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Why hunter 505 is leaving genre in the 2010’s

Words by hunter 505.

The 2010s began like any other decade before it. The flavour of the time happened to be electro-pop and it was dominating the radio. Sure, these new sounds always leave their own distinct footprints on the musical landscape, but things remained relatively flat.

Fast forward to 2016 when Rihanna releases Work and Drake drops One Dance. This pair of songs, followed by a handful of others from Drake, brought the fresh sound of dancehall to the wider Western audience. It completely destabilised American pop by providing an alternative to its traditional rhythm pattern and instrumentation.

Fresh off the release of his brilliant new single please, Sydney-based artist hunter 505 explains why he’s leaving genre in the past.

Drake doubled down through his 2017 playlist More Life and Justin Bieber jumped on the trend with his smash hit remix of Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s Despacito.

In hindsight, it’s surprising these fusions didn’t take off sooner; these different styles of music from all around the world are as rich and unique as the cultures they are indigenous to. In fact, this is probably what segregated them in the first place. Humans have shown a history of bias towards local familiarity and against anything alien. But we are now in an age of unprecedented progressiveness, and egalitarianism is (politely) pushing its way into the way we create and consume music. Doesn’t it always start with art?

Throughout 2019, I have concerned myself with discovering, curating and creating the next wave of genres that have the chance to subvert popular music today – it’s an ambitious task but no guts, no glory. Rather than expecting to stumble upon a fourth primary colour, I have been especially interested in blending the wealth of genres we already have to generate entirely new styles.

colourblind fuses hip-hop, pop and afro pop, please mixes R&B, trap and new school rap, and upcoming single enter the void is a whole other beast that combines a dark palette of new school rap and house.

hunter 505 is not the type of artist you can pigeonhole as ‘a rapper’ or ‘a popstar’; hunter 505 is the type of artist that creates universal music with no label, and I’m so excited for you to hear what’s to come.