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We got a chance to speak to the Mysterious Lofi/Experimental Hip hop Beatmaker and all-round legend BAD MATH.
Using a mix of modern and vintage beat-making techniques he really gives that classic 90s vibe.
I had a great opportunity working with him over at Fight Music and he was always an inspiration and the life of the party.
Not to mention super talented and a man with a vision and the ability to make a masterpiece with a midi sampler.
He has even toured with some of the best the underground has to offer with Artists like Tech N9ne,Krizz Kaliko, Dizzy Wright,Merkules,Obie trice,Mad Child ,Viking N3 and Ursa 13.
Do yourselves a favour and follow this guy on his socials and see him live at one of the many local gigs he is at supporting.
We have dropped his links below so to get to Subscribing/Following and Supporting this Local legend.
We put him through the Hustle 9 to see what he is all about.
Where did the Name Bad Math come from?
I am notoriously bad at math.. actually, I was the top of the worst maths class in high school to be fair. the name was just fitting.
Where did you grow up?
I grew up on the Northern Beaches. Lucky to call this place my own. Beach in every suburb. Definitely can’t complain the only drawback is everyone knows everyone business.
What Inspired your Music?
Anxiety and depression to be honest. Ha ha Its therapy for me. The fact I can sit down and block out the world for a day and just focus on sounds is so important for my mental health. I don’t know where I would be without it. It’s like meditation for the busy mind.
How Long have you been Rapping?
I actually started rapping in primary school after I purchased “slim shady LP” and “Marshal Mathers LP” although I didn’t take it “seriously” or actually write something good until I left school so I don’t think that really counts.
What are some current projects your working on?
At the moment I’ve taken a break from gigging to work on a new EP possibly? Nothing in the works as of yet but I’ve been cooking some beats, not sure if I’ll include them in the next project.
My clothing line LOFLY.XYZ should be up in a few weeks too!
Advice for the Upcoming Artist?
All it takes to live off your music is 1000 true fans.. 1000 fans over the world that are willing to pay you $100 a year? Ticket sales, merch sales, etc.
That’s $100,000 a year. Forget about getting signed. Work at getting those 1000 fans.
And most importantly have fun and be humble.
Who is your top 5?
MF DOOM BIG L AB SOUL Earl sweatshirt Vince Staples,
Who would be your Ultimate Feature/Colab?
DOOM! I mean Erykah Badu would be so badass too. I’d probably go with a soul artist over a rapper tho.
Message to the Youth?
HSC doesn’t dictate how successful you will be. fuck anyone putting down. drinking is overrated. Be your own boss.
Show this Local Legend some love!!!!
Comment below or let me know who we should interview Next!!!
Recently I had the chance to Speak with Emcee Clifton and this is guy is a goal-driven humble true unsung Hero.
Hailing from Darwin and I am gonna be real here this guy has been on my radar for a while, He is truly going to go big places.
His chilled out flow and story-driven lessons are a true inspiration, I really think a lot of upcoming artists should take a moment a listen to the true raw talent this guy has.
Promoters should really be looking at talent like this for supports on the shows when we have a hard hustling MC like this.
I took some time and had a listen to all his Spotify Library and I already have a list of favorite tracks from his Spotify songs. I cant wait to see what the next projects he comes out with.
My top 5 from his tracks are below
1)Warzone is a well-produced hard-hitting track and you feel the raw energy from it.
2)Fly gives me those old school feels with the chilled beat and is a banger!!
3)Basketcase is another well-produced and the flow is amazing.
4)Survive is a story-driven track and really takes you on that journey of dreams and not giving up on the end goal.
5)Darker is just a raw track that hits you with that realness and genuine feels.
We have dropped all his links below make sure you support this Legend as he is gonna be here for a long time.
Follow this guy on IG and make sure to check his Spotify and Bandcamp!!
We put him through the Motive 8 to see what he is about!!!
Where did you grow up?
Spent 11 years in East Melbourne (Noble Park, Dandenong, Mulgrave) before moving up to Darwin in 2008
What Inspired your Music?
