“I’ve not got any hate left for anybody. I’m not saying I‘m walking away from anything I did in the past but I’ve moved on from it.”

Brad-Strut-feature1

Brad Strut interview by Vern Pitt (@VernPItt) who writes at Diffs Got Hip Hop.

When Brad Strut (MySpace profile) strolls into the pub in London on what could only be described as a mild day at best, he’s rocking board shorts and thongs. Proof positive that you can take the boy out of Australia but you can’t take Australia out of the boy.

Why move from Melbourne to London?
Basically I needed a change of scenery. My girlfriend was moving here for professional reasons. [So I thought] ‘Where did I want to end up?’.

The UK seems like a harder place for an independent Hip Hop artist to survive?
A lot of people at home have this fantasy ideal that British Hip Hop is just as big as its own and probably bigger. The scene here has its moments but Australia is probably a better place for an independent Hip Hop artist to be.

It is a healthy scene over here. You don’t have a national radio station over here or one that is as prolific as the one over here and knowing that if you get a song on the Js [Triple J] then you know that a lot of regular people might have that on in their cars and boom you’ve got a profile.

[click to continue…]

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Hip hop heads are finally finding their way onto Twitter. I watched it happen on Friendster then MySpace – hip hoppers seems to be in that gang of people that hits new social networks just after the technology and marketing community.

But, to be honest, a lot of the hip hop types on Twitter suck at it. They just spam links out into the ether, broadcast stuff (egos with megaphones): “check my mp3 out”, “just uploaded a photo to my MySpace page”, “buy my album”.

Twitter comes into its own when people actually have conversations… 140 characters at a time.

I’m running 2 Twitter accounts (@markpollard and @stealthmagazine) – they have different angles. If you add me, drop me a line. I’ve stopped following a lot of people back from @stealthmagazine because of the hip hop spammers and egos. But I thought it would be worth calling out some of the Aussies in the scene who are doing it well.

If I missed you, add your link below.

1. Rival @rivalizm (22 followers)
Sydney (now) beatboxer, event promoter and computer freak.

2. 13th Son @13thSon (83 followers)
Super smart MC from Sydney.

3. Urthboy @urthboy (487 followers)
One of the driving forces behind Elefant Traks and a renowned MC.

4. Obese Records @obeserecords (444 followers)
Definitive Melbourne hip hop label powerhouse.

5. BDeps @JayBdeps (4 followers)
Adelaide MC brand new to Twitter. Show him some love!

6. Spit Syndicate @spitsyndicate (218 followers)
Sydney crew that you’ll be hearing much more about in the future methinks.

7. A-Love @ALovebeats (35 followers)
Melbourne MC.

8. Denorthwode @denorthwode (79 followers)
Producer, MC, DJ connected to Crookneck Studio, Mnemonic Ascent and more.

9. Chasm @CHASM1 (123 followers)
Sweet-as producer claimed by Sydney.

10. Sandro @sandrothesandro (87 followers)
Sydney producer with mad crates and pockets full of knowledge.

11. Dopus dopusroshambo (58 followers)
Producer and music equipment wizz from Canberra.

12. Brad Strut @BradStrutLC (122 followers)
Melbourne/UK fire-spitting MC.

13. Nick Sweepah @nick_sweepah (60 followers)
Melbournian MC.

14. Social Change @SocialChangeRap (501 followers)
Adelaide crew on the fast track to goodness.

15. Ironlak @Ironlak (320 followers)
Australia’s first aerosoul art paint company – Brisbane.

16. MPhazes @Mphazes (994 followers)
Gold Coast producer acclaimed around the world.

Now, if you’re new to Twitter, you may get something out of this little presentation. Enjoy!

Photo courtesy Ilse.

If you enjoyed the read, drop a comment below. We’re on Twitter too: @stealthmagazine.

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Lazy Grey ‘Dont Cha Hear Me’ – official clip

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If you enjoyed the read, drop a comment below. We’re on Twitter too: @stealthmagazine.

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Style Wars: Henry Chalfant & Tony Silver interview (Part 2)

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“It’s interesting that graffiti wasn’t accepted among a lot of hip hop historians and analysts and what have you for a very long time as one of the core forms – for quite a long time.” – Tony Silver, Director of Style Wars
In part two of this interview with Henry Chalfant and Tony Silver, the [...]

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