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Love Begins
we're not kids anymore.

izzy's playlists!
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trying on a metaphor
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he wasn't even looking at me and he found me
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@ripnicholson
RIP2SHREDZ PRINT HAS MOVED!
RIP2SHREDS Print has now moved [HERE] to a more mobile friendly platform.
Please visit the new RIP2SHREDZ PRESS for Rip Nicholson interviews.
JURASSIC 5: ‘The Life Expectancy Of A Song Now Is Two Days’
In the age of YouTube and one-click downloads, instant gratification of consumers has changed the climate for selling music. Dante ‘Akil’ Givens of Jurassic 5 tells Rip Nicholson that post-reunion his world-renowned hip hop act have stepped up their game.
AKIL interviewed @ 10:15 AEST - Thursday 12th February, 2015 For Drum Media / TheMusic.com.au
It’s a different age in how people do stuff, now,” Dante ‘Akil’ Givens begins.
“We release albums, but really we’re amusing a new generation. It has to be a lot more strategic now. The life expectancy of a song now is like, two days. You click over one song to the next so easily; peeps already heard your joint and have moved on. That’s why I believe the visuals help out a lot. So, if there’s anything that we want to work more on now it’s the visual side of things. Making something that is tangible. That’s why I think YouTube is so big right now. It’s that connection to the music that you can grasp.
“You might get a video for Thin Line now, in this day and age,” says Givens who is looking to re-up J5 songs into videos. “For songs that people loved but never had a video for.”
Los Angeles-based rap outfit, Jurassic 5 was formed in 1993 when Givens joined MCs Marc 7, Chali 2na, Zaakir and producers Cut Chemist and DJ Nu-Mark, and in ‘97 released their self-titled debut on TVT Records. After their second album, 2000’s Quality Control, J5 opened for Fiona Apple on the Warped Tour.
“We've always been around different styles of music. And that prepped us to be able to be performers, period. We don’t just want to fall into hip hop gigs. We can perform live music in front of anybody, on any stage.”
“You can’t beat the live shows, because that’s the original Instagram. It’s living in the moment and that’s what these Twitter and social accounts try to capture. That is our strong point. We make good albums and we've made some made super, super hits,” says Givens between chuckles. “But, it’s always been our live shows that connect with our fans. And we are very conscious of that and how we can further our reach with the same music, performed live.”
So, working to their skills, when J5 got back together in 2013 – they broke up in 2007 – they toured. Then they kept touring into 2014’s Glastonbury Festival. This year, J5 rocks the Bluesfest and West Coast Blues ‘N’ Roots festivals.
“Hip hop is essentially a hodge podge of all different genres. This is right in line with what we do. I didn't grow up on hip hop, it came about when I was a teenager. Before that I listened to funk and jazz and soul. That’s what I grew up with, so, I’m at home.
“That’s what we’re able to do as hip hop performers, is teach people what actually is hip hop. Real hip hop. What we bring is not the commercial side of the game that you have been fed. This is the core of the real thing.”
NUGGY GEE: Straight Out The 23
Nuggy Gee is not trying to redo the game, nor is he trying to be the best MC. He is here for the love of the art, the therapy and of course the riches and the fame that comes from contributing to Brisbane’s Indie hip-hop scene. In 2013 he dropped his debut EP, Home Is Where The Art Is (HIWTAI) on independent label Gee Spot Recordings, representing the Four One fam on Brisbane’s southside. But don’t get it twisted, it’s in the DNA of Nuggy Gee to be a freestyle MC. The beast within is a battle rapper with the gift of gab to tear down a cypher and turn out the lights before last drinks. While he seems nice on record, he’s formidable in a freestyle.
For an MC who feels more comfortable getting in your face, when asked if his competitive spirit carried over into his records it was somewhat surprising to hear that he doesn't see collaborators as opponents. Although, perhaps the cohesion nurtured in recent collaborations with Def Man Walking and Fundamental Elements proved to be the right call over throwing down verses at each other in competition. Nevertheless, Nuggy Gee strives, at all times, to bring his A-game to the booth and, whether he likes it or not, the lyrical venom stored from the battlefield does leak out into his records.
Rip Nicholson holds audience with the independent as f**k MC. Everything is covered, from what inspired Nuggy Gee to stomp his name into local hip-hop, to deconstructing HIWTAI, to the self-produced Crate Of Mind project and how he both manages and contains the freestyle MC from taking over his records.