I always took in as many views and perspectives as I could growing up, through my own struggles more than most. I guess this reflects in the sort of self-conscious attitude I have towards my music. It’s a reflection of the realest part of me I have.
How Long have you been Rapping?
Funnily enough, I sung before I rapped, as in choirs and big theater-based performances, so the rap was another stage of development in how I looked at music once my balls dropped and I lost my ‘absolutely angelic’ vocal tone. I’d say roughly 11 years? I had only started recording at 15, once I got my hands on a USB Condenser and more professional-grade recording for the last year and a half.
What are some current projects your working on?
I have that many in and out of relevance it’s not even funny anymore. Collaboration EP’s, mix tapes, everything. The one taking precedence at the moment is the EP. No deadline, just coming into contact with new producers and picking each beat so very carefully. There’s also another solo mix tape laying around that’ll come afterwards, as well as an album. No need to rush everything. It all happens when it’s meant to, I just have to keep pushing.
Advice for the Upcoming Artist?
Comparison and perfection is the death of creativity. If you’re constantly looking around, comparing your journey to other people’s, you’ll never get anywhere. You don’t know their drive, their struggles, as well as they do, and you’re not identical. In saying that, it’s a lot more beneficial to be surrounded by people constantly criticizing your work than supporting it. Over time, it chisels out the real you, the music you really want to make. If you’re constantly getting encouraged, you won’t improve as much as you need to, to do big shit with this.
Who is your top 5?
Top 5? I’ll do two, top 5 in Australia would be Greeley, Kerser, Complete, Alex Jones and Dunn D. Top 5 in the US would be Token, Kendrick, Cole, Em and Tech N9NE. They all push hard, and most stand the test of time in the drive department. But yeah, there are dozens I could think up in Oz alone. Smash Brothers are killing it. 4201 altogether are dope. TPW and THCtv all push hard too. There are just so many names I could ring off the top of my head.
Who would be your Ultimate Feature/Colab?
Ultimate collab weirdly enough wouldn’t even be with a rapper, but with Sticky Fingers. Those absolute sick cunts got me through some proper hard times as I developed as a youth, and I always catch myself thinking of all the insane ways you could combine rap and the crazy music hybrid they create with each new album. If I had to pick a rapper for an ultimate collab, it’d be a choice between Cole/Kendrick or Token/Complete, depending on what sorta sound I had at the time. I’m always changing my shit, I swear.
Message to the Youth?
If I could turn around, and feel the consequences of my actions in advance, I’d wait. You have literal decades ahead of you to get fucked up, root around and that. Wait till your brain can handle it. I get it, it’s lame and that, but you got people in their 30’s, with no work-life and no real drive, who think exactly the same. Don’t get caught up in all that. Want to party? Have a drink or two, don’t throw up your lunch to impress your mates. Want a joint? Celebrate with it. Don’t turn it into some daily shit where it loses meaning. The world’s fucked enough as is before you take your advantages as a youth away on top of the odds that are stacked against you. Take the opportunities while you have them. Drugs, parties and women will still be around when they disappear. Real shit.
We put him through 9 questions to see what he is all about.
How did you come up with your name?
My name was originally just Indigo, which represents Indigo children, if your not familiar do yourself a favor and do some research. Basically we are a collective group of souls who don’t fit in to normal society because we see things differently to the common man and have been put on this Earth to change it, and I’ll use Malcolm’s words here, BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY. So that’s where the first part of my name comes from, secondly the Merkaba is a star of energy that represents your male and female energy rotating in opposite directions to each other. Every one of us has a Merkaba field of energy within us.. some of us have our male or female energies spinning faster than the other causing us to feel out of balance energetically, thus bringing feelings of being tired and so forth. So basically in a nutshell my name means “The Perfectly BALANCED Indigo Child”.
How Long have you been Rapping?
I started re-writing Eminem’s raps at the age of 6-7 then it gradually grew into my own songs and poetry over the years and started actually recording myself at 16. In the past 12 months I completely got rid of the pen and just started spitting, and NO I DONT FREESTYLE. I allow my mind to receive the higher divinity’s words it wants to give me through rhyme and “I just say it”, I can’t explain it anymore than that. I literally just say what I feel at the time to how the piece of music I have in front of me makes me feel.
