This weekend, Australia’s biggest underground rappers will be uniting for ‘Ged Bodied’ festival in Sydney.
Despite being completely independent and receiving virtually no support from mainstream media, these artists boast some of the biggest and most loyal fanbases in the country – and they’ll be teaming up for the mammoth event hitting Captain Cook Hotel this Friday evening. The lineup is spearheaded by some seasoned veterans and emerging talents from Australia’s bubbling rap and grime scenes, including Alex Jones, Triple One, Mitchos Da Menace, Shadow, Lil Sknow and more.
Also appearing at Get Bodied festival is ChillinIt. After getting widespread acclaim for his Get Bodied trilogy of tracks in 2017 alongside Talakai, it’s only right that he’s helped organise the festival of the same name. Ahead of this Friday’s sold out soiree, we chat to ChillinIt about the current state of Australian rap, his favourite artists and what to expect at Get Bodied:
This is the biggest underground rap/grime event that Sydney’s seen in awhile. Why do you think now is the right time to throw an event like this?
The whole night for me is about showing the fans that no matter where you’re from, or who you are, we can all come together with music. I wanna do this festival once a year in each state ’til it’s bigger and bigger. Our scene has so much dope lyrics and talent coming out of it, the wordplay is crazy in Australia and I think we should be noticed more for that fact.
Plus, there is no right time, when you have a vision and passion there’s no time to wait. So if you want something bad enough, you gotta go get it yourself.
From an artists point of view, what are the major differences in the Australian rap scene when you started spitting, to now ?
The scene is just finding its feet. I think in five years time, you’re really gonna see it flourish with some crazy content that really reflects Australian culture and the youth. I think that’s what our scene represents and fans appreciate that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jIBM-ofpw4
Who do you think is the best up-and-coming emcee in Australia right now?
I think everyone on this lineup is doing big things, but if I had to pick one, I’d say my homie Wombat!
And one Australian hip-hop artist you think is going to make it internationally?
Huskii or Triple One.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yssO74nzUik
Tell us about the lineup you curated for Get Bodied. You’re gonna have a bunch of different styles and rappers from every state there, how do you think it’s gonna gel together?
A lot of these fans listen to all of us and not just one of us, so it’s a unique experience for them to see us all together in one night and that’s what was important for me when organising it. I’ve worked with everyone on the lineup on a personal level already as wel,l and we all vibe and fuck with each other’s music, so we’re just keen to link up again and do what we do.
For anyone who hasn’t seen ChillinIt live before… what can we expect from your set?
A1 cracker music, dis dat.
Is “Rackin’ clothes from David Jones” the most iconic opening line of any song, ever?
I swear I replay that song once a day. It’s ridiculous, the whole song is iconic for Australia culture.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FdjkNKmD1U
You guys are also looking to bring Get Bodied to another state, any more updates on that?
No comment as of yet, but stay tuned.
What’s on the cards for ChillinIt for the rest of 2018?
Keep grinding. Shout out the 42Ofamily.
