Thrust to the forefront of popular music, the genre has found its sweet spot with both critics and consumers. Australian hip hop is also going through its own revolution – as long as the socially conscious funk-tinged grooves of Citizen Kay are on the airwaves, we’re all going to be okay.
Belly Of The Beast, the Canberra MC’s sophomore album, already looks like it’s going to be one of the finest Australian hip hop releases this year, and with plans to head on the road soon, 2017 is definitely shaping up to be Citizen Kay’s year.
Born Kojo Ansah, Citizen Kay is a musical wunderkind; however, hip hop was never a path he intended to go down. Growing up in Canberra, Kay played guitar in various high school bands, but it was an entry on triple j Unearthed back in 2013 that kicked the door down for his rap career. From there, it never really stopped. Within the span of four years, Kay has managed to pick up two ARIA nominations, make an appearance on triple j’s Like a Version, and just this year announced his signing to OneTwo – a joint record venture between Illy and Unified.
With all that under his belt, you’d expect him to take a break – but that’s just not part of Citizen Kay’s nature. “I’m always going to write,” says Kay. “Almost immediately after we finished touring With The People, we started on some new material, and after seven songs I knew we had an album going. I actually wrote about 40 songs in the end, and then cut it down from there.”
While he’s a noted multi-instrumentalist, Citizen Kay took a backseat on the production of Belly Of The Beast, only contributing production to two tracks to focus on his lyrical ability. “On the album, there’s about three or four producers, including myself, but the majority of it comes from Pat Gabriel [guitarist for Australian rapper Dylan Joel’s band] who really managed to capture the vibe I wanted. There’s a lot of live guitar and bass. Growing up as a guitarist, I’ve always loved that live element in the hip hop world.”
This live element definitely makes Kay’s latest LP stand out from the crowd. One of the most notable observations from Belly Of The Beast is the diverse cocktail of genres scattered throughout the record, with Citizen Kay’s slippery wordplay pushing and pulling in cohesion with the music, and escaping the traditional constraints of hip hop. Static features a squelchy synth groove provided by Canberra electronic duo Mondecreen, while the electronic piano and liquid guitars of Who Are You sounds like Chance the Rapper covering Jimi Hendrix’s The Wind Cries Mary.
While the funk and soul vibes heard on Belly Of The Beast may sound reminiscent of recent records from Anderson. Paak and homegrown hip hop talent REMI., it’s nothing new for Kay. Instead, it’s more of a natural expansion from the soulful textures explored on his previous albums. “I’m a massive fan of rock, jazz, and blues, so it makes sense for me personally to put it in my music,” Kay says. “There’s something really organic about those genres. I think everyone’s jumping onto that vibe because they feel it – not just because it’s a trend. It’s definitely going in a positive direction in Australia, for sure.”
Citizen Kay does note two major US rappers as being huge influences on the album – Kanye West, who Kay says is “the absolute cornerstone of what it means to be a creative musician,” and Kendrick Lamar, particularly his 2015 magnum opus, To Pimp A Butterfly. “For me, To Pimp A Butterfly was like, ‘Holy crap, this is what you’ve always wanted to do, this is how you do it.’ It’s so flawlessly executed. It really set the bar for hip hop.”
Lamar’s influence absolutely oozes out on standout track Barred, with Kay’s jagged flow and seething lyrics about Indigenous inequality and subliminal racism within Australia fitting as a perfect centrepiece for the record. “Barred actually came about from a conversation I had with Briggs,” Kay says. “We were having a super-intense conversation about police brutality against the black community in the US, and Briggs chimed in and said, ‘Funny thing is, the same kind of thing is happening in Australia,’ and I was like, ‘Wait, what?’ It was a huge glass shattering moment for me.
“I realised I was so infatuated with what was happening everywhere else that I was completely disregarding everything that was happening in our own country.” The socio-political sentiment on Barred is also reaffirmed by the rapper’s personal standpoint on the discussion surrounding Australia Day, which he says was also a huge inspiration on the track. “I don’t think we should celebrate a day that other people mourn, so for me, changing the date is a no-brainer.”
For anyone looking to hear the monster that is Belly Of The Beast live, you’ll be blessed twice over with Citizen Kay set to embark on two separate tours this year – his own upcoming Belly Of The Beast headline tour, and an extensive 14-date run of regional shows with hip hop heavyweight Illy. “We had our first rehearsal for the Illy tour the other day, and I’m so keen to try these new songs out live – just to see everyone’s reaction when they hear the album in a live setting. I can’t even explain how pumped I am.”