What are some current projects your working on?
Firstly my debut single drops on the 16th of August named “When U Droppin?” Produced by an amazing artist on my label named B.up, then my second single is also Produced by him named “Alien” dropping on the 30th of August. Other than that, I am curating, mixing and mastering about 3 hours worth of music I have gathered over the last 12 months intended for a release of 1-2 FREE MIX-TAPES to put on sound cloud and possibly bandcamp. The reason they will be free and going on those platforms is because I don’t own the rights to these beats but there are some AMAZING SONGS I don’t wish to recreate because I feel the energy on them is amazing and couldn’t be depicted in an organic way again, so you can expect those before the end of the year. I have a joint album coming out at the end of the year with a member of my label INSPYR ENTERTAINMENT, named legac.y, he’s a really talented producer and is only 19 so look forward to that. More information on that album will be released soon. Next year will be the year to look out for, I will be releasing at least 2 projects that I wouldn’t deem an album, but will still FEEL like an album and be of ALBUM QUALITY. I’m saving the title of an ALBUM, for when I in quotes “MAKE IT”.
Advice for the Upcoming Artist?
My advice for ANYONE getting into music would be do it for yourself, not for the money, not for the fame, and not for the accolades, do it because it makes YOU happy. Do it because YOU NEED to make music or you become unhappy or sick without it, like a drug. If you can go a day or two without making or doing something musical and it’s all good, then you’ve answered your own question. There’s not even an hour that goes by where I’m not doing at least SOMETHING musical. My fiance always has to tell me to rest or slow down because I constantly work, but for me I can’t help it. I’m obsessed with success and I’m obsessed with seeing my name in big bright lights. Nothing will stop me from achieving what I have set out to do since a young boy, which is to save lives with my music the same way my idols saved my life when I was in a really dark place.
What Inspired your Music?
I saw “Hi, My Name Is” by Eminem debut on TRL when I was 4 years old LOL, I legit remember it clearer than most memories in my life, and Eminem instantly became the biggest thing in my life at that time, it was the purple dinosaur Barney before that hahaha. But then around 2002 the 2pac resurrection movie came out and it BLEW MY MIND AWAY. Tupac instantly overtook that spot of Eminem as far as an inspirational figure goes because I believe he was one of the first Indigo Children on the planet, and sadly was the sacrifice for people like Joey Badass, XXXtentacion, Nipsey Hussle and myself. Growing up I listened to a broad range of hip hop ranging from KRSone, Biggie, D12, DMX, Xzibit, Dre, and heaps more. But I’d say musically my biggest influences and inspirations would be Eminem, 2pac and Lil Wayne. Now, when people hear me say Lil Wayne they always laugh or some shit but when it comes to lyricism, he is top 5 DOA I do not care what you say. The man is a god so shout out Wayne, I just had to say that hahaha.
Where did you grow up?
I was born in Cheltenham, Port Adelaide ways, in Adelaide as a baby then moved south to Hallet Cove before ending up North East in the suburb of Hope Valley or as we called it DOPE VALLEY, by the time I was like 12. So I traveled around a bit but my city is so small all of those places are no longer than an hour or so from each other. But I’m a proud Adelaide boy. One thing I will say is I feel a lot of people from here have such a small town mentality and I really want to help break out of that because there is a lot of talent here that could branch out of the state and even the country but I feel like a lot of people are scared to give that extra push for themselves due to the small town mentality. But yeah, ADL represent.
Who is your top 5?
I have a hard time with this question because I feel like there’s 4 categories, so I will give u my 4 categorical top 5’s.
Top 5 PIONEERS in no order are KRSone, Rakim, Kool G Rap, Slick Rick and Grandmaster Caz of the Cold Crush Brothers.
Top 5 LYRICISTS in no order has to be Eminem, Big Pun, Big L, Wayne, and Jay Z. FACTS.
Top 5 NEW ACTS in no order is J. Cole, XXXtentacion, Kendrick Lamar, 50 Cent and Dave East.
Personal top 5 in no order is Eminem, Wayne, Nipsey Hussle, Pac and J. Cole.
