In local hip-hop, they don’t get more charismatic or controversial as Skeaz Lauren.

For almost two decades, Skeaz has earned his stripes as a rapper, DJ and member of the infamous Sydney Serchaz crew. The self-proclaimed Gutter Rap Godfather has spent his career recounting tales of crime and conflict with unpredictable, raw results. If you’ve heard one Skeaz Lauren song or watched one Skeaz Lauren video, you’ll probably never forget the name; and his oft-quoted “let’s do the kunt” catchphrase is instantly memorable. Looking at the rapid expansion of the Gutter Rap subgenre and Australia’s more unapologetic hip-hop offshoots, much of this can be traced back to Skeaz.

In 2018, the Polo-drenched personality is back with his Crim City mixtape, a six-track effort where he spits bravado-filled bars over brooding trap production. It makes for a lethal mix, and in celebration of the release, we caught up with Skeaz to chat about the project, Australian politics, and his very informative fashion tips.

Read our interview with Skeaz Lauren below, and listen to Crim City in full right here:

You just returned with your ‘Crim City’ mixtape. You said that ‘no kunt in Australia has ever had a sound like this.’ What separates this release from the rest of the Australian rap scene?

My style is iconic first and foremost, it’s my sound and there’s no one like me. The sound on Crim City is a first for an Australian artist/gutter rapper in the sense that I’ve stepped outside the norm with a sound that’s not your run of the mill Aussie hip hop. I’ve made music and a sound that no other artist in the gutter rap genre has attempted.

What were your main lyrical inspirations for this mixtape?

My inspiration was myself. I wanted tracks that you can bang in the club, tracks that have replay value, tracks that that don’t sound like every other artist in Australia.

As a solo artist and member of Sydney Serchaz, you have been very influential on the gutter rap scene. What do you think of the latest wave of gutter rap artists coming out today? Any artists in particular you’re listening to?

Not being arrogant, ignorant, nor thinking I’m a mad kunt, but I don’t think much of ’em at all to be honest. And nah, I don’t listen to any other Aussie artists, due to the fact that when you focus on others and what they’re doing, you lose sight of yourself and what you’re tryna achieve.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRQ8iJ0GzsU

Do you think that Sydney Serchaz get enough credit for what you did in the underground rap scene? How did Sydney Serchaz shake up the rap game when you first emerged?

Nah, I don’t think we did, to be honest. We was the first gutter rap group/artists in Australia, we birthed the genre and we was the first with that sound and that sort of content in our raps. Similar to how N.W.A first came into the game and had the impact and shock value they did, so did Sydney Serchaz.

Aside from being the Gutter Rap Godfather, you also run under the title of ‘Style Icon’ with a preference for Polo. What are some of your essential tips for looking fresh at all times?

First and foremost, make sure you’ve got clean shoes! Also colour coordination is a must for me. You could be dipped in the best brand names, newest line and pieces that no one has, but if you don’t wear it with confidence and know you look good, then you may as well be wearing a garbage bag with tissue boxes for shoes.

You’ve been in the hip-hop game for almost two decades now. Any great stories from your early days days that you’d like to share?

I entered a DJ battle years ago and I was up first, so I get my records all queued up and start my set, but the table that the decks was on was completely unstable and wobbly as fuck. So my records start skipping and jumping all over the place, so in typical Skeamo form (at the time) I cracked the fuck up and started going off my kunt, abusing every kunt and especially whoever was in charge of setting the table up, while snapping my records and launching the broken bits into the crowd.

Anyways, one of the broken pieces of vinyl stabbed into some poor bitch’s leg in the crowd, I didn’t know that happened ’til she approached me after the show, laughing while showing me the gash to her leg and holding the bit of vinyl that caused it. After my sincerest apologies she asked me to sign the bit of record that was previously protruding from her leg. All’s well that ends well, and yeah, that’s my story!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGHnaYjN1rg

What are some of the misconceptions that critics have about Skeaz Lauren?

First of all, people don’t know me. People watch my clips, see my interviews and get the perception of me that I think I’m a mad kunt and that my shit don’t stink, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. I’m the most humble and grounded person you’ll ever meet, and if people weren’t so ignorant and quick to cast judgement, then they’d see that. But I’m not the sort of person that loses sleep or is easily offended by how I’m perceived by simple-minded fuckboys and fuckgirls.

Imagine that you become the Australian Prime Minister for a week. What are some of the changes you’re going to make to the country?

I’m not one for politics and I’m pretty sure convicted criminals aren’t eligible to be Prime Minister, but the one thing that I’d change would be the date of Invasion Day. To what date? I don’t really give a fuck, but the date will be changed, and if people don’t like it you can suck it from the back.