CURSE OV DIALECT - oz hip hop ain't shit!

(image by bubotic)

I don't really know why I chose this band first as an example why "Australian Hip Hop Aint Shit"
they are freakin OUT THERE man!

But also bloody good, amazing in fact, live and in the studio

It ain't like anything else you've heard before... from australia, or macedonia, or anywhere.

A saxophone player I know (i cant name him) loves this band... because of their lyrical content... I reckon he's talking shit. I'll leave it up to you try and understand what these guys are saying... It's impossible. The lyric sheets are mind-imploding. It's verging on sesquipedalian.
You can't sing along and no-ones posted their lyrics on the interweb (information supa highway).

But you should listen to this vid. It don't have any movement (not much fun to watch) but it's a great example of the production values, interesting flavours, crazyness and pop hooks that caracterise this band. It's great listening fodder.





There are some wierd flows there! But it's endeering and original and thoughtful and playful and not trying to be too masculine.

It's hard to listen to a full album of their music but really when was the last time you heard some Australian hip hop that actually pushed some musical boundaries?

Here's what other people that know more about music than me think...

"…have managed to make a record that … captures the spirit and energy of their live sets… Whilst everything radiates a strong psychedelic surrealism, at the core there are strong anti-racist, multiculturalist themes - which give the record a very specific Australian-ness... Paso Bionics' immense production skills (often buried in a live mix) are proudly on show…" (Sebastian Chan, Cyclic Frost)

The People "Righteous, informed and totally bugged-out, Curse ov Dialect are about as unique as you can handle." (Orlando Weekly)

… this is certainly some high quality, experimental shit - over 70 minutes worth, to be exact. The politics of their music drips from each song as the beats skip along with staccato vocals dancing over samples, loops, an infusion of international flavors and dope-ass scratches." (Impact Press)

"… Part of the raison d'etre for Curse ov Dialect … is to shove off the smothering legacy of racism in all its forms from the personal and political lives of the group's multi-ethnic but clearly Aboriginal core. Raceless, gets specific in 'Shamans', referencing the warnings of tribal prophets in pre-Melbourne times and rapping intelligently about "sacred land destroyed by sin" - or, in other words, sacred land destroyed by settlers' sheep-farming methods... " (Splendid)


Be nice and check out their myspace... they're making a new album too!