Hilltop Hoods Want To Give An Emerging Artist $10,000 To Bolster Their Career

Veteran Aussie hip hop trio the Hilltop Hoods could never be accused of taking their success for granted — in fact, for the past 11 years, they've been extending a major helping hand to emerging artists around the country to the tune of $10,000 as part of their Hilltop Hoods Initiative grant, co-presented by APRA AMCOS.

Applications for the 2016 grant — the money from which will be used to help the winner pay for manufacturing, marketing and distribution of an album or EP — are open now. In addition to the handy cash prize, the grant recipient will receive legal advice from Meia Arts Lawyers and a merch start-up kit from the good folks at Love Police ATM.

The benefits of taking out the grant speak for themselves, with previous winners of the big bucks including stalwart performers from around Australia, including Sarah Connor, Jimblah, Chelsea Lane, I AM D and RUNFORYOURLIFE. Entrants will be assessed by an esteemed panel of judges from the local hip hop community, including Koolism member and triple j presenters Hau; graffiti artist, promoter and Indigenous community worker Nish; Def Wish Cast/NTSC manager, booking agent and promoter Ran-Dee; fashionista, author and artist Raph; and multi-talented MC, beat-boxer, graffiti artist, B-boy and producer Tom Thum (aka Tommy Illfigga).

To be eligible to apply, artists must be a member of APRA AMCOS and not have previously released an album commercially. Acts meeting that criteria are required to fill out the requisite online application form and include a Dropbox link with demo MP3s (maximum of three), bio, proposed budget and timeline, press shot and, if applicable, group/artist logo. Once entrants have got all that together, simply .zip it up, pop it in Dropbox and supply the link inside the application form.

If you're not overly familiar with Dropbox, you can find out more here. For more information about eligibility, details and entry, see APRA AMCOS' website.

Applications close at midnight on Tuesday 22 March, with the winner to be announced on Wednesday 11 May.