sinergy Crew days. Steadily honing and building his craft, this release promises to help elevate Royalz to the next level that his production now commands.
The quality release is interesting in the sense that it combines two top quality feature verses from American emcees currently at the top of their game with a mixture of verses from well established Australian emcees including Kings Konekted, Tornts, Dialect, Hau, One Sixth, DownPat, Bigfoot of Hired Goons, Angus Younga plus New Yorks’ SmooVth.
Royalz over recent years has been highly prolific on the remix, churning out an impressive catalog of high-quality remixes from the likes of Hau, Delta, Trem, Bias B, Vents, Brad Strut and his trio of Man vs Maschine releases. It will be interesting to see where Royalz goes next, but for now, he joins a growing list of Australian producers making their significant mark on hip-hop beyond their home country currently which includes the likes of M-Phazes, Kronic, Ghosts In The Room, Katalyst and Discourse.