If you didn't know about Nuggy Gee... Now you do.
For Full Interview [CLICK HERE]
LIVE: SETH SENTRY @ The Hi-Fi
With a show that hosts a broadened hip hop audience, Seth Sentry bridges the underground scene to the fickle hipsters coupled up into one crowd craving to break from reality, just for one night with one of Australia’s best storytellers.
Seth Sentry Live @ Hi-Fi, Brisbane with Coin Banks & Citizen Kay Feb 20th 2015 | Images courtesy of Dave Kan
Support act Coin Banks staggers but gathers his start. Without a DJ, the Perth MC drops bars acappella, prowling the stage like a headline act and going from Heads to Tails for the captivated crowd streaming in. Citizen Kay follows on before your girlfriend’s crush Seth Sentry takes the mic with his running mate DJ Sizzle behind him, decked out in a pinched handlebar moustache and glitzy blazer. Together, they cover everything from the 2008 The Waiter Minute EP, 2012’s This Was Tomorrow, and a few sneakies off the new album.
Fun Not Fame Vol 3 set for release on 24th February @ vcclothing.com for FREE download!
Fun Not Fame Vol 3 features a whole heap of talent... The large majority of songs are exclusive to this mixtape so you wont hear them anywhere else...
O.C. from D.I.T.C. - In His Own Words
One of BK’s finest, D.I.T.C. cohort O.C. who dropped the classic Word… Life album in 1994 is set to bring his underground catalogue to Australia. An auspicious first time for the rapper, who sits with Rip Nicholson to chop it up over his career. Going way back to the days of 1991, The Source tour, when he and Nas were aligned on the same path. When Pharoahe Monch had O.C. drop a bomb on ‘Fudge Pudge,’ the 2001 album and the latest movements of one of hip-hop’s realest.
1994 is widely regarded as the greatest year of hip-hop albums, producing work that would be etched deep into the grooves of music history with Gang Starr’s Hard To Earn released in March, Nas’ Illmatic in April, Jeru’s The Sun Rises in the East in May and Biggie’s Ready To Die in September. When O.C.’s solo debut Word… Life came out in October it held its’ own against such classic works and is today, a beacon of unregulated, hardcore underground rap albums from the boom bap era.
The Brooklyn-born and one-time Crooklyn Dodger and original member of the Diggin’ In The Crates crew, O.C. grew up alongside Organized Konfusion’s Pharoahe Monch and played a part in the early movement with he and Prince Po, appearing for the first time on ‘Fudge Pudge’ in 1991. But, it was on the inaugural Source tour where O.C. jumped on Serch’s ‘Back To The Grill’ alongside Nasty Nas which later led to him signing with Wild Pitch Records and Serch’s Serchlite management with Nas. While on tour, O.C. met Lord Finesse and long time producer Buckwild which would form one of New York’s grittiest underground rap acts, Diggin’ In The Crates. The Source mag had said of D.I.T.C.; ‘they put the ‘under’ in underground hip-hop with party anthems and rugged beats and rhymes.’ O.C. would soon play his part alongside some of hip-hop’s greatest albums with his debut solo LP, Word… Life.
Despite the heralded success of Word… Life for O.C. as well his second LP in ‘97 Jewelz, it would be his third release in 2001, Bon Apetit that would leave a lot of critics and hip-hop colleagues to agree that O.C.’s work was a far cry from the groundbreaking earlier work. He would briefly step back from the fray returning in ‘05 with two albums before recording Oasis with fellow D.I.T.C. member A.G. in ‘09 and numerous records since.
Having an interview with O.C. was met with stipulations to not ask the generic questions that seem inadequate for a rapper of his renowned stature in the culture. Cultivating discussions to cover not only his career achievements but to delve into what went wrong on Bon Apetit, the reality of a D.I.T.C. reunion and playing in Australia for the first time was a challenge taken head on.
This is O.C. original D.I.T.C. MC, in his own words.
For Full Q & A with O.C. from D.I.T.C. [CLICK HERE]
SETH SENTRY - Life On The Road Can Get Bleak - 'Real Dark, Real Quick'
It’s that time again, when Seth Sentry comes to town. With a new touring diet of curbed drinking and channeling the Aztecs through chia seeds in his cereal, Seth “Sentry” Marton tells Rip Nicholson of a new energy he’s putting into his shows.
