Braidz Interview

Braidz is an underground Hip Hop artist, Born and raised in Melbournes Eastern suburbs.

He is one of Melbourne’s Best and he is the embodiment of Bars and a true representation of the Culture.Spreading his time on mastering his craft and running and promoting Lost City Productions.

His music is full of one-liners, Multi-layered Bars and a plethora of Rhyme Schemes.
He also has confidence and bravado in his lyrics and music and really uses it to his advantage.

Braidz has dropped some heat on his Spotify and the tracks on there are solid examples of the Rapper he is.

Uncut is a primo release and it has 12 songs of straight fire and is a must for your playlist.The list of supports and the artists he has worked with is ever impressive, Artists like Connor Siege Jones, Clue, NYX, Martian, Oddsox, Velvet Sand, Kryptic, Jack Vie, Inspo, Madchild, Hopsin, SHA STIMULI, Daz Dillinger and Oz Heavyweights Bliss N Eso.

Braidz links are below make sure you check him out and support this Legend!!!
https://www.facebook.com/BraidzMC/ https://fanlink.to/UncutBraidz https://www.facebook.com/LostCityProductionsAustralia/ https://open.spotify.com/artist/59YAFHGxz1u2tOfPgc8kvC https://www.instagram.com/braidzmc/

Enough from me Here is the Interview!!!

Where did you grow up?

Well, to be honest, I haven’t yet. Nah but on the real, I’m born and raised in Melbourne’s Eastern Suburbs, always floated around the Yarra Ranges/Valley/Maroondah/Knox area’s, 3 Primary school’s & 1 high school from which I was expelled – Oops.

Describe your Sound/Style?

Somewhere between two-thousand-and-now and the ’90s, I like to say I make “contemporary boom-bap”, as it’s complex in the lyricism and classic stylistically in the production, but with a modern twist using modern synth’s, drums and samples.
I’ve always tried to do a little bit of everything as to not stick myself in a box, From poppy bangers to political inspirational tunes, to comedy and battle rap styles, But I definitely pride myself in my use of punchlines, wordplay & similes – Even on the personal songs I’m trying to make it complex, ya’ know?

How Long have you been Performing?

Performing? 3 years. Standing on stage with my head down rapping into a microphone pacing back and forth? A further 8 years before that.
In that time I’ve managed to score some pretty good shows including ones alongside the likes of Bliss N Eso & Madchild (CA), as well as a plethora of packed to not packed at all underground shows… We all start somewhere though, hey?

What inspired your music?

I think it stemmed from my passion for reading and writing as a youngin’, I used to write little short stories using various anime & fantasy characters from the shows I would watch and books I would read in my pre-teen years, At about 7 I discovered hip hop via Eminem (Typical mid-20’s white boy story, I know) but it wasn’t until 13 when I met an old friend who was just as into as I and we initially started writing raps together instead of doing our classwork every Maths class we had, first recording into a $5 call centre-Esque cheap shitty mic from Go-Lo – We were bad, really bad. Flashforward 14 years and ol’ mate is nowhere to be seen and I kept at it and evolved into something not so terrible.

What’re the best Bars you have written or heard?

Honestly, there’s so many over the years that I playback my old shit and am always like “I think I was trying to do something there” – Recently I think I’ve written a couple of standouts though, this one-liner from Game Over which I released earlier in the year is simple, yet effective “You’ll be on some Hindi rap don’t really want this beef at all”, If we’re talking more than one line; “Burning off that ethanol, Truth is you don’t peep the flame / Just judge me off my cover that’s why you won’t ever see my page” – Anybody with an understanding of chemistry will understand that there are levels to that Ethanol reference.
As for other artists? A lot of Joe Budden’s punchlines tend to resonate with me, the one that’s always stuck is “You there when it’s bright? Better be there when it’s dark / If you weren’t there for the ride, Don’t be there when I park”, his simple yet hard-hitting style is something I’ve started to lean towards in my later years – People aren’t gonna understand subliminal metaphor’s if even I myself in hindsight am unsure of what I was doing at the time.

Who are your top 5 producers?

No particular order I’d have to go with; Statik Selektah, Just Blaze, DJ Premier, araabMUZIK & 8 Bars, Honorable mentions to Aussie legends Trials, K21 & Adit – Always came with that sound that only we have out here

Do you have anyone that you consider your mentor? How has their help or advice shaped you?

First-person to come to mind would be the homie, Connor Jones, He’s always been around to give me tips on the post-production side of things when I need an idea to make the song “pop”, Other than that I’ve never really been able to take on advice well unless it’s advice I want or need, It’s a bit of a personal flaw and why it’s taken a lot longer than most to get to a point where I’m proud of my music, But shoutout to anybody that has tried over the years!

What would be your dream collaboration with any Artist of any Genre?

There’s two, both of different styles, The first would be Boi 1-da on the drums, 8Bars on the keys/synth, Joe Budden on the middle verse and Michael Jackson (RIP) on the hook. It would be on some sentimental/deep shit. The second would be Premier on the beat, Royce Da 5’9, Eminem, Big L (RIP) & I going back and forth like a cypher.

Advice for the upcoming artist?

Don’t ever double-cross me.

What are some current projects you’re working on?

I’ve been slowly grinding away at my next album Final Cut for the better part of the year, it’s in its final stages now but I want to get some video’s and the show’s organised before I go releasing it prematurely, a mistake I’ve often made in the past, So we’re looking at sometime early next year for that to release. In the meantime I’ve currently got 4/7 songs ready for B Mixes #2 a short mixtape of remixes of popular hip hop and pop songs to follow-up 2018’s B Mixes #1 to hold people over until then, I will be releasing that ASAP.

Do you have someone you want to recognize or shout out?

Shoutouts to my team over at @lostcityproductionsaustralia it’s been a slow year, but next year we plan to bring back regular gigs to Melbourne’s hip hop underbelly.

Message to the Youth?

Just keep doing you, I was socially outcasted after releasing my first song despite being a “popular” kid at the time, And it’s a story I’ve heard from far too many of my peers, for some reason it’s still “weird” to be the “kid that raps” in Australia, but once you get past all that high school drama, people grow up, you find a new circle and there’s a thriving underground scene out there just waiting to accept you for who you are. Don’t stop being you, ever. Oh and drop the fake accents before it’s too late. Sorry, Had to.
Show this Legend Some Love!!!!!!

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Peace