Words by Christopher Kevin Au
While we often turn our heads to the Western Sydney for the city’s biggest rap talent, in the east lies a crew who have been holding it down for awhile – and now comes they’re biggest breakthrough yet.
There’s plenty to like about Beastside: Versatile flows, bucketloads of attitude and an old-school crew camaraderie that drenches their tracks with confident charisma. We remember catching Beastside spitting live at an Above The Clouds’ instore a few years back, and their evolution since – marked by a handful of bangin’ EPs and mixtapes – have earned them a place on the Big Village roster.
Big Village have long been one of the driving forces behind the local hip-hop scene, counting the likes of P. Smurf, True Vibenation and Omar Musa in their family – the latter of whom had a very notable guest verse on Horrorshow’s recent hit ‘Ceiling Fan.‘ They’ve also been heavily involved with events like Home Bass and Freshly Squeezed, again with the pure intention of fostering home-brewed talent. The label’s All Star crew will also be joining Thundamentals’ massive show at Enmore Theatre this June.
With the Beastside clique officially fusing with Big Village last week, we chat to the crew about their relationship with the label and upcoming album Timeframed. Check it out below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39VkH3LbBKQ
Congrats on your signing to Big Village. What does it mean to join the stable alongside some local legends?
Yeah thanks! We been kicking it with the Big Village crew for a while now whether it be playing gigs or collaborating on tracks and we’ve been huge fans since day dot, so it feels dope to join the family.
How did you guys get the news of the signing – was there a phone call followed by a big party? What went down?
They actually sent a messenger owl to our chalet in Marrickville and once we heard the news we took a blood oath and committed to delivering the wildest bars of mankind. Period.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hh6tNYd-8fM
You have performed alongside and collaborated with a few Big Village members already. Do you think your writing/creative process will change with the signing?
Nah, we’re a big crew and most tracks are written in large scale sessions with all of us mumbling to ourselves like we’ve lost it, same goes with beats a lot of the time. When it comes to collaboration we generally get the featured artist to come round and choose a banger until we’re all content enough to lay the flames on it. If anything, with the signing the family has just grown bigger and now we have access to some of the best talent Sydney has to offer.
Tell us about your new single ‘Charged Up’ – it seems more of you are switching up between rapping and producing? Was there any concern that the track had the same name as Drake’s Meek Mill diss?
The song is an ode to everything upbeat and hype about our crew, but at its core it’s a good old fashioned party track with a fair bit of grunt. Nearly every rapper can now switch it up from spitter to sampler, so expect a lot of different sound on future records including Timeframed. In terms of the Drake & Meek Mill beef, some of us have taken their respective favoured sides and others couldn’t give a fuck, but it didn’t have any weight on the naming of this song. It’s called ‘Charged Up’ because we are constantly licked AF.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pul5PwLEH0g
How far deep are you into the album Timeframed? What can we expect in terms of production, as you guys have notably rapped over some UK influenced beats lately?
The album is done and dusted. It will be out in June. In terms of production its a gangbang of different sounds with a nod to the future and appreciation of the past. On Timeframed there are UK influences but overall the production is a step in a different direction for us.
Are there plans for a tour after the album drops in June?
Yeah, we will definitely jump on the road once the album drops. The nitty gritty of the tour hasn’t been finalised yet but best believe we’ll be taking these tunes interstate and to some regional areas as well.
What’s on the cards for Beastside for the rest of 2017?
It’s going to be a big year and we strive to stay hungry and get some Curren$y style release strategies for future projects. Expect a lot of music this year.
