Hilltop Hoods

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Biography

The Hilltop Hoods are an ARIA Music Awards|ARIA Award winning Australian hip hop group, from Adelaide , South Australia. Their members are MCs Suffa (Matt Lambert), MC Pressure (Daniel Smith), DJ Debris (Barry Francis) and formerly DJ Next. They have been at the centre of the Australian hip hop scene for the better part of two decades, originally forming back in 1991 and releasing their first EP in 1997. Since then they have released 5 studio albums, 3 DVDs and a "restrung" version of their 2006 album The Hard Road . They released their fifth studio album, State of the Art (Hilltop Hoods album)|State of the Art on 12 June 2009. Their song "Chase That Feeling" came no. 3 in the Triple J Hottest 100 2009.

They are renowned for their live shows having toured extensively both in Australia and overseas, including playing gigs at music festivals such as T in the Park , Oxegen , the Big Day Out , Adelaide 500 , Southbound (festival)|Southbound , The Great Escape (festival)|The Great Escape , Splendour in the Grass , Bassinthegrass , Groovin' the Moo|Groovin' The Moo , Falls Festival , Pyramid Rock Festival , Rollercoaster (Australian festival)|Rollercoaster and Make Poverty History .

History

Formation and early years (1991–2001)

The group formed in 1987 when MC Suffa and MC Pressure met at Blackwood High School . They joined up with DJ Debris through a mutual friend and formed the basis for the group. Early on in the history of the Hilltop Hoods DJ Next did all of the Scratching|scratches and regularly competed in the local Disco Mix Club|DMC tournaments. In the late 1990s DJ Next chose to pursue a different career path after the release of A Matter of Time and moved to Sydney. DJ Debris who was previously with Crossbred Mongrels & producer for Hilltop Hoods then became the main DJ. Prior to the release of Back Once Again , the Hilltop Hoods put together a demo entitled "Highlanderz".

The Hoods went on to form the Certified Wise crew with local groups Terra Firma, Crossbred Mongrels and After Hours. Certified Wise then expanded to include MCs Trauma, Blockade, Kolaps, Flee and in later years Vents and The Funkoars.

Influences include American hip hop artists such as Notorious B.I.G. , KRS-One , Gang Starr , Wu-Tang Clan and Public Enemy (band)|Public Enemy .

Their name was given to them by pioneer MC Flak (from Crossbred Mongrels) and came from a suburb (Blackwood) in south-eastern Adelaide known by the local youth as the Hilltop, where Flak, Suffa and Pressure were raised.

After over five years of limited exposure in Adelaide the Hilltop Hoods and others local groups began to draw attention. The group received two nominations for the Hip Hop Act of the Year Award at The Australian Dance Music Awards and again at the 3D World Music Awards in 2001 and 2002.

The Calling and commercial success (2003–2005)

The Hoods released their commercial breakthrough The Calling (Hilltop Hoods album)|The Calling on 22 September 2003. The album went platinum in Australia, largely due to word-of-mouth, as it failed to reach any higher than #53 on Australia's ARIAnet album charts. It was the first Australian hip hop album to reach platinum status. It featured two hit singles, " The Nosebleed Section " and " Dumb Enough ", which received places in the Triple J Hottest 100, 2003 . The Nosebleed Section ranked #17 in the Triple J Hottest 100 of All Time 2009. This success proved to be a turning point in the Australian Hip Hop scene because it demonstrated widespread support for the genre that reached beyond an underground fan base.

The Hard Road (2006–2007)

The group followed up The Calling (Hilltop Hoods album)|The Calling with their highly successful fourth album The Hard Road on 1 April 2006. It featured the single Clown Prince and guest verses from New York rapper Omni (rapper)|Omni and British MCs Mystro and Braintax . The album debuted at number one on the ARIA charts , and was the first Australian hip hop album to do so. It also went platinum within a week of being released, another record for an Australian hip hop group. The track The Blue Blooded is a collaboration of Australian MCs featuring the Funkoars , Hau from Koolism , Mortar (musician)|Mortar , Vents , Drapht , Muph & Plutonic , Pegz and Robby Balboa .

