Album Review: Various Artists Official: The Best Of Australian Hip-Hop Vol 1

Best-of compilations are usually hit or miss, and while Nate Flagrant (DJ Flagrant) has compiled together a collection of some of the better work from Australia's hip hop artists, to define these 20 tracks as 'the best of Australian hip hop' would be unfair.

However, from a commercial stand point, and if this album was put together as a means of introducing new listeners to the genre, then it would be perfect. The mix of Hilltop Hoods, Bliss N Eso, Urthboy, Pez and 360 showcases what many would deem the Australian hip hop heavyweights. Conversely, where the compilation seems to fail is through the consistency of having radio friendly tracks deemed as 'the best of', for example Seth Sentry's annoying The Waitress Song and Pez featuring 360's The Festival Song. It was also interesting and somewhat questionable to find 1200 Techniques' Karma make the cut given that it is slightly dated having been released in 2002. Another example of this is through Drapht's Rapunzel, as you could scour any of his entire back catalogue to find better tracks from 2005's Who Am I? or 2008's Brothers Grimm. But there are also some great tracks that Flagrant has chosen that will resonate with new listeners as well as hip hop purists such as Urthboy's We Get Around, The Herd's 2020 and a classic from Pegz in What Would Happen?

It seems that Flagrant has just assembled together a list of songs that have found some life through commercial airplay within the Australian charts, that he deems are the 'best'. It's definitely not a 'best of' but perhaps a good introduction to Australian hip hop.