1200 Techniques: One Down.

1200 Techniques play Splendour In The Grass at the Belongil Fields in Byron Bay on July 21. Choose One is in stores now.

Most armchair critics of music culture would note the steady rise and rise of hip-hop culture and it’s growing acceptance in mainstream circles. That in itself is not the unique factor, what really fascinates is how hip hop has been able to stay true to it’s ideal while preaching to a wider, often newly converted audience.

Locally, there has always been a steady underground stream of rappin’ and rhymin’ talent, from MC’s to DMC, the Australian diet and Top 40 has been liberally peppered with urban beats. While many of the groups that have come to greater popularity may have borrowed many stylistic elements from the genre and re-developed it to suit more contemporary needs, Melbourne’s 1200 Techniques stands tall for their clarity of vision.

Fresh from a national tour supporting sonicanimation, 1200 Techniques lead vocalist and lyrist Nfa-mas struggles to be heard above the sounds of a busy Melbourne café. He admits that while the crew, (including highly respected graf artist, turntablist and producer Peril alongside younger brother Kemstar), have been professional beaticians for four years now, the instant gratification of a top name tour can be overwhelming.

“We just finished the two about two nights ago. It was pretty nuts actually, but Rupert and Adrian (sonic duo) were really supportive or us, the crowd was as well, so we were spun out.”

Given that the vision of the Techniques trio has grown steadily, and they have been minor celebs in certain circles, Nfa-mas exudes a quiet confidence synonymous among those who know they're onto a winner.

“Maybe cause we have been building up underground cred for the past four years, its sort of helped, so people know that we’ve been doing stuff for some time. I guess its because they know what we’re doing, they appreciate it a bit more. I mean, I think we know what we’re doing and the support’s just been unreal.”

1200 Techniques came to the attention of a wider audience via youth taste barometer Triple J and the single Hard As Hell – a sound that won them an unlikely pairing with psuedo rap rockers Linkin Park. It’s this ability to recognise an opportunity to touch a like-minded scene that has probably allowed 1200 the chance to shine.

Nfa-mas agrees that it was also a bit of right place, right time.

“I think it’s all about timing, if we had brought this album out a year ago, it wouldn’t have had the sort of push that it has now. Radio has had a lot to do with it, like Nova FM is a more commercial station, but they play stuff that Triple J will play, that cross-genre sort of station. You can hear commercial stuff, but it can go from a Neptunes track to a Busta Rhymes track to us… so it’s like whoa… it’s out there. Alotta young people are getting involved and people are probably getting into hip-hop a lot more because of Eminem. Because of what he looks like, he could be from an Australian suburb. So people hear that and they hear that Dr Dre produced him and they start learning more about NWA and everything else.”

The 1200 Techniques story reads, like all the pop stories do, like some wild, serendipitous mix of good luck, blind fortune and fate. When the gang officially formed in 1997, it was as a quartet of brotherly love, with Nfa-mas and his older brother Kabba hooking up with Peril and his little brother Kemstar. At the tender age of 10, Nfa-mas was already on the mic, coaxed by his older, more credible bro. Likewise, Peril’s roots trace back to early 80’s Melbourne where he is notorious for his involvement in The Island Boys, arguably Melbourne’s first hip hop crew and his longstanding gig at Kiss FM where he hosts The Joint, plus his Planet of the Breaks residency at Scubar. A talented artist and DJ, Peril and his bro Kemstar (also a graf artist) joined Nfa-mas and Kabba before Kabba re-located to England. The trio wasted no time in releasing Infinite Styles EP. A competent and insightful lyrist by 14, Nfa-mas followed Kabba through the hip hop underground picking up skills and influence Given that he came to the mic at a tender age, how much has Nfa-mas adapted his style?

“I’m probably writing more fun party rhymes then what I would usually write, like in Karma its all about vibes, but with the new stuff, a lot of it has got beats propelled through it, all party stuff, amped-up sort of tracks, you know what I mean? I sort of write for the beat, whereas the stuff I did with my brother was more sombre I guess or more even minded, a more thoughtful approach to things. I think that’s why Karma works for so many people, because it has a lot of thought in it. My writing hasn’t changed that much I’m still the same person, I have had a bit more experience and I’ve seen a bit more of the world now. I’m more aware of things now, I used to write a lot through my naivety, or how I wished things would be and now I’m getting more a sense of how things really are.”

Nfa-mas concedes that the status quo has shifted enough to allow the new hip hop breed to the forefront

“I think things have been changing, things like Black Eyed Peas and Jurassic 5 have blown apart the industry by saying ‘Look you can be underground and still get commercial play’, its not all about being hardcore, its about writing good rhymes that make people think. That’s all it is at the end of the day.”