SETH SENTRY interviewed @ 11:00 AEST - Thursday 22nd January, 2015 For Drum Media / TheMusic.com.au
Seth “Sentry” Marton has kept himself running a heavy tour schedule over the last few years.
From his return from the SXSW US tour and his flanny appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, he ran two successful national tours before entering 2014 billed on Bliss N Eso’s Circus Under The Stars tour with Horrorshow and Ceekay Jones, a whirlwind of stages and dates. Most recently, Marton joined Hilltop Hoods, Illy, Thundamentals, Drapht and more at Triple J’s Beat The Drum anniversary party.
2 CHAINZ - ‘I’m Very Transparent'
HE APPLIES A FORMULA THAT’S ONLY TOO REAL FOR HIM. ONE THAT HAS SINCE BEEN ADOPTED INTO POP CULTURE. TAUHEED ‘2 CHAINZ’ EPPS TELLS RIP NICHOLSON ABOUT WHAT HE CALLS HIS MAINSTREAM RATCHET SOUND AND TAKING IT TO STAGES AROUND THE WORLD.
2 CHAINZ interviewed @ 9:00 AEST - Monday 24th November, 2014 For Drum Media / TheMusic.com.au (TBA)
WORDS by Rip Nicholson IMAGES by Diwang Valdez (courtesy of Respect Mag)
[Full Q & A with 2 CHAINZ]
“Mainstream Ratchet is music that I made. Being black and being good enough to come from the underground has allowed me to go to places like Australia. And that’s because of that mainstream interest,” Epps says. “That’s kinda like the idea for how mainstream ratchet music is geared, where we talk about the hair weaves, skrippers and skrilla. It’s music that’s localised and talks about the lifestyle that I come from that’s loved all over the world.”
This formula is the story of hip-hop itself; a culture perpetuated in music and tempered from whence it came. 2 Chainz, formerly known as Tity Boi, as one-half of Playaz Circle with Earl “Dolla Boy” Conyers released an independent album in 2007 featuring lead single turned local-hit, ‘Duffle Bag Boy’ adding to a growing demand for Atlanta-based Trap music. After breaking up, Epps signed with Ludacris’ Disturbing Tha Peace imprint under Def Jam/Universal delivering two LPs and a slew of mixtapes, most recently 2014’s Freebase EP which is a sharp shot of regression to his duffle bag soundscape.
MACY GRAY - Not About To Revive Her '90s Sound
DON'T CALL HER NEW ALBUM A RETURN TO 1999. IT LOOKS AND SOUNDS LIKE A GROWN MACY GRAY EFFORT. REAL NAME NATALIE RENEE BARRY MCINTYRE, SHE EXPLAINS TO RIP NICHOLSON THAT THE WAY IS BETTER THAN THE FIRST.
MACY GRAY interviewed @ 12:20 AEST - Friday 5th December, 2014 For Drum Media / TheMusic (Issue #70)
[Full Q & A with MACY GRAY here]
"I’ve come a long way since my first album as a songwriter, as an artist.
"I know more than I did back then. So, it’s only natural that my album is gonna come out differently and hopefully way better,” says Natalie McIntyre, better known as Macy Gray, of most recent album The Way. In a soothing voice crinkled only by the occasional raspy giggle, she adds: “Definitely, my vocal cords are on fire!”
In 1999, McIntyre’s raspy vocals gave her an instantly-recognisable singing voice made famous that year by I Try and its attendant album, On How Life Is. McIntyre has since pushed 25 million record sales worldwide. By 2014, she had become a singer, songwriter, actress and single mother of three, and intended her new album to be more reflective of that. “This album is very personal to me,” says McIntyre on the album’s press release. “I want my fans to understand the place where I’m at in life.”
LIVE: GHOSTFACE KILLAH @ Wooly Mammoth
Ghostface Killah made it known that he’s travelled 22 hours to showcase the cult hero rep that comes from being a member of the Wu-Tang Clan. Short of wearing an official Wu-cut jacket, he banged the Clan to the fullest as did DJ Butcher and the Born Fresh fam.
Printed for TheMusic.com.au / Ozhiphopshop.com Dec 5th 2014 | Rip Nicholson Images courtesy of Jann Apara
DJ Butcher played trap-beats to a stream of Ghost fans entering the chamber that is the Woolly Mammoth (formerly Mercury Bar) in the Valley. At 9.30pm, crashing the stage in numbers, Joe Ave, I Am D, Prophet Rayza and the rest of Born Fresh all took the stage in a posse flex, prowling the stage, jumping in and out of a half-rehearsed cipher-style performance – and a very fucking solid one at that. Even Butch stepped out from behind the decks to spit a 16.
