What Not To Miss in October

Upcoming Events: 

What Not to Miss inOctober

Sydney and surrounding areas

Tuesday October 2^nd : Jurassic Lounge

State Advanced and Sloppy Joe

Have you ever seen night at the museum?That's kind of what this will be like. Except hopefully the exhibitswon't actually come to life, just the stage. Your hip hop for theevening will include the smooth lyrical stylings of Canadian artistState Advanced (one third of Broken Thought Theory) backed byfunk band Sloppy Joe and Chance Waters, a local artist who ison my list to check out. Anyone who lists Atmosphere and JeffBuckley as influences is ok in my book.

This event is packed with heaps ofother fun activities and performances including (and I'm not kidding) circus acts, live reptiles, a ping pong tournament, a silent disco,vintage video gaming room, stand up comedy, art talks and workshops,body painting, the special exhibit Deep Oceans,, plus more, and allfor $14!

Don't miss out on this night of funrunning from 530pm-1030pm.

facebook event

Kade and the Karneez at the Annandale Hotel

October 4^th : Kade andthe Karneez headline an event at FBi Social set to be thebiggest Thursday night you have ever seen in the cross. Supportsinclude Five Coffees, Big Dumb Kid, and Mass Effect. Do yourself afavour and check out these local underground artists.

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October 6^th : If you want tosee what the female Sydney emcees are up to but you need something abit softer than that Sky'High chick, Madame Wu is your girl. She's got a gentle flow with poetic, hard hitting lyrics touching ona wide variety of topics and the beautiful singing of Elise Grahambacking her up. With Dj Prolifik on the decks, thislaunch of her debut album at Raval in Surry Hills is sure tobe of epic proportions.

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October 11^th: In case youmissed the first round Kade and the Karneez are at it again atthe Newtown classic venue, the Sandringham Hotel (Lovinglyreferred to as The Sando) It's a good idea to head here to supportthis struggling venue. Check info on links below.

Facebook event- coming soon!

October 13^th : Hip HopOdyseeys III Spaceport One,Marrickville

Ifyou attend nothing else this month, this is the gig to go to. It isthe best venue, with the friendliest people, the most relaxedatmosphere, and always an excellent night of showcasing local artistswhich breaks down into a crazy every man for themselves all out wildfreestyle session at the end. Not to be missed. Ever. This is amonthly event and can only get better, bring the whole crew along foran all night party. Up this month is Beat Theory, Prospecta, MilitantPretext, Kodda, and Deejay J Neri.

Facebookevent- coming soon!

October19^th:Seth Sentry atOxford Arts Factory-An artist that grew JJJ famous off from one hit, “The WaitressSong” back in 2009 has finally released his first album three yearsin the making, ThisWas Tomorrow. If you're headed to the show bring a rain jacket or be prepared tobe super soaker soaked as Seth revealed via Instagram his stock pileof water guns which he plans to use at the show.

ANDOctober 19^th:

Ifunder some horrible circumstances you were forced to miss the Sydneyshow at the Oxford Arts Factory a couple weeks ago, or even if youdidn't and you just want to party with all your friends again, you'rein luck! The last stop on for the BigVillageBIG party bus is at Yours & Owls in Wollongong. Please don'tmiss this opportunity to see the whole label out in full party mode. That's 16 emcees in all kinds of wild pairings and positions. It'slike the kama sutra of hip hop. More fun than a circus big top. Just watch these clowns try to fit all 16 emcees on an itty bittystage for the last song!

facebookevent

October25^thSpit Syndicate kickoff their “Beauty in the Bricks” tour promoting their new singleat the Transit Barin Canberra– set in intimate venues, this tour gives the SS boys a chance toshowcase their new music to small groups of loyal fans.

Thundamentals at UC Bar in Canberra

October27^th: Thundamentalsmake a stop in Katoomba,their home in the Blue Mountains on their “Get Busy” Tour whichmakes it's stop in Sydney in November. Backed by a live hornsection, this group is very high energy and never one to disappoint. Plus the energy in their home town crowd would be incredible,possible worth the trip out to the mountains to witness this.

Facebookevent

Alsoon that date back at home is the SurryHills Festivalat Prince Albert Park which includes sets by hip hop acts TheTongueand True Vibenationalongside groups from many genres of music and several DJ sets, goodfood, drinks, markets stalls, and art on display. It's set to be anincredible day with all proceeds going to the Surry HillsNeighbourhood Centre.

It'salso rumoured that local lyrical legend SkaseAkwill be dropping his new album for free release sometime at the endof this month. More information as it comes available. If you seethis album up for download cop it as quick as you can, cause it couldchange the way you think forever.

SoMany Links

JurrasicLounge- check out all the upcoming events, every Tuesday night thissummer

StateAdvanced- listen to and review tracks from this artist on JJJ Unearthed

BrokenThought Theory – free EP download

ChanceWaters- “Young and Dumb” Tour dates and ticket information

KadeMC facebook- up to date news, free tracks, and gig info

Kade'salbum The Ruckman Record – my album review

Madame Wu- songs off the new album

SaveOur Sando 

SpaceportOne - performance space in Marrickville

SethSentry

BigVillage website – merchandise and tour info

BigVillage Tour Diary Part 1: Sydney and Part 2: Melbourne

SpitSyndicate “Beauty in the Bricks” - tour and ticketing info or here for Canberra

Spit Syndicate new song preview

Thundamentals“Get Busy” tour and ticketing info

SurryHills Festival lineup

TheTongue- Elefant traks artist

TrueVibenation- Big Village artists

On A Friday

Review

Sky'High

Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach, Sydney

13 July 2012

Maybe because it was Friday the 13^th and the third one for 2012, everyone decided to lay low and not risk some witchy, devilish shit happening at a gig. That must be why the only hip hop gig I could find on that night was Sky'High's second Sydney album launch. Every Friday that falls on the 13^th I claim as my own, especially in July. The day I was born, unlucky for some, was on a Friday, the 13^th day of the month of July. Now I've definitely tried to lie to some about the year, but if you really want to know just go read the book by George Orwell.

