“Balls to that!” I said. “There’s no way you’re going to get me on the phone to one of the biggest hip-hop acts in the country, especially with some dude who calls himself Pressure.” I took some convincing. Being the Advertising Executive of this fine publication we call BMA Magazine and having never conducted a phone interview before, the thought of kick-starting my five minute journalism career with the Hilltop Hoods was, in my mind, nothing short of life threatening.
Feeling a little shaky and like my heart was about to slingshot through my throat, I set myself up on the floor of a room bearing nothing but a lonely drum kit and awaited the phone call. A young, female representative of a publicity group burst onto the line. She asked if I knew whether he preferred to be called “MacPressure” or “M.C. Pressure.” Feeling a little better about my knowledge of the hip-hop universe, and wishing dearly that I’d told her to call him MacPressure, I crossed my legs and tapped the bass drum until the intensity of my fear was completely crushed by the magnificently pleasant man that picked up the other end of the line.
Pressure informed me that he was currently reclining at his home in Adelaide, after spending a weekend off with the always pleasurable company of your friend and mine, beer. “We finished the album last Wednesday, so we’ve only really had the weekend off,” he says. “It’s been a little bit crazy. We’ve been working on it solidly for the last 18 months and even a little bit more than that. It’s only come to head in the last month. Glad to have a bit of time!”
The album Pressure refers to is their brand spanker State of the Art. After The Hard Road smashed through the mainstream world, debuting at number one on the ARIA charts and bagged all sorts of pointy awards, the Hoods cemented their place in a scene that Australian hip-hop had been knocking on the door of for too long. Now feeling comfortable with their fanbase and (surely) knowing that everything they touch turns to gold, the trio have taken a somewhat more serious direction.
“It draws elements from The Calling and The Hard Road with a little bit from The Hard Road Restrung,” he says. “It’s probably a little bit harder. It wasn’t one of those things that we deliberately tried to do. We just went track by track and the album turned out that way, with all the songs that made the cut fitting together. Hopefully you can find some sort of continuance from the last album if you’re a fan of our music. Nothing’s changed so much that you won’t recognise our signature sound. It’s just our next journey, really.”
It’s been ten years since Pressure, Suffa and DJ Debri released their first EP; a long time to spend working with the same two people, so it’s understandable if times aren’t always filled with tender man-love. When asked if they always agree on what to write about and put on the album I’m met with a resounding “No!”. Pressure fills me in, saying “when you’re working with two other people, everyone has a difference of opinion, which is a good thing at the end of the day and a lot of songs got cut from the album because one of us didn’t like it. We’ve always had a policy that we only ever put material on our album that all three of us were really feeling. You have the occasional disagreement, but at the end of the day we’re all really good friends. It doesn’t come to blows!”
One of the most interesting and mature tracks on the album is She’s So Ugly. It relates to the group’s feelings about the industry they so demandingly reign over, pointing out the frustrations the Hoods face as producers with such issues in the back end of the industry as copyright and sampling restrictions. I ask Pressure what pisses them off about the scene.
“I guess it’s like anywhere. You’re in something for long enough and you build up a sort of grudge against it,” he says. “I guess we’re kind of getting a bitterness off our chest about all the bullshit and politics that goes on in the hip-hop industry and a bit in the music industry overall. You’ve got to put up with a bit of shit!” That said, Pressure is quick to point out his adoration for the quality of hip-hop in Australia. “I think we’ve got a fantastic industry over in Australia at the moment. It’s gone from strength to strength over the past five years and there’s plenty a good artist out there making music. I think Australian hip-hop’s in the best place ever.”
Quite proud of myself for finally getting Pressure to swear, twice, I shifted sitting positions, causing the drum kit I mentioned earlier to become my worst enemy. I’d managed to wedge myself between the bass and snare drums. Sabotage! The awkward dilemma I found myself in could go one of two ways; either I reef out my legs, making the kit come crashing down, or I get a cramp. Time to wrap this baby up.
The tour was the final subject on my lips. “We’re putting together a different show,” Pressure said. “We’re trying to find new ways to do old stuff.” I took more of a shot into a barrel of fish rather than a wild stab in the dark, asking if they’re sick of performing The Nosebleed Section. “If we don’t do it in our shows we get ‘dude! Pleeeaaase play The Nosebleed Section!,’ so you have to play the old tracks. People come to see the material they know and love.” I guess that means you can expect the Hilltop Hoods to be cracking out a lot of your favourites along with their new material on the tour. Win.
Hilltop Hoods with special guests Classified and Briggs will play the ANU Bar on Tuesday August 4. Tickets through Ticketek. Make sure to get in early, this promises to be huge!
