The Splendour in the Grass 2017 lineup has been announced and there’s a delicious spread of beat purveyors. It’s going to be a ridiculous weekend. Schoolboy Q, Stormzy,Thundamentals, Lil Yachty and A.B Original have all been confirmed. That’s some wildly different rappers and a heap of niche stars from different sub genres. Tickets are on sale Thursday April 6. Good luck.
On Friday April 28, Gorillaz are releasing their new album, Humanz. This is the fifth studio album for the animated musicians. It’s hard to put them in any one genre. One minute they’re hip hop Gorillaz in the desert, the next they’re anarchist punks singing in a graveyard. But when the Gorillaz genre-dabble, they make sure they get the best to help them. Sticking strictly to their hip hop collaborations, we have already seen Snoop Dogg, MF Doom, De La Soul, and Mos Def unlock the rap demon living inside Russel Hobbs. Their new track Saturnz Barx featuring Popcaan is already available. It does justice to the reggae scene while still maintaining an aura of distinct Gorillaz flavouring. Let’s hope that Humanz is as weird and as dark as we all want it to be.
Canberra MC Context got a shout out in last week’s column for his rad LP Rouge Astronaut. Now he’s having an album launch at Grumpy’s. 1/6 & Sinks are headlining for the night, on Thursday April 6.
MiniCoop is launching his first album Lift Off at Workers Club on Saturday April 8. You can also catch Boy Graduate, Cylo and Ezra Allen there assisting in the support slots. Lift Off features a cameo from 360, he appears on King which is the last track on the LP. 360 is no stranger to letting people know he thinks he’s the greatest. This time the beat behind his boastful lines compliments his subject matter. The tone of the LP has a harder dance edge to it and that suits 360’s style too. With additional features from Dez, Chevy Levett and Ayhay, it’s definitely worth a listen.
Need an excuse for a road trip? Elefant Traks and The Triffid are launching a free hip hop festival on Sunday April 30. Unfortunately it’s all the way up in Brisbane, but with B Wise, Birdz, and Coda Conduct on the lineup it’s worth a mention, and maybe the petrol costs too. Coda Conduct are a Canberra duo consisting of members Erica and Sally. They reside in Sydney now but that’s because there is nothing more Canberran than moving out of Canberra. 2016 saw them release Used To be Cool which was pretty…cool. Their 2015 LP Butter Side Up was fantastic, hopefully 2017 will see more work from these two.
Melbourne has been blessed with another monthly hip hop event. Live Fast x Die Young is launching on Friday April 14 at The Gasometer. The lineup consists of Cylo, Junor, Craigie Wave, Wolfi, and JA$E Prime. That is a pretty decent set of artists for a first event.
For something a little more chilled, Wax Museum Records are hosting Subway Session 3 at their store in the city on Friday April 7. Entro, Sadiva and WallaC arealldoing their thing for our entertainment. Go check it out.