On 27 April of the same year, the H performed at the Bass in the Grass music festival in Darwin, Northern Territory|Darwin alongside fellow hip hop group, The Herd (Australian band)|The Herd . This was also the day in which the Hilltop Hoods released their second single from their new album The Hard Road . The video clip features members from the Certified Wise crew (Cross Bred Mongrels, Terrafirma and Funkoars), of which the Hilltop Hoods are also members.

Following the success of The Hard Road tour in early 2006, the Hilltop Hoods began their second national tour for 2006 called The Stopping All Stations tour which travelled to more regional areas of Australia as well as the capital cities. They were supported by Koolism & UK MC Mystro .

In late 2006, the Hilltop Hoods released their third single from The Hard Road , the track "What a Great Night". The videoclip for the song shows the group at a club with camera shots panning up and down to reveal a new location. It used advanced special effects and is one of the most expensive video clips for an Australian hip hop group, mirroring the group's rise in success and popularity.

In late 2006 the Hilltop Hoods were announced as the winners of the Triple J J Award for best album of the year, joining the likes of Wolfmother as winners of the highly prestigious award.

They performed the Homebake Festival and Falls Festival in late 2006.

The Hard Road Restrung (2007–2008)

On 12 May 2007, the Hoods released their new album The Hard Road: Restrung which is a remix of their previous album The Hard Road featuring the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and Okwerdz . Like its predecessor The Hard Road , it took out "Best Urban Release" at the ARIA Awards , with the Hoods going back-to-back.

The first single released from The Hard Road: Restrung is " Recapturing The Vibe Restrung ". The video clip was on high rotation on rage (TV program)|rage & Triple j tv|jtv for several months.

2007 also saw the group performing at the Southbound (festival)|Southbound Festival (WA), The Great Escape (festival)|The Great Escape at Newington Armory in Sydney over Easter, and embarking on a UK tour with a Sydney based string quartet. They finished off the year by headlining the Pyramid Rock Festival on Victoria's Phillip Island over NYE's 2007.

In 2008 the group performed at the Big Day Out festivals, the prestigious Glastonbury Festival and at the Islington Academy in London. The DVD City of Light was released and nominated as 'Best Music DVD' at the ARIA Music Awards of 2008|2008 ARIA awards .

Today the Hilltop Hoods continue to enjoy their success, and even have their own shoe design sponsored by DC Shoes .

State of the Art and the birth of Golden Era Records (2009–2010)

It was announced during a Channel V|Channel (V) interview that the Hilltop Hoods were getting ready to start writing for their new album due to be released sometime in 2009. The Hilltop Hoods have subsequently left their longtime home of Obese Records to start their own label, Golden Era Records , which will release the group's future albums. In November 2008 they announced on Triple J 's breakfast program that the new album would be called State of the Art (Hilltop Hoods album)|State of the Art .
The Hilltop Hoods' fifth studio album, State of the Art (Hilltop Hoods album)|State of the Art was released on 12 June, with the first single from the album, "Chase that Feeling", released digitally on 8 May and as a physical single on 22 May, and featuring a return guest appearance by a quartet of members from the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. The album debuted at number one on the Australian ARIA charts and was certified List of music recording sales certifications|gold within a week of being released. The album has since gone List of music recording sales certifications|platinum and spent two weeks at number one.

In early 2009 the Hilltop Hoods performed at the Groovin the Moo festival in Townsville, Queensland|Townsville , Maitland, New South Wales|Maitland and Bendigo, Victoria|Bendigo . They also recently performed at Triple J's One Night Stand in Sale, Victoria on 30 May 2009, and at Fat As Butter festival in Newcastle, New South Wales on 25 October 2009 where they played several of the tracks from the upcoming album. To support the release of State of the Art (Hilltop Hoods album)|State of the Art , the Hilltop Hoods commenced a national tour starting on 18 July 2009 and had performances at most major cities including Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Hobart. The second national tour for the album launched on 11 November 2009 with tour support provided by Vents (musician)|Vents .

Drinking From the Sun (2011–present)

On Monday 21 November 2011 the Hilltop Hoods premiered the single, " I Love It (Hilltop Hoods song)|I Love It ", on the Triple J Breakfast show. The single, featuring Sia Furler|Sia , is the first off their latest album, Drinking From the Sun , which was released on the 9 March 2012.

During December 2011 they performed on the same bill as Eminem and Lil Wayne during Eminem's tour of Australia.