Who would be your Ultimate Feature/Colab?
I personally think J.Cole would be fucken amazing to work with on an artistic level just because I feel like I could catch a vibe with him so easily and he just seems so down to earth and you could learn a lot from him as an individual and as a man. It would be like chillin with a new school Bob Marley in my opinion haha. But as far as an artist from Australia goes, I’d love to work with Wombat, because he is amazing at what he does and doesn’t promote any dumb shit to the youth, he just raps his ass off and I fuck with that, so shout out Wombat, hurry up and drop ya album bro we waiting. Hahaha
Message to the youth?
LOVE YOURSELF. Follow your dreams and don’t ever let anyone tell you that your dream is unreachable, remember.. Michael Jordan didn’t get accepted into his high school team and they said he was trash, now look at him. They laughed at Einstein’s way of thinking and theories, now look what what science teaches, they laughed at Bill Gates and called him stupid, now he’s one of the richest men to ever live. Big dreamers always get called crazy but it’s the ones crazy enough to believe in themselves are ALWAYS the ones who succeed. Don’t ever forget that. Be thorough, be patient and life will give you what you deserve. Also on another note, STOP IDOLIZING DUMB SHIT. Doing drugs ISN’T COOL, ROBBING AND STEALING ISN’T COOL, going to jail ISN’T COOL, being in a gang ISN’T COOL, dropping out of school ISN’T COOL, following your dreams and being a productive member of society is what’s cool. Fuck that crime shit and fuck that drug shit. It’s a new wave right now, we pushing peace love and positivity in this hip hop shit. Afrika Bambatta said it’s about peace love unity and safely having fun, he wrote the code for hip hop so if you ain’t following the code then what you really doing apart of this culture? If your a real hip hop head you would know that, THAT’S what it’s really about, the stop the violence movement in the 80s and shit was amazing so why can’t we bring back a similar code of morality. So with that said, LOVE YOURSELF AND THINK FOR YOURSELF. Life is to short to be spent trying to live someone else’s life, be your own person.
These guys were a big fave of me growing up they had that grimy hard hitting lyrics and them old school beats.
I thought it would be fitting to include them in the innovators series as they inspired a lot of the Rough Hardcore Rap and they did it well.
Onyx was formed in 1988 by schoolmates Fredro Starr, Sonny Seeza, and Big DS and Later joined by Sticky Fingaz
Releasing their Hard hitting debut album, entitled Bacdafucup in 1993 which received a platinum certification and peaked at #10 on the Billboard 200, the group’s highest debut at that point.
n 1998, the album was selected as one of The Source’s 100 Best Albums.
Onyx released their fourth album, Bacdafucup Part II in 2001 and man this was one of my Favourite albums to date it was heavy hitting a raw as hell.
They followed this up with Triggernometry, consisting of ten new tracks, with eleven stories from the lives the group’s members in between the tracks.
The next Album they brought out in 2014 was a straight banger and Onyx released their first album in over a decade, called Wakedafucup. Released through Goon MuSick, the album is entirely produced by the legendary Snowgoons. This Album was named named by XXL as one of the best hip-hop albums of 2014.
In 2015, Onyx released Against All Authorities, a six track EP protesting racial injustice and police brutality in the United States. The EP was produced by Canadian producer Scopic and features appearances by Sick Flo, Ras Kass, Jasia’n, and Canadian rapper Merkules
To this day they are still in my top 5 in groups and they were an inspiration to me and hopefully
you.
If you have any artists you want me to shine a spotlight on message me and we can make it happen.
Prince was an American singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer, actor,and many more.
His career spanning four decades, Prince was known for his eclectic work and flamboyant stage appearances.
Prince was also a multi-instrumentalist and regarded as a guitar virtuoso.
His innovative music integrated a wide variety of styles, including funk, rock, R&B, new wave, soul, psychedelia, and pop there was no limit for such a talented artist.
Prince pioneered the late 1970s Minneapolis sound, a funk rock sub genre drawing from synth-pop and new wave. He sold over 100 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time.
He won seven Grammy Awards, seven Brit Awards, six American Music Awards, four MTV Video Music Awards, an Academy Award.