Permanent marker maybe?

I commemorated the day by getting it inked on my arm permanently, so now I'm a real life lucky charm. And if you know me, then you know that if I'm in your life you really are lucky.  That's because I live life the way I want it to be.  I seek out all the good things and I attract them to me.  So people could say that I'm living the dream. If you know how to dream than you know what I mean.

So I thought I'd give this Sky'High gig a try, after very mixed thoughts on her from several people that I have asked. Elefant Traks of course is right behind her, and when asked Adit spoke very enthusiastically about her, but most of my friends haven't been too impressed with lyrics, beats, or her attitude so far. I first heard of her on Triple J early this year which was my first taste of the “Hoodie and Nikes” song, which I really like.  Embarrassingly enough at first I thought she was a young boy by the way she sounded.  At first that really intrigued me because I thought "hold on, who is this 10 year old on triple J?"  But even better was finding out that it was a chick, because there aren't a lot of female rappers on the scene holding it down on their own. She did an interview with Hai on the Hip Hop show before she went on tour with 360, and talked about her new album coming up later in the year. I thought she seemed really sweet and shy, and that definitely got me interested, I wanted to know more.

a couple of cool kids I know

I saw her perform earlier this year opening for The Herd. Basically all of Elefant Traks was there to show their support.  There's a bit of controversy about why Elefant Traks would sign an artist so different to their normal aesthetic.  The answer is complex and maybe the benefits won't come to fruition straight away but rather incubated like an egg.  It's like they took this little newborn chick under their generous and protective wing and introduced her as part of the scene. But she's no baby chick, innocent and wide eyed. She's like a crazy owl: shifty eyed and alive at night time. Scoping out the scene and then swooping down to swiftly snatch her prey.    

Although it might seem like there's some arrogance rooted in her name, it's really just a clever play on her actual name, Skhai. You might be put off by the fact that she rocks sunnies inside at night, wears a frown, screams into the mike, and yells at the crowd. But at least she's herself, she's not afraid to be a little angry. And we shouldn't put her down because it's that type of raging that hip hop was founded on in the first place. And in stark contrast to all that aggressive and negative energy, if you're lucky enough for her to drop her sunnies and smile at you, you'll be all but stunned by the innocence displayed in her face. Which goes to show that, maybe it's not quite all an act, but but a carefully constructed tough outer mask that she has worked most of her life to maintain.

I spot a reoccurring theme

This genre of music, always came out of a desperate need to make sense of a world that doesn't make sense at all. The most notorious rappers came out of the darkest ghettos of New York and LA. Yet, it evolved to be something so much more that. The fact that Australian hip hop exists despite that overall absence of such harsh and dangerous living conditions, is testimony to the fact that you don't have to have had a really hard life to make good music. Everyone suffers in their own way, emotional pain can penetrate the psyche of someone even with the most seemingly carefree lifestyle. But someone who has actually seen hell comes back completely changed. Therefore I don't think we should write off Sky'High easily because it is known that her childhood consisted of being witness to some of the most unsavory neighbourhoods and activities that Sydney boasts. So even if she hasn't completely come into her musical groove yet, she's comfortable with herself and her point of view alone is so unique that everyone should take note.

Sky checking out my tat

As for the gig itself, it was a huge let down. The choice of venue (come on who goes to see hip hop all the way out in Bondi? Put her in Newtown for god's sake), the lack of promotion (I only saw it on Elefant Traks site), and the crowd (lack of, and lack of participation from those that were there) all contributed to a huge flop of a night. But it wasn't all bad. She has a stage presence like no other, she's definitely comfortable with who she is. She is unique and brings something completely different to the Australian hip hop scene. And I think because of this, and because of her record label backing she will come into her own and the country will start to see her as the star that she already believes that she is. If the event had been promoted better and the crowd was getting into it, I believe the show could have been a hit. But like I've said before, the crowd really makes the show. If the artist is up there giving their all and the crowd is giving nothing back, then the night will be a flop, just by default.

fuck the world

Bottom Line: She's an aggressive chick, with energy and edge, doing it on her own with her mate Emily Blake of course, an amazing singer, to back her up live. A new piece to this hip hop puzzle that we haven't seen yet. I think she will go far. Then we'll be saying, “yeah I was at this gig in Bondi ages ago, and there was no one there, it was crazy...”

"Look At Me Now" off the Your Highness EP

Latest Video: "Wake Up" featuring New Zealand rapper David Dallas

Links
Sky'High on facebook
Sky'High merchandise- elefant traks
"Your Highness" EP FREE DOWNLOAD

Buy Sky'High's first full length album Forever Sky'High through Elefant Traks now.

Tweet Me: @iamskyhigh



Want to know more about Skhai's life and background?
Watch this mini documentary series....
Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3

Good night kiddies! Thanks for tuning in!

Catch you on the flip side, 

<3 <3 <3 Jen <3 <3 <3 

no rest for the wicked!