Australia’s reigning king of hip-hop is returning to Canberra on Wednesday 3 September to treat locals to another incredible show at UC Live. We had a quick chat with the man himself – 360 – about fame, fortune and influence as a star of the Aussie hip-hop scene.
It must be awesome touring a new album. How does it feel to show off your new baby in front of a packed house?
It’s been amazing, amazing – just seeing how people respond, and what songs work and what songs don’t. It’s kind of working out how we thought it might be, but we haven’t really explored all of Utopia in front of audiences yet.
I think it was around the time that Boys like You came in around number 8. When that happened, it was like all of a sudden everything changed. My life… my whole shit just went crazy. I was getting asked for photos everywhere I go. I thought, “This is crazy. I’m actually living that kind of life.” Then I was getting played on all the radio stations. All I ever wanted was for a single to go gold, and now the record was hitting platinum, and Boys like you went four times platinum. It was just out of control.
Tell us about crossing the gap between hip-hop and rock/pop. How did you end up working with Daniel Johns?
I’ve also wanted to work with him my publisher is his brother, and I said “Dude, it would just be incredible to do a song with Daniel,” but I was told there was absolutely no chance – he just doesn’t do that… he doesn’t work with anyone.
Then I got a phonecall saying he was a massive fan. Originally he was going to write a melody for someone else to sing over, but we ended up becoming really close friends, so he wanted to hang around, sing and work on more tracks.
What did you learn from working with Daniel? Most of us know nothing about him as a craftsman.
The guy is a freak show. He just comes up with chorus melodies on the spot and they’re just like… perfect. Then he walks into the studio and record the melody in his head while mumbling sounds to match – just gibberish. Then he adds the words to match his gibberish and it’s just so weird, but it works, and he seems to do it effortlessly.
You’ve got a tight crew with Pez and Lunar C – they appear on Utopia and are on tour. Is this about building a team to survive in the digital era, or simple artistic preference?
Pez and I have been close mates for years. We used to play basketball together when we were teenagers. He actually lived at my house, so we’d just make music all the time. Me and him would pick a song and work all the way through it until one of ends up with a finished track. He can see things that I’m stuck on, and I can do the same for him.
I sent Lunar C a track with two versus on it, and he just put the whole thing together on top of the basic parts I had sent him it was a very different way of working compared to what I do with Pez, but we still end up with a great track at the end.
There are some progressive lyrics on your new album. Is this new self-awareness, or recognition of your influence?
I think I’ve really grown a lot. When Falling and Flying came out I didn’t really give a fuck, I’d say the most messed-up shit and didn’t’ really care if I hurt anyone’s feelings.
Then, when things really took off, I was getting fan mail from people saying that my music stopped people from killing themselves, and that’s just so fucking powerful. When you’ve got people writing and saying that you’ve saved their life, you feel an amazing responsibility.
It made me realise I’m in a place that I can really influence people and made me a more mature influence. I want to make an impact in a positive way.
Finally, What does Utopia mean to you?
Man it’s pretty simply to me. I don’t care who your God is, or what you believe in, but it’s really important that everyone has the right and the change to access whatever it is in life that makes them happy. You’ve got to be cool, and you can’t harm anyone else while doing it, but to find peace within yourself is something everyone deserves.
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Here’s your chance to witness the latest album, Utopia, as well as amazing support acts including Hospin (USA), Pez, and Miracle + Lunar C (UK). To be in with the chance to win a double pass to the SOLD OUT show, use the form on this page to tell us what Utopia means to you.
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