On Tuesday 24 January 2012 the Hilltop Hoods "leaked" a song from their upcoming album Drinking From the Sun , via Facebook. Hilltop post on their official profile "Let's have some fun. If we get 5000 likes on this post we're going to leak a track off 'Drinking from the Sun'." They received 7,500 plus likes in only 10 minutes. Hilltop then posted in surprise "Wow. Give me a minute." and 6 minutes later they posted a link to their new track "Rattling the Keys to the Kingdom" on YouTube. On Monday 16 April 2012 the Hilltop Hoods released a music video for "Speaking in Tongues", the second single off their album.

On Wednesday 9th May 2012, the Hilltop Hoods announced on their Facebook page that they had a surprise that would be released the next day. The post stated "We have a huge surprise for you all tomorrow. Can't say what just yet. I will say this though, it will be freeeeeeeee!" The following day, Thursday 10th May 2012, the Hilltop Hoods posted the announcement that they had a new EP entitled 'The Good Life in the Sun'. It was released to celebrate the launch of the 'Speaking in Tongues' tour and features some of the tracks from the album Drinking From the Sun remixed by Suffa . The post contained a link to their website where the EP can be downloaded for free.

Awards

The 2003 release The Calling (Hilltop Hoods album)|The Calling achieved platinum status in Australia, and two tracks (" The Nosebleed Section " and " Dumb Enough ") received places in the Triple J Hottest 100, 2003 , at 9th and 44th, respectively. The Hard Road was released in Australia on 1 April 2006. Their first single release from The Hard Road , " Clown Prince " was released in February 2006, and became their first top 40 singles hit on the Australian ARIAnet Singles Chart.

The Hilltop Hoods have received nominations for the 'Best Hip Hop Act' in 2001 and 2002 at the 3D World Dance Music Awards, won the Australasian Performing Rights Association|APRA award for 'Best Up-coming Group' as well as receiving number one positions in independent charts all around Australia.

In 2006 the group won the prestigious J Award . They also were nominated for five ARIA Music Awards of 2006|ARIA Awards (the first ever for an Australian hip hop group), winning two awards; 'Best Urban Release' and 'Best Independent Release'.

On Australia Day , 2007, the Hoods claimed five spots in Triple J 's Hottest 100 with " The Hard Road (Single)|The Hard Road " reaching 3rd place. "Clown Prince", "What a Great Night", "Stopping All Stations", and "Recapturing the Vibe" placed 23rd, 41st, 56th, and 77th respectively. The Hilltop Hoods received the most entries in the Hottest 100 that year, and were only 1 song off equalling the record, held by Wolfmother the previous year.

In 2007 Hilltop Hoods won 'Best Urban Release' at the ARIA Music Awards of 2007|ARIA Awards for The Hard Road: Restrung . The album was also nominated for 'Best Independent Release' and 'Best Cover Art' (John Englehardt).

The DVD City of Light was nominated as 'Best Music DVD' at the ARIA Music Awards of 2008|2008 ARIA awards .

In 2009 "The Nosebleed Section" was voted number 17 in the Triple J Triple J Hottest 100, 2009#Hottest 100 of all time|Hottest 100 of all time , the highest placed Australian song. On 21 June APRA Awards of 2010|2010 they won the 'Urban Work of the Year' category at the APRA Awards for " Still Standing (Hilltop Hoods song)|Still Standing " which was written by Francis, Lambert, Smith and Lawes.

Hilltop Hoods Remix Shoe

The Hilltop Hoods and DC Shoes made a limited-edition shoe together called 'The Hilltop Hoods Remix Shoe'. It was released in stores on 1 February 2008. They are the first Australian music group to have their own shoe. http://www.goldenerarecords.com.au/misc/hilltop-hoods-remix-dc-shoe.html

Hilltop Hoods Initiative

In 2005 the annual 'Hilltop Hoods Initiative' was established in association with Arts SA, made possible by a donation from the Hilltop Hoods.

Valued at $10,000 (originally $3000), the Hilltop Hoods initiative helped young and emerging South Australian hip hop artists to manufacture and distribute a CD. The initiative also included two mentorship sessions with Hilltop Hoods' former manager, PJ Murton.

The initiative recognises the important role South Australian government assistance played in the development of the careers of the Hilltop Hoods.

