NEW ALBUM IN STORES NOW! He's black and he's back Brothablack releases his long-awaited album. One of the countrys pioneers of Indigenous hip hop is returning in 2006 from a long-overdue hiatus. "More Than A Feeling" in stores Now - distributed by Obese Records!

Growing Pains - Deadly Vibe Issue 101 July 2005

Brothablack has been in the hip hop game for a while now, many may know him as a former member of the Indigenous hip hop crew, South West Syndicate. Some may have seen him in the hip hop theatre project The Longest Night, or caught him at the Vibe 3on3 basketball and hip hop challenge. He also had a single release on a Triple J hip hop compilation album, and more recently he was the MC at Sydneys massive Rock Tha Block concert.

While Brothablack is the first to admit that his debut album is long overdue, he is very aware that goo d t hings come to those who wait. He believes that his years of experience in the Australian hip hop underground have made his first release more than worth the wait.

Its taken me some time as an artist to finally get an album done, so its a big weight off my shoulders, the 26-year-old confesses. It was a whole new experience.
Ive really only ever contributed to other peoples tracks before, so having the chance to write and produce whole tracks of my own is definitely something Im keen to keep pushing.

While his first solo project has been in the pipeline for some years, it took Brothablack only nine months to write and record all new tracks for the album, entitled More Than a Feeling.

More Than a Feeling is actually the name of one of the tracks on the album, Brothablack says. I think it reflects most strongly where Im at with my music and the feeling behind it, which made it an obvious title choice for the album.

Tapping into my own emotions and raw feelings was a new experience for me, and that was definitely something I wanted to put down on the album.

The track More Than a Feeling showcases the more politically-conscious side of Brothablack, who flips verses on the strength and pride that he draws from his Indigenous heritage. Brothablacks words are complemented by a brooding sound scape, cut together with wailing police sirens and various news reports taken from the Redfern riots.

The main message behind this album is to give non-Indigenous people a good look into an Indigenous males life, Brothablack explains. From myself - a young male, and a father to some of the adversity that I face in society, its just a short snapshot of the life of an Aboriginal male.

The eclectic album also borrows from a range of influences and sounds. Not planting itself solely in the political vein, its lyrical content continually shifts from Indigenous issues to relationship dramas, fatherhood and plain old fun.

I wanted to explore a whole range of different music styles on the album, from standard hip hop sounds to hard core dance, to acoustic tracks, Brothablack says. I think this is a reflection of my own musical tastes and its something that, as a musician, I have always wanted to do.

I think Ive matured a lot as a performer and an artist. Everything in my music is coming from me now, so its my story. I guess generally I have grown up as a man, which will be very noticeable for listeners out there who know my previous work.