2018 Has Already Been A Huge Year For Aus Hip Hop; Here's Who's Killing It

Can you believe we're almost half way through 2018!?

Looking at the music we've been given so far, have we already seen the best of the year? Abroad, we've had Childish Gambino question whether music (or clips) actually insights societal change; Queen Bey and SZA continue to unapologetically show the guys how it’s done.

So this week I took a look at some of our own homegrown heroes. Some musos kickin’ ass, some makin' names and a little insight into who pRhymetime has got a keen eye on.

The campaign trail for badass Briggs (#briggsforpm) is undeniably stronger than ever. AB Original recently dropped track Blaccout whilst sharing Instagram images of recording their new album, Briggs is still close affiliate with 2017’s stunning new act Spinifex Gum and most recently he schooled Bill Shorten for The Weekly asking, “So what's it like being a powerful white guy?” All hail the baddest apple in the game.

Swooping under the radar is Adrian Eagle, just finishing the mammoth Thundamentals national tour as main support. Eagle burst onto the scene last year with bluesy and personal 17 Again, and this year we bared witness to a beautiful guest spot on DRMNGNOW's Australia Does Not Exist. Earning himself 360's support on socials, Eagle can most recently be seen on K21's recent offering Any Given D-Day. The kid is straight up fire and has our full support in his sharing of peace, love, unity, and eloquent music.

Speaking of eloquent music, recent single Love For Me reminded us Coda Conduct don’t need the love of no one (though we're offering it anyway!). It’s punchy, cheeky and endorses the need for genuine systemic change in gender inequality (not just in music but in every damn industry). If you haven’t heard it on triple j’s high rotation, you can also listen to them hosting their own segment on the airwaves! They've just smashed the Groovin The Moo circuit and we can't wait for another dose from the powerhouse artists!

In addition to the beautiful hip hop musicianship we’ve seen, I thought we could stray from the pRhymetime norm and take a little step outta just beats and bars. I don’t often move too far from hip hop but every now and then it's nice to melt into something a little off the mark. Australian musicians have this glorious infatuation with cross-genre, charismatically blurring the lines in what we thought possible and it’s unavoidably, artistically intoxicating. Hip hop is a whole lot more than just rap so here's our low down on who’s going to dominate the remainder of the year.

Squidgenini dropped two tracks in 2017 and we're still bumping them in the office. She's supported some huge names in Aus music (I won’t bother mentioning here as the list is too damn long) and we're crazy hungry for the next jam! Think somewhere along the lines of Saatsuma meeting Janelle Monae, then scratch the whole analogy cos Squid don’t play by your bullshit labels.

Now I couldn’t continue writing about the hip hop influencers unafraid of stepping outside the comfort zone without talking about the shape shifting Haiku Hands. From the second they dropped debut track Not About You last year, we slammed the laptop closed and lost our proverbial shit! The high energy outfit transcend an old school flavour with a new school dancefloor invitation for each and every one of you. They've played the best of Australia’s festivals, worked with Aus hip hop luminaries Jayteehazard, El Gusto and Joelistics and new single Jupiter promised the ferociously eclectic outfits next endeavour will be dope AF (#fistbump)!

Last but not least I'm gunna give some well-earned shine to Afro-funk powerhouse Cool Out Sun. The group boasts an all star cast of N'fa Jones (1200 Techniques/House Of Beige), Sensible J (Remi/House Of Beige), Lamine Sonko (The African Intelligence) and Nui Moon (Digital Afrika), and have already played more festivals than anyone can afford to go to! What's crazy about that? They did all of it without dropping a single demo! The crew’s percussive demeanour explores an Afro-Brazilian vibe that effortlessly demands rump shaking attention, while Jones’ bars on a Sensible drum hook has us asking, where can we get our hands on this!?

Australian hip hop (and more over Australian music!) continues to shine on a world stage, fam. Go get amongst it!