Briggs - Too Strong
THREE ALBUMS IN AND SUDDENLY EVERYONE'S INTERESTED IN EVERYTHING ABOUT HIM, INCLUDING HIS SOCKS. RIP NICHOLSON RAPS WITH BIG ADAM BRIGGS ABOUT HIS INFLUENCES.
BRIGGS interviewed @ 13:40 AEST - Thursday 18th September, 2014 For Drum Media / TheMusic.com.au (Oct 2, 2014)
Full Q & A with BRIGGS Here
Actually, Briggs is more interested in giving us the most brutal punch-in-the-face slice of Sheplife we can handle, his legacy all on this new album.
Profecy - Back On His Grind
Still fresh, Brisbane MC, Liam ‘Profecy’ Wilson has not lost his rhyme stride over a beat. From taking on his local scene in 2010, Profecy rapped it, rode the beats and challenged the status quo as he saw it. Then, before he could take that next leap, he found himself trapped in the system. A time out served well, with a 2014 return, Profecy is back in step with his new EP, The Release. How apropos.
Time spent between albums only helped the rapper to explore the content of his character and develop the rapper. The Release goes in on the highs and the quite lows of what makes him who he is on the introspective joints ‘Truth or Truth’ and 'Standing In The Rain’. The momentum he is gathering is supported by Obese Records, their moves and reach and the circle of influence he keeps in the likes of Thundamentals, Illy and M-Phazes allow Profecy to be seen and heard around Australia. Here, Wilson opens up on everything in between releases and what motivates him looking forward.
Interview by Rip Nicholson on Thursday 28 August 2014 Responses from PROFECY
Full Q & A with PROFECY Here
Interview with The Briggasaurus for Rip2Shredz coming soon...
Until then, hit play on Briggs' latest video.
The D.Y.E - Sorry For the Stickers
This three-piece hip hop outfit started by assaulting their hometown Melbourne by plastering its concrete jungle with D.Y.E. stickers. This was their plan of attack, reflective of the lengths this group will go to get their hip hop assault recognised among the herd. The infamy of The D.Y.E. has gone from stickers to sales of their new EP apologising for their sticker campaign.
‘Sorry For The Stickers’ is the debut EP for DJ Marshall, MHz and Slam Master D who have previously dropped two mixtapes showing their full flair and rhyming dexterity over dope party beats cutting and piecing their bars over call & response jams like Jurassic 5 or the Beastie Boys, two groups from which these lads style themselves. However it’s the live shows where these guys become creatures of the spotlight, building a rep as strong as their sticker assault through the notoriety of putting on quality live performances.
The D.Y.E. are certainly here to build on what they have started years ago, as found out in this very in-depth interview with the three piece, dissecting the new EP’s tracks and delving into the future plans for the group and discovering that, despite the efforts put forward to get their name out, they don’t take themselves too seriously. Even the acronym for their name is up for interpretation. However, The D.Y.E. believe it’s their music and live shows that will cement their names in Australian hip-hop.
Interview by Rip Nicholson on Thursday 26 June 2014 Responses from The D.Y.E.
THE HERD - SNOW CREW
THE HERD ARE TREKKING BACK INTO THE COLD FROM WHENCE THEY CAME TO OPEN THE SNOW SEASON AT PERISHER'S PEAK FESTIVAL. KENNY SABIR TAKES RIP NICHOLSON BACK TO WHERE IT ALL BEGAN.
KENNY SABIR interviewed @ 11:00 AEST - Thursday 15 May, 2014 For Street Press Australia / TheMusic.com.au
Since releasing their last album, The Herd have toured Australia over and worked on other projects, while in late 2012 the entire Elefant collective was invited to the Graphic Festival at Sydney Opera House to put on a performance deconstructing the literary works of Theodor Seuss Geisel, aka Dr Seuss – The Herd taking onCat In A Hat. Label co-founder, producer and Herd musician Kenny ‘Traksewt’ Sabir explains how invaluable the experience was for the group, as well the entire Elefant roster. “It was certainly a great honour to be the first to put on a show like this. And to be the first rap act, too. It was also great to sit back and see the cross pollination between the Elefants working outside of their respective bands and really making it work.”