7 Questions with Relevent

Known for his multi layered, raw and relatable lyrics and captivating story telling ability, Relevent has made a name for himself far beyond his home town of Newcastle, NSW.

In his debut year of 2014 Relevent managed to place 2nd in Golden Era's Sheplife King Of The Town comp, Win the Bliss n Eso support comp for Newcastle and share the stage with artists such as Xzibit, Horrorshow, Briggs, Remi and many more.

Relevent released his debut Mixtape 'Words For The People' Dec 20 2014 which went on to accumulate over 20,000 plays on SoundCloud within a week. The Mixtape was very much a family project as it includes 6 original tracks produced by his brothers.

What is your earliest memory of listening to Hip Hop?

 "I remember sneaking into the garage, putting sunnies on and standing on our pool table holding an old broken mic when I was 7 years old. I used to take my older brothers CD and rap along to 'Gangsta's Paradise."

What is your motivation behind making music? Would you say your music has a certain theme or message?

 "I definitely make music in hope that people will relate to the lyrics. I had a lot of self doubt during my teenage years and I used to overthink everything. I remember hearing certain songs that would help me make sense of what was happening in my life and I think that shaped the way I write. I imagine people thinking 'Man, that's exactly how I feel.' For me the music is about putting you in that zone and opening up your mind to hear the lyrics in context."

As far as flow and style which rappers have had the biggest influence on you?

"My brothers used to listen to Bone Thugs N Harmony, 2pac and Wyclef Jean (Fugees) . I actually didn't listen much Hiphop until I was in High School and listened to Eminem, 50cent and Kanye West. As of late I've been bumping Thundamentals latest album and it has been very inspirational. I guess I'm a mix of everything I've listened to including my sisters slow jams and my old man's reggae."

You recently dropped the Words for the People mixtape. What are your plans for the future? Is there a full length album on the cards any time soon?

"Words For The People was my debut release, my brothers Willie, Anthony and Benny make all my instrumentals, co produce all of my tracks with myself, do all of our recording and mastering. Anthony and Benny are professional league players and Willie and I work full time so getting us all in the studio at the same time isn't easy. There's definitely good music in the works but we aren't quite ready to to talk release dates just yet."

What two albums do you have on repeat at the moment?

AT.LONG.LA$T.ASAP - ASAP Rocky
So We Can Remember -Thundamentals

What does Hip Hop culture mean to you? And who has been the most influential teacher on your Hip Hop journey?

"The thing I love most about HipHop is how it welcomes people of all backgrounds. It's a worldwide group of people who can appreciate each others art form.  From an artist point of view HipHop allows me to express myself and hopefully what I create will help others as much as it has helped me. My biggest teacher has been the journey itself. I still have so much to learn it's exciting."

What are your top 5 Hip Hop artists? 

"This is always a touchy subject but I base my top 5 purely on who I enjoy listening to most, if you asked me who is most skilled I'd have to make a few changes. My top 5 in no order: Andre 3000, Eminem, J.Cole, Nas, Kendrick Lamar, 2Pac"

Well that's 6 but we'll let it slide this time... haha

You can catch Relevent performing at Spaceport 2 on June 27th at the Gaelic Club in Surry Hills. Doors at 8pm.

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