This was just his early years, what a lifetime of talent and even writing a huge list of songs for other artists that were huge hits.
He will be missed as he was a huge Talent and a True Innovator of the Music we have today.
Another one of my Innvators picks is the Beastie Boys.
They were a big influence on Hip hop and one of my favourite groups.
Formed in 1981 New York City comprised of Mike D,MCA,Ad-Rock and the Albums were certified bangers Licensed to ILL was a masterpeace becoming the best-selling rap album of the 1980s and the first rap album to go number 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, where it stayed for five weeks.
It was Def Jam’s fastest selling debut record to date and sold over nine million copies.
This album was Iconic having all the go to hits like “(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)” and The ultimate banger “No Sleep till Brooklyn”
The Beastie Boys have sold 26 million records in the United States and 50 million records worldwide, making them the biggest-selling rap group since Billboard began recording sales in 1991.
Beastie Boys were one of the longest-lived hip hop acts worldwide. and In 2012, they became the third rap group to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In the same year, MCA died of cancer In 2014,
From then on they Continued to make a mark on the Music World.Even artists today like Eminem and many more have referenced them.
My Only Regret is that I never got to see them live.
Who do you think deserves to be on here Let me Know!!
Mac Miller , what a loss he was man another inspiration of mine.With his laid back style of hip hop and chilled out vibe.
Blueslide Park and his Mixtape Best Day Ever were my a Go-To’s and it made me an instant fan.
Miller, beginning his career in 2007,
Come 2010 signed a record deal with independent label Rostrum Records
Miller’s debut studio album, Blue Slide Park 2011 topped the US Billboard 200’s.
Shortly after founded his own record label imprint, REMember Music.
Signing up with Warner Bros Records and release 3 dope albums GO:OD AM (2015), The Divine Feminine (2016), and Swimming (2018).
Which in my opinion were amazing and so many memorable songs.
Unfortunately he struggled with Drug abuse and Depression and we lost another Legend.
Even in death his Mac Miller Circles Fund supporting youth arts and community-building programs also helping out with young musicians with substance abuse issues.
The Message here is no matter what you do leave a Legacy and look out for the people in you circle.
One of my Idols and amazing Hip Hop legends.Lets be real this guy was a rapper, entrepreneur, and community activist.
He emerged from the West Coast hip hop scene in the mid 2000s.
Mix-tapes by the dozen and they were that banging West Coast beats and gave us that riding through the streets in a low rider Vibe.
The Marathon (mix-tape) was another killer mix-tape.
My Favourite song that really had me hooked was Hustle in the House which was a straight banger.
Also known for his entrepreneurship and community activist.
Hussle wanted to focus on “giving solutions and inspiration” to young black men like himself also denouncing gun violence through his music and community work.
Even funding improvements to neighborhood schools spending time with students and participated on panels about growing up in the area and the influence of gang culture.
Hussle inaugurated the Marathon Clothing store.Providing jobs and helping out young Artists and local kids showing them a better way to live.
The Real Legends are the ones that give back to the community that raised them.
Before anyone says this is a Bandwagon post it’s not.
As people whom inspire the youth should be celebrated.
2018-2019 so far has been a great year for Oz Hip Hop and the Content is getting more and more A1. Oz Hip Hop is finally getting some solid recognition even a nod to our grime scene as well as a lot of the Oz Artists are crossing over in to that.
Some of the Artists we should know or at least we should be sussing out are:
Chillinit – Lets be real this guy is a Straight up Beast and dare I say would murder any beat that comes his way .
Mitchos Da Menace – His 3 Albums/EP’s are amazing and everything he seems to drop is gold.
Martian – One of my personal favourites he is a master of words, Punchlines by the dozen.
TKO -Repping Newcastle bigtime this guy is killing it right now.
Jinz Moss -A straight up Beast with the words , has a solid unique flow.
Complete -This guy is an Animal on the beat and keeps getting better with each release.
Deuxronin – These guys are a fresh take and show solid bars with even stronger beats.
So many more but these are my picks at the moment. Do yourselves a favour and Check them out on their Socials/Spotify/Youtube/SoundCloud and keep the Love Local.
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