Shut The Door

The Life OF Riley, Perth MC Drapht's fourth studio album, debuted at number one on the ARIA album charts and gave Paul Ridge seven nominations at the ARIA Awards, taking home 'Best Urban Album' of 2011. Even for an artist used to popular demand after every album drop, Ridge was coming off a heavy touring schedule heading into 2012, so by the time Big Day Out had finished, Ridge was worn down, physically and mentally. He went to ground, recovered and took the time to reevaluate the way in which he approached his music.

“It's been a personal journey for me,” he says. “It's a time where I had a pretty successful record with the The Life Of Riley and from an outside perspective it's like, I seem to be living the dream life of a rapper, but I put myself under so much pressure for myself on that record. Two years touring after that release and it got crazy. It got to a point after the Big Day Out shows where I thought, 'Fuck, I've been touring for two years and I'm not really enjoying this anymore, you know? What am I doing to myself, is it really worth it?' I had to go to ground and just think about why I started my music and really try to get back that feeling I had when I started.”

While grounded, Ridge sought to take back control of his body, much the same as with his career, and today maintains good balance between the pair while readying his new cafe in the other hand. “It all started snowballing after I gave up drinking,” he says. “I haven't been drinking for a few years and it sort of opened my mentality and opened a door to get out on this level and further my self-progression.”

Several of Ridge's most celebrated drinking anthems – like Boom, Boom, Boom and Drink, Drank, Drunk – may be hard to perform for an artist now revelling in a more salubrious state of health reform, but as Ridge explains, they, much like Jimmy Recard, play an important part in his career. “I think that as well man,” he says. “Boom, Boom, Boom, Drink, Drank, Drunk, they were perfect time capsules for a particular moment of my life and tracks I am super proud of. But at a point I hit 28 and thought, 'Fuck. I don't know that I can do this anymore'. I can't party as hard as I used to. I'm the dude that just goes home – sleep! But I'm exhausted after an hour-and-a-half up on stage and I try to keep as fit as possible so I can own that stage. I started drinking at 13 years old. Now, I think, my cafe is holistic, organically natured and it's all healing food. It's been a personal journey and something that I've struggled with for nearly 15 years of my life. I got to 28 and thought, 'I am going to start enjoying myself, I am going to treat my body like the temple it is and fine-tune everything'.”

Now at 30 years old, Ridge, after coordinating his last national tour, has taken on a business, a cafe on the trendy strip of Mt Lawley in his hometown, Perth. “I've been working on a cafe opening up on Beaufort Street by the end of April,” he continues. “So, I've been busting my balls in every way of the word. In my personal life, too, I've got a lot on my plate. So I'm very excited to be able to go down and work on something completely different. So a lot of my time has been poured into this venture.”

Ridge made a recent appearance on SoundCloud recently, in the form of three track releases. The Drapht/Ta-Ku chemistry made sure the new music carries a different sound to that of the MC's previous releases, teaming with the producer on all three. One of the tracks, 1990's, featuring N'fa Jones (of 1200 Techniques) describes the direction Ridge is heading; not looking back, but taking charge of right now. “1990's is about appreciating everything that we have right now. It's that point where you're looking for something. Especially in (hip hop) people always go back to that '90s feel. Whether it's that Wu-Tang sound, that Nas sound or Big L or what not, they put it into context with the way our hip hop is done today. But they're worlds away,” stresses Ridge.

“And that's what you have to battle with when going to write new music, having a new plan – not trying to go in and write another Jimmy Recard. It's about writing something that I have never written before, pushing boundaries and not writing for a specific radio formula; writing instead, a reflection of where I am at currently. And that's all that matters.”

In an attempt to show himself as an artist moving forward, Ridge quashed the hype on arguably the biggest record of his ten-year career. Jimmy Recard, a track which had seemingly developed an identity of it's own with fans wanting more similar tracks. It weighed on the back of Ridge who aspires so much to keep his music evolving. On RIP JR he rapped his eulogy of Jimmy and killed him off. Some fans didn't see it from that perspective. “It wasn't a matter of I hated Jimmy. Everyone hung onto that perspective, 'Why did you hate Jimmy so much?' I love Jimmy, he's given me the world. It's more the matter of, not trying to hold onto something that never existed. People get so cut that I killed Jimmy. Jimmy's not a fucking real person! He's my ego, that's all he is, you know? Snap out of it,” jokes Ridge. “It's two thousand and fucking thirteen!”

This year, he takes his national Uni-Verse Tour to university venues as they too kick back into studies. Ridge explains why he's taking his tour to a school near you. “This gives me an opportunity to give back to the people who have supported me over the past ten years and the people that struggle from a day to day and struggle to find an affordable kind of enjoyment. I've been in a similar position where I have no money and eating noodles three times a day – that's student food. So this route allows me to make it more affordable for people to let their hair down and enjoy a good show.”

Ridge seems to be at a point in his career where his music is reaching from students to the older contingent. “And it's literally the reason why I do music,” he says. “It's not about reaching out to people in my own age group, it's about reaching people that relate to my music full stop. From kids to elderly ladies that like Rapunzel at 60, you know? It's like, if you like my music, there's no rules and fucking regulations. I want as many people to listen to it as possible. And if you like it, you like it – that's beautiful.”

Drapht will be playing the following dates:

Tuesday 12 March – Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW
Thursday 14 March – Wollongong University, Garden Party, NSW
Friday 15 March – Bar On The Hill, Newcastle Uni, NSW
Saturday 16 March 2013 – The Entrance Leagues Club, NSW
Wednesday 20 March – Capital, Wagga Wagga, NSW
Thursday 21 March – Zierholz U.C, Canberra, ACT
Friday 22 March – UNSW Roundhouse, Sydney, NSW
Saturday 23 March – Village Fair C.S.U, Bathurst, NSW
Thursday 28 March – The Rosemount Hotel, Perth, WA