Raury Recalls A "Random Girl" Trying To "Tongue [Him] Down" At Last Year's Laneway

Atlantan singer, rapper and acoustic guitarist Raury Tullis was hailed as the 'next big thing' after circulating 2014's mixtape of alt-urban vibes, Indigo Child. With his message of youthful self-empowerment, Tullis named his growing legion of fans 'Indigos'. Now he's dropping a heroic major label debut, All We Need. It sounds like Kanye West reinventing Arrested Development.

The charming Tullis, who wears a trademark straw hat, hit Australia last summer with a rockin' band for Laneway — among his first "legitimate festival runs". At side-shows, there were outbreaks of Bieberish hysteria. "I remember it was in Sydney — I jumped into the crowd and, the next thing you know, this random girl is just like trying to tongue me down," Tullis laughs. "It was crazy!"

"Not a touch of rebellion from the angle of teen angst so much, but more so just from a human rebellious nature..."

Tullis, his touchstones KiD CuDi and Bon Iver, broke through with psy-folk anthem God's Whisper — piquing Kanye West's curiosity. He was a surprise guest on SBTRKT's Wonder Where We Land. Lorde had him contribute to her curation of The Hunger Games OST. He cameoed on Joey Bada$$' B4.DA.$$, and was shortlisted for the BBC Sound of 2015 poll.

The 19-year-old has "grown leaps and bounds" since Indigo Child. All We Need is still rebellious, but focussed. "It does have a touch of rebellion," Tullis affirms. "Not a touch of rebellion from the angle of teen angst so much, but more so just from a human rebellious nature — and not just rebellion as in, like, spray-painting shit and 'fuck the government', but rebellion as in turning off your TV, rebellion as in turning your attention towards something more fulfilling for your mind."

Tullis, raised by a single mother, wasn't always so carefree. In his mid-teens, he felt negative and angry. "I was in the darkest place." All We Need is for others confused by the transition into adulthood. "I want a lot of kids to stumble across this album and know that a kid just like me made it." Ultimately, Tullis sees himself as ushering in a new "cool" — a "conscious" counterpoint to "self-indulgent" hip hop. Earlier this year he aired the song Fly in response to the police shooting of black teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. Tullis acknowledges the influence of the US Black Lives Matter movement, and Twitter activism, on his outlook. "I feel like the whole movement and all of that is waking a lot of kids up."

Nonetheless, Tullis has secured cross-generational guests for All We Need — including that "hip hop hippie" RZA. Rage Against The Machine's Tom Morello, already a Raury fan, plays guitar on the single Friends. Then Tullis is joined by Mississippi's Big KRIT on Forbidden Knowledge. "He is one of the best rappers from the South — and I don't think people really know that." Production input comes from the likes of Danger Mouse. But conspicuously absent is Yeezy. Could Tullis pop up on SWISH? "I hate to be very off-putting, but I just don't wanna disclose any info about it all — I'm sorry!" he replies mysteriously. Tullis, who lets slip that he attended West's recent 808s & Heartbreak concert, is fascinated by music. Yet he's also... nostalgic. "Right now I'm listening to T-Pain. Old T-Pain! Everybody forgot about how amazing T-Pain was."