“I used to listen to a lot of American rap, heaps more than Aussie hip hop and I’ve always just rapped like this,” Townsend says. “I’ve never thought of it as an American accent, so when people pull me up on it I’m sort of just like, ‘Well fuck off, I’m just doing what I want to do and if you don’t like it, you don’t have to listen to it.’ ”
The new mixtape contains plenty of finger-licking vocal licks and turnt up trap beats, which Townsend’s eager to share with his fans across the country. Having ploughing through performances at Cairns’ The Grass Is Greener festival and Groovin The Moo in Bendigo, the local talent is preparing to debut the new tracks in front of an hometown audience. He gives us the lowdown on the mixtape’s curious title.
“In 1993 KFC were the first fast food outlet to advertise a rotisserie chicken,” he says. “They said it was packed with a whole new flavour; if you haven’t tried it, try it because it will be your new favourite. People didn’t really like it at first, but eventually started to really like it. I thought maybe I could do that with my mixtape, because I know there are still heaps of people who haven’t heard of me. It’s a whole new flavour, a new wave of hip hop that you might not have not heard before.
“I’ve looked up all the secrets of KFC and apparently there is some other seasoning you can get on your chicken before it comes out and you just have to ask for it,” he adds. “If I had all the cash in the world I’d buy a whole fucking KFC. All my mates would come down and get zinger boxes. I love twister boxes, but you have to change over the wicked wings and get an original recipe, that’s the key. You ask for the free roll and dip it in the gravy. Ah, the possibilities are endless.”
Townsend’s known for sharing many personal anecdotes with his supporters, thus ushering his audience into his world. The community-building approach has now gained him fans all around the country.
“I’ll talk to my fans every single day,” he says. “I think it makes a big difference towards how much you sell and how much more people will listen to your music if you just get in touch with them. I remember I was the same with an artist that I really liked from America. Once in a blue moon you’d get like the occasional, ‘They’re on here,’ and everyone would try and get their questions answered. When you actually know an artist, or feel like you know an artist, you want to hear more from them and because they actually acknowledge you, you’re going to support them.”
It’s not just Aussie listeners who’ve flocked towards Ivan Ooze. He’s nabbed support tours with such heavyweight hip hop acts as Cypress Hill and Ice Cube. More recently, he opened for the one and only Wu Tang Clan, which led to a studio session with Ghostface Killah. Still somewhat flabbergasted, the young rapper acknowledges the surreal nature of it all.
“It was definitely a highlight of my life,” he says. “Not only did I get to support them, but I got to eat dinner with them and go to the barber shop and shit like that. It was pretty crazy. I took Ghostface ugg boot shopping. It was so hard to comprehend because it was happening so fast that you’d be talking to someone and then you’d be like, ‘Holy fucking shit, I just had a conversation with one of the greats.’ ”
A true believer in the profits of collaboration, Townsend worked with 14 different producers on the mixtape. He’s also handpicked two support acts to join him on the national tour: Dex and Midas.Gold.
“They fit to what I’m doing – the tight, turnt up sort of shit. They are emerging artists as well, and I’m friends with them both so it’s good to have them along. I wish all my friends were doing the same shit so I could bring them with me. I just want someone to learn the trumpet for one song, someone else can play a conga and all of a sudden I’d be like, ‘I need all of these guys because they have playing to do.’ ”
Besides preparing for the tour, Townsend is looking for inspiration for new material – something that’s not hard to find.
“I could be in the middle of cooking dinner – I did it once, I let something simmer, went into the other room and I accidently clicked on something and it was a beat. I was like, ‘What? This is sick,’ and I started writing to it and I fucked up my whole dinner. It was ridiculous; I left it on there for like 50 minutes, I’m surprised the house didn’t burn down.”
BY PHOEBE ROBERTSON
