Sydney emcee Steady BIll$ Has just dropped some heavy bars on his rampaging new single ‘Indigo Riddim’, and we’re glad to premiere the video right here to give your Monday afternoon a swift kick up the ass.

Coming in hot after the dissolution of Corner Store Superheroes, ‘Indigo Riddim’ marks Steady Bill$’ first track under a solo moniker – and he’s recruited English emcee BIGREDCAP for a guest verse, plus production from Slight. Listening to the track, it’s evident that Bill$ takes influence from Southern rap as well as UK scenes – making this another effort that signals Australian hip-hop’s shift towards more worldly sounds. Still, the animated delivery and larrikin punchlines inject plenty of local flavour into the head-spinning single.

The clip sees Steady Bill$ mobbin’ alongside BIGREDCAP as well as our pals in Beastside with beers, bud and a stack of Geedup apparel. Watch ‘Indigo Riddim’ below, which is just a taste of Steady Bill$ upcoming project The Mixtape. Below the video, see what he had to say about the track in our short interview:

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

What has prompted you to go solo following Corner Store Superheroes, and has your creative process/mindset changed since?

Kid Fiction (the other half of CSS) is one of my oldest friends and we worked incredibly well together in the studio. He taught me everything from how to use logic to the importance of patience when songwriting. I’ve taken that creative mindset with me on this journey. Unfortunately, outside of the studio was a different story. I was either getting in trouble with the law or beefing with someone. Just generally living a life that most people would regard as crazy. Kid Fiction understandably wanted no part.

CSS ain’t over though. We’re still mates. Who knows what the future holds.

Explain how you linked up with Slight & BIGREDCAP for ‘Indigo Riddim’?

Slight, I just hit up online. I heard the beat in one of the Indigo League mixes. I had to bug him a bit, but he finally sent the stems through.

BIGREDCAP is a don though. I heard about him originally from Emcee Buns – a dope Indigenous rapper from Maroubra/La Perouse area. Me and BIGRED got booked to play the same gig in Newcastle about a year ago now. We’ve been homies ever since. He’s just down to collab with anyone but at the same time not afraid to tell anyone they’re shit. I consider him to be a veteran and I look up to him as an artist and a friend. We recorded the vocals Indigo Riddim at his place in the Bra. He mixed it and everything.

Talk us through the music video and some of the cameos you had in there like the Beastside clique?

Bryce Hooper filmed, edited and directed the clip. He also did the clip for ‘Basement’ off the CSS EP. I’ve known him for years and he’s the best editor in the game. Anyone who knows what they’re talking about will tell you the same. I’ve known the Beastside boys for ever, some of them since primary school. Billy Medley’s older brother was one of my best mates growing up, and P Keazy lived next door to me for 15 years. They’ve always been down for the cause whether shooting a clip, making a beat or recording lyrics. Name a better five to six man crew in Australia? Why you think J5 stopped coming!

In the lead up to this release I read that this song proves that there are “Australian rappers out there that can spit to heavy trap without mimicking their American counterparts.” Where do you think Australia is at now sonically, and do you feel that too many emcees are taking too heavy of an influence for the US?

I think Australia has progressed enormously in the past couple of years and have stepped away from what I call barbecue rap . Yeah sure, a lot of guys in Australia now sound really American, but at the end of the day it’s music and if it sounds good, I’m not gonna hate. A few of my favourite Sydney rappers at the moment, like Big Skeeze and Cult Shotta sound American as but it’s dope. Then you’ve got artists like Hinhop (Beastside), Alex Jones (LGEEZ) and Vinsins who are hard AF and rap the same way they talk. ‘Slangin buds down the local’ instead of ‘trappin out the bando,’ if you know what I mean.

I love Migos and Gucci as much as the next man, but I think it’s important we don’t forget where we came from. It’d be a shame to see Australian Hip-Hop to lose it’s sense of identity.

What else have you got in store for ‘The Mixtape’ dropping soon?

I’ve been working really hard on my own beats, which has definitely slowed the release down, but I’m really vibing with some of the sounds. Like Mac Dre said, “I’m feeling myself.” Otherwise I’ve got a whole different bunch of feature artists from beatmakers to singers to rappers. I don’t wanna give away too much, but they’re mostly local. Puks from The Leisure Bandits Crew is a multi-talented session musician who is involved more than most and I feel blessed to have him on board. Biggup bro!