In the current era, Australian hip hop is in a great place. Our local artists have huge fanbases, our local music is developing and diversifying, and we’ve got a couple legitimate international stars in the form of Sampa The Great and The Kid Laroi making noise in more than a couple countries around the world.
It wasn’t always like this though. From its infancy in the 80s right through to the early 2000s, Australian hip hop was a genre with a small but passionate audience, and major labels paid little attention. It all changed in 2011, when Melbourne rapper 360 broke through with his album Falling & Flying, which charted in the top 5, won several industry awards including an ARIA and, crucially, catalysed a new era in hip hop which celebrated new sounds, melodies and big singles.
In the new podcast series Classic Material: The Making Of Falling & Flying, host Steve Duck talks to 360, producer Styalz Fuego, 360’s close friends and fellow rappers Pez, Justice and Litigate, and managers and label reps Adam ‘Weez’ Booth, Craig Hawker, Chris Veraa and Mo Atwa about the making of the album and the way it changed the game for local hip hop.
The story starts in Melbourne as 360 finds his way through the local rap scene via hip-hop nights and MC battles, documents his desire to become something bigger than just a local rapper, and ultimately, the way success changed his life forever – for better and for worse.
You can catch episode 1 of Classic Material: The Making Of Falling & Flying on podcast platforms including Spotify and Apple Podcasts now. New episodes will be released every Thursday. Classic Material is a co-production of Complex AU and Acclaim and is presented by G-Shock.
