Aussie hip-hop is a genre built on a duality between some of the country’s most raucous, hugely successful acts and the insane amount of young artists trying to break into the limelight.
Kirklandd is the next Aussie MC ready to pierce the thick layer of struggling poets at the bottom of the scene. A string of his early releases boast the lyricism and flow of a much more experienced rapper.
Kirklandd’s flow is a match to the best in the business, and his single VISIONS is a nugget picked straight out of hip-hop’s golden age.
The young artist hailing from Canberra has been forging musical relationships left, right and center. He’s shared the stage with Dylan Joel and Citizen Kay, and pulled Kaytranada, BADBADNOTGOOD and Cam Bluff (Illy, Hilltop Hoods) to help with the production side of some of his tracks. An artist’s promise can often be measured in the strength of their collaborators, where Kirkland passes with flying colours.
Bluff and Kay have since become longstanding collaborators, jumping in and out of Kirklandd tracks in a brotherly show of support for fellow hip-hop stylists.
The MC’s early 2016 release We On is a funk feast. It featured Genesis Owusu bringing in additional vocals on top of bouncy, pulsing synth beats and a reverb-drenched, summery guitar, all pulled together in the eclectic way only hip-hop seems to regularly pull off.
The most recent Kirklandd track, however, only dropped last week. VISIONS features Chloe Au Fait‘s choral vocals over more dramatic verses from the MC than we’re used to.
It was mixed by Kirklandd and Citizen Kay and recorded live in Cam Bluff’s Melbourne studio, and the level of workmanship on the track shows. The production took almost three months to perfect, with Kirklandd and Kay precisely timing the MC’s flow around every single point of the mix’s live drum takes.
His EP is slotted to release in November this year, with the promise of new tracks hot on the heels of VISIONS‘ release. Expect more nostalgic throwbacks to hip-hop’s golden age, a greater exploration of live instrumentals and of course, Kirklandd’s flowing verse.
Canberra’s Fashfest will be your chance to catch this promising MC on the live front. The event, taking place on September 29, will be the live debut of VISIONS, and hopefully a few more of the tracks yet to see the light of day.
