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Oz Hip Hop 101: The Hoods, The Herd and Urthboy.
July 14th 2008 02:11
Hip-Hop is such an American thing that it’s sometimes easy to forget that it happens elsewhere in the world. In a country where people have accents as annoying as Australia (let’s face it...) it may be tempting just to assume that it’s not likely that you’ll come across it and leave it at that.
There is though, one group who popularised Oz Hip Hop, that a number of people may have heard of; The Hilltop Hoods. An example of their work here:
Before the Hoods became popular though, there was another band busy blazing a path in Oz Hip Hop. This was the Herd. A group of nine members, including four MC, three beatspersons, and an assortment of instrumentation including piano accordion, clarinet, guitar and bass. Their songs used the full potential of Rap/Hip-Hop as a tool for social commentary, including songs such as Burn Down the Parliament. Behind the backdrop of the Conservative Howard Government, the Herd blazed an angry left wing lyrical flow of dissent.
Some quotes from their songs.
Sons and daughters wrapped in stars and stripes to keep 'em warm
77% of Australians are Racist; and if you were here, I’d say it to your faces.
Captain Cook was the first queue jumper
Len Hall Gallipoli veteran gently passed away thinking we learned not a thing; Played the Commonwealth cannon-fodder, his ominous words, that if he had to do it again, he'd fight for the Turks.
The Sun Never Sets is a favorite album of mine, from this band. Not only do they have the willingness to speak out politically, they’re not bound by the traditional constrains of their Genre. On the opening Track they speed up the beat slowly, following a Mandarin introduction, soon followed by rap verses in Chzeck and Spanish. Jane Tyrrell, female vocalist is featured regularly, and often with a sound closer to pop or folk that hip hop. Quite frankly, they’re not a textbook hip-hop band.
Here’s one of their songs;
herd
The Herd – Long Lunch
Another of the members of the Herd, Urthboi has had some recent success with his own projects. Here is an example of his solo work.
Urthboy – We Get Around
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