Extreme Herb

Sydney freestyle phenom Herb had his music recently featured in a short “making of” clip from last year’s Fitbikeco. DVD called Stay Fit.  You can see BMX riders do flippy, spinny, grind-y things to the sound of Fiends For The Top, a track spat by Herb and produced by Aeon.

But it doesn’t stop there.  Herb has another track featured in the full-length DVD, called Ba Ba Da Baa, taken from The Morning Sun EP which he  released last year.  The exposure will be enormous; the YouTube vid currently stands at 37,400 and will only rise given the company’s popularity in BMX culture.

We can look forward to more great things from Herb in the future.  Now that the BMX world knows his name, he’d better learn to do barspins or release some more music…

Once A Year, A Fat Man Comes And Delivers Gifts

Once a year, every year for a long time now, OzHipHop.com has held their annual OHH.com Awards – nominated and voted for by the people who frequent the site.  As Australia’s premier Internet destination for hip hop opinion and discussion, it’s a pretty big deal.  Skip on over HERE to vote!  And remember…

Thundamentals On The Prowl

Personally, when I think of dope live acts in the Australian scene, Thundamentals are definitely up the top of the list.  Which is why it gives me all sorts of uncontrollable spasms to report that tomorrow night they kick off a short but sweet little tour to support their newest single My Lady, the latest showpiece from last year’s debut album Sleeping On Your Style.

I’m Not Paying For Nothin’

I opened some rather concerning letters this morning.  It turns out the State Debt Recovery Office are on my tail for reasons that remain undisclosed, and a lot of my cash is going to be tied up until I get a chance to strut on down there and slap someone upside the skull.  What’s a guy to do in the meantime?  Retail therapy is clearly out of the question; so it’s a good thing that the generous hip hop community has provided some free gear over the summer for all the broke scene junkies like you and me.  Here’s a small selection.

Einwanderer Chanson

Late For Work Again

I’m always late for work, and the excuses vary.  Sometimes it’s the bus – and sometimes it’s the distraction provided by my many silly arguments on the Internet.  Starting a blog was probably the worst thing I could do and undoubtedly it will be the reason for many a heated exchange with The Boss (capitalised because he must be feared… er… respected) but today I’m pretty satisfied that it was Syntax‘s fault.  Yeah.  I’ll rest the blame on his shoulders and point The Boss in his direction when things get hairy.

Extendable Tentacles

Oh dear, I think I may have hurt my back.

One of the fundamental ideas behind the creation of this blog is helping to bridge some of the gaps in hip hop.  There are many artists in the scene who have no idea that other artists even exist, and considering that the Internet sends people like Bangs into worldwide popularity, I figure I might as well do my bit to expose the real heads to each other (no homo).

Not The Festival Song

Why don’t we have a festival that caters for the average Australian hip-hop minded individual?  It’s kind of ridiculous that, in your standard Aussie summer, you can’t go more than two weeks without having some fuckwit wheatpaste nine new festival posters on the front of your house.  Each one is distinct, clearly intended to glimmer with appeal amidst the latest trends and styles that represent today’s alternative culture.  You’ll find there’s a festival packed with pill-pusher artists that exist within the vast dance music genre, balanced in kind by another festival populated with smiling, acoustic guitar-wielding cappucino junkies.  Somewhere in that mix, hip hop dwells as a sort of afterthought – catered to by the larger festivals by the inclusion of a few first-class international performers, but never to the point that it could be considered the focus of the promoter’s efforts.  Sadly, that means that smaller underground hip hop artists don’t get a look in, but Joe McFeelings and his ukelele can take a Triple J Unearthed feature spot and use it to squeeze in between Sia Blasko and Jeff Pyke at one of the biggest campground gatherings of the season.

Meanwhile, hip-hoppers are buying three different tickets to three different events to see a total of nine decent artists, which is an expense that almost isn’t worth the hassle.