As of 2009, the Hilltop Hoods Initiative became a national grant available to entry for any emerging Australian hip hop artist.

Recipients so far include

3 piece General Knowledge in 2005

Solo artist Subsketch, in 2006

Solo artist Jimblah in 2007

Solo artist K21 in 2008

Solo artist 1/6 (Melbourne) in 2009

Solo artist Koolta in 2011

Parade of the Dead zombie film

On 28 July 2010, The Music Network revealed the Hoods had completed work on a "zombie flick" which they wrote, filmed and starred in. Entitled Parade of the Dead after the track of the same name on State of the Art , it was released 22 October, along with the eponymous single.

Discography

Studio albums

Year	Album details	Peak chart positions	Certifications ( List of best selling music artists
Year	Album details	AUS	Certifications ( List of best selling music artists
1999	A Matter of Time (Hilltop Hoods album) First studio album Release date: 1999 Label: Independent release	—	align="left"
2001	Left Foot, Right Foot Second studio album Release date: 2001 Label: Independent release	—	align="left"
2003	The Calling (Hilltop Hoods album) Third studio album Release date: 22 September 2003 Label: Obese Records\|Obese	50	align="left" Australian Recording Industry Association\|AUS : Platinum
2006	The Hard Road Fourth studio album Release date: 1 July 2006 Label: Obese	1	align="left" AUS: Platinum
2009	State of the Art (Hilltop Hoods album) Fifth studio album Release date: 12 June 2009 Label: Golden Era Records\|Golden Era	1	align="left" AUS: 2× Platinum
2012	Drinking From the Sun Sixth studio album Release date: 9 March 2012 Label: Golden Era	1	align="left" AUS: Platinum
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Remix albums

Year	Album details	Peak chart positions	Certifications ( List of best selling music artists
Year	Album details	AUS	Certifications ( List of best selling music artists
2007	The Hard Road: Restrung Release date: 23 May 2007 Label: Obese	8	align="left" AUS: Gold
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

EPs

Back Once Again – Independent (1997)

Chase That Feeling – Golden Era Records (2009)

Still Standing – Golden Era Records (2009)

The Good Life In The Sun – Golden Era Records (2012)

Singles

Year	Song	AUS	Certifications ( List of best selling music artists	Album
2003	Testimonial Year "	—		The Calling
2004	" Dumb Enough "	—
2004	" The Nosebleed Section "	85	AUS: Gold
2006	" Clown Prince "	30		The Hard Road
	The Hard Road "	—
	" What a Great Night "	—
2009	" Chase That Feeling "	8	AUS: 2× Platinum	State of the Art
	Hoods song)>Still Standing "	34	AUS: Gold
	Hoods song)>The Light You Burned " (featuring Trials)	62
2011	Hoods song)>I Love It " (featuring Sia Furler	6	AUS: 3× Platinum http://www.aria.com.au/pages/httpwww.aria.com.aupagesSINGLEaccreds2012.htm	Drinking from the Sun
2012	"Rattling The Keys To The Kingdom"	64 ARIA Report 1151. Retrieved 2012-05-19
2012	Hoods song)>Speaking in Tongues "	—
align="center" colspan="5" style="font-size: 8pt""—" denotes releases that did not receive certification.

DVDs

The Calling Live (2005)

The City of Light (Hilltop Hoods)|The City of Light (2007)

Parade of the Dead (2010)

Other collaborations

Aside from their own installments, the Hilltop Hoods have featured on a number of compilation albums, including Obesecity and Culture of Kings Vol. 1 & 2 , and have collaborated with Australian hip hop scene musicians including Koolism , Mass MC,Crossbred Mongrels, Pegz , Muph & Plutonic|Muph , Funkoars , Headlock , MC Layla , Hyjak , Drapht , and Hyjak N Torcha|DJ Bonez . The Hilltop Hoods were also featured on the Cunninlynguists album Strange Journey Volume One on the track "Nothing But Strangeness" which features Looptroop Rockers and the Hilltop Hoods. In 2011 and 2012 their label Golden Era Records released two mixtapes 'Golden Era Mixtape 2011' and 'Golden Era Mixtape 2012', the Hilltop Hoods were featured on both, other artists included Golden Era members Funkoars and Briggs .

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