4 local Hip Hop artists you need to hear!

Whilst scrolling on social media, (because this is such a normalised activity these days), we come across all different walks of life, people, businesses, entertainers, musicians and independent artists. Here at Reverence, we decided that a few of these artists should get a spotlight put on them and their music so we put our feelers out for some local Hip Hop talent, and we found 4 artists we think you'll like.

We say this a lot but music is subjective, everyone has their personal taste, and everyone interprets music differently and the old debate comes in to play, what sounds good to one, might not sound good to another . Reverence however, prides itself on being impartial and supportive towards all artists to allow the gift of music to be shared between the masses! Let us introduce you to 4 local Aussie Hip Hop artists we think deserve some recognition and attention.

1. SAMMY DAMAG3

Growing up in Auckland, New Zealand, Sammy Damag3 found influences through different genres of music including Sublime and the Red Hot Chili Peppers and his love for Hip Hop began with Wu Tang and D12.

Fast forward to the here and now and Sammy Damag3 is collaborating and creating new music for his up-and-coming album, Flex Offender. Sammy Damag3 collaborated on a track called “Fuck Triple J” with Melbourne artist Scoobietunes. and it is a crowd favourite when he plays it live. And speaking of live shows, Sammy Damag3 has performed at 40 odd shows in the past four years in Melbourne including a support slot in New Zealand with Bliss n Eso. When Reverence asked Sammy who he’d love to support as an artist, he replied with R.A. the Rugged Man. Sammy Damag3 Facebook

Sammy Damag3 Spotify

Sammy Damage3 Soundcloud

2. STRAY

Stray is from a small town in North West Tasmania called Stanley and he has been busy making music over the past decade. We asked Stray who his influences were, and he told us that people would assume his influences lay in Hip Hop, however, most of them are from the heavy rock genre. Stray names Mike Patton from Faith no More as having a diverse range in his vocal style that he has modelled his own vocal style on, as well as Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails. Hip Hop wise, he pulls influences from Sage Francis or MF Doom and Slug from Atmosphere.

Stray has over 20 releases and says a favourite of his is a track called “Better Place” off the Stupid Intelligence album, released in 2020.

Stray plays different instruments and he is a self-taught producer, he not only produces hip hop albums, singles, and Eps, he produces instrumentals cleverly named “InSTRAYmentals” with beats he hasn’t used. Stray has shared the stage with many artists over the past 20 years including Lotek, Wood Z, Big Smoking Joe, Seth Sentry, Ivan Ooze, Reason, Dialect and many more. Stray is hoping for some festival exposure so he can support many artists.

Stray's Facebook

Stray's Soundcloud

3. IVAN OOZE

Ivan Ooze is a rapper/singer/songwriter/producer from Melbourne, Victoria who has been making moves in the Hip Hop scene since 2015. This 30-year-old artist became well known for posting viral videos to Facebook back in 2015 and is now gaining momentum with his remixes gracing our screens once again. He has been busy posting these videos every few days to Facebook, TikTok and Instagram grabbing the attention of new and old fans alike. His tactics are working too. He has gained over 80,000 Facebook followers recently and over 19,000 followers on TikTok and nearly 25k followers on Instagram. Usually containing only one verse, his videos are the perfect size for these platforms.

Ivan Ooze has been working with producer Tasker in a duo project called Rest for the Wicked since 2020 and they have released their new Ep Rest for the Wicked in May of this year.

Ivan Ooze has supported nationally around Australia, Wu-Tang Clan, Azealia Banks, Ice Cube and Cypress Hill and has been involved in many festivals.

Ivan Ooze Facebook

Ivan Ooze Spotify

Rest for the Wicked Spotify

Ivan Ooze Instagram

4. YNG MARTYR

YNG Martyr is a 21-year-old indigenous artist coming out of Canberra taking the world by storm. His well-known track, “Nike Ticks”, went viral and currently has over 64million streams on Spotify. He made waves as a young freestyle rapper hanging out in a Call of Duty lobby rap battling other players. Realising he had talent he started writing and releasing music. He currently has over 1.2million streams per month on Spotify alone. He pushed “Nike Ticks” on Instagram after taking out a $15,000 loan to fuel his rap career and left his 9-5 job that he hated. He posted memes with “Nike Ticks” as the soundtrack and he paid influencers to use the song which blew up his views. He has an unusual and unique approach to social media marketing and has solidly grown his social media presence. Eventually, it earned YNG Martyr a record deal and his hard work is paying off as he has been added to Festival line ups across Australia, including the Spilt Milk festival which has sold out.

YNG Martyr is looking to release his next album as well as a new single “It Happened” in the near future so keep your eyes and ears peeled!

YNG Martyr Facebook YNG Martyr Spotify YNG Martyr Instagram

Sammy Damag3

Stray

Rest for the Wicked (Ivan Ooze)

YNG Martyr