7 Questions with Flip the Script
As is the beginning of many beautiful partnerships, Flip the Script was born on a hungover Sunday morning. Two uni students who had been raised on a diet of straight Aussie Hip Hop decided that they should have a crack a busting out some rhymes of their own. Half an hour later they were yelling into a Macbook mic and the rest is history.
This young Sydney crew comprised of emcees Joe Bourke and Caspar Hardaker plus DJ Benjamin Hinchley have put out two solid releases so far including their latest "what you know about dilla?" EP which is a tribute to the man who inspired so many.
What was it about Hip Hop that drew you in and made you want to be part of it?
Caspar:
"I think it was the culture which was represented by the music and the rappers who endorsed that. Both in Australia and America we have had a range of exposure to MC’s with all different types of styles and flows which made us inspired and determined to find our own innovation and method when we creating and delivering music to people. These MC’s include Biggie, Tupac, Tribe Called Quest, Kanye, Common, Mos Def and Talib Kweli, to Hilltop Hoods, Bliss N Eso, 360, One Dayers, Drapht and the list goes on."
What was the first track you ever recorded? What’s the story behind it and how did it come about?
Joe:
"The first track we ever recorded together was Sunday Spittin’. That was back when Joe was apparently making a solo mixtape and so the original Sunday Spittin’ was by Joe Bourke feat. Caspar Hardaker. We were both really hungover and put this beat on that we were vibing with at the time and wrote the verses in about an hour and then recorded them directly into the MacBook mic. Probably took about two hours all up."
Have all your tracks so far been over remixed beats? Have you started working on a full length album with original beats yet?
Joe:
"‘crewsin’ was entirely made from beats which had never been used before, and the producers on that album (apart from one) were down with us using them for our tape, so that was nice. A couple of the beats on ‘begGin’’ were originals too. I’d say so far about just over half of our beats are original. We are currently working with a couple of very G producers on making an EP for next year though. We’re keen for that."
Who was it that introduced you to Hip Hop and what were some of the first albums that you remember listening to?
Caspar:
"It was different for all of us. For me, I can’t really trace it back to anything before whacking on Hilltop’s song ‘Nosebleed Section’ from their breakthrough album ‘The Calling’. Then from there, my dad bought me ‘The Hard Road’. I really dug that and the remixed symphonic album and from there that opened the doors for me to find ‘Flowers in the Pavement’ by Bliss n Eso and then I got hooked on their following releases ever since. After that I bought loads of albums from Aussie artist who I still go and watch, i.e Tuka, Seth, Horrorshow, and many more who I haven’t mentioned!"
What is it that drives you to make music? And would you say that your music has a main theme or message?
Caspar:
"All the things we rap about in our music are authentic and a true reflection of what we’re going through and what we believe in, (good and bad). I think if we didn’t make true authentic music, people would pick up on it straight away because of our status in this city. All the issues going on in our personal and social lives come together in our music and it’s a pretty awesome feeling that we can not only share our stories with everyone, but also that we can keep establishing our friendship through the music we make together. The song ‘All the Same’ from our most recent mixtape is a good example of what we love doing. We blend socio-political- socio-environmental and person trials and tribulations in with our music to make it as honest and raw as possible for people to be affected by it in some way."
Joe, you were born on September 12th and in one of your tracks you mention seeing the World Trade Center collapse live on TV on your 5th birthday. How do you think that affected you as such a young kid? Do you think you had any idea the significance of it at the time or was it more of a subconscious psychological effect from seeing the images?
Joe:
"Yeah, it’s one of my strongest childhood memories. At first, I was really chuffed that it was my birthday and I came out to the kitchen and everybody was crowded around the TV. My sister and mum were crying and the best thing about that day was that I got a bunch of chocolates because everybody was sad on my birthday. I didn’t fully understand what was happening, but thought there would be some kind of random attack in Australia too because of what I saw and heard on the news. I don’t know if I realised that would be one of my biggest fears for a solid amount of time, but I do remember praying that night and promising God that I would pray every night so long as that didn’t happen to us and everyone in that building was okay up there."
Who are your top 5 Hip Hop artists?
Joe:
"So hard to answer! In no order, I’d go:
Horrorshow
Kendrick Lamar
Kanye West
A Tribe Called Quest
J Dilla"
You can catch flip the script performing at the spaceport 2 arts and hip hop party at the gaelic club in surry hills on saturday september 19th alongside artists Mikoen, mighty ash, dawn laird, jah tung, and dj cost. doors at 8pm.
Links Soundcloud Facebook Page Triple J Unearthed Youtube Twitter Bandcamp