Interview: ezra allen + definition of fresh + dunn deal promotions

 
Melbourne, Australia rapper Ezra Allen presents “Free”, his new single produced by Able8 and Rippers Records. When asked about the inspiration for his new single, Ezra says, “This song is about an unrequited love, it’s almost like an open letter to the recipient of my feelings and airing out a few unspoken things for myself and for her. I wrote this originally as a remix of ‘Love Yourself’ by Justin Bieber and after I gave up on that project I left the lyrics open in a Word document for almost a year before hearing this beat and reusing them. It was built to represent a younger version of myself a bit less in control of my emotions and a bit more prone to outburst. It was hard not to continuously change the lyrics as I grew and matured as I wanted it to represent the raw emotion of a teenager.” 
 
 What is the general perception towards Hip-Hop music in Australia? Is there any kind of stigma towards white rappers in particular?  

Hip-Hop doesn’t necessarily have a huge following in Australia, obviously people know the songs that make the top 100 and there is a slight overlap in genres within hip-hop which will have people interested in it but as overall the culture exists but it is underground. Australian Hip-Hop Artists are even more scrutinised, ‘I don’t listen to Australian Rap’ comes up pretty often from Hip-Hop heads and even from Australian rappers which doesn’t improve the culture here but it is very slowly making it’s way to the forefront with more festivals including Hip-Hop lineups and more US artists recognising Australian artists. The Aussie rap scene is primarily white so it’s almost expected that a rapper will be white out here, that being said outside of the community I think there is definitely a dismissive motion to white rappers and that is most likely a factor to why Hip-Hop isn’t bigger here that being said there is a new wave of diverse artists shining through which has been a refreshing change in pace.  

Do you freestyle and battle rap? What’s your opinion on them?  

I don’t freestyle or battle rap, I’ve put a little time into learning how to freestyle but I am very planned with most of the things I do and I applaud anyone who can freestyle incredible lyrics, I didn’t realise we had much of a battle rap scene until recently but I don’t have any interest in battle rap although I do watch Bar fights from time to time because I am impressed by people who can pull rhymes out of thin air so spontaneously.  

What would be your dream team collaboration and why? 
 
Jonwayne and/or Watsky, I am drawn to nerd rap and people who succeed by showing their real selves, Watsky was a huge inspiration as I developed my craft and it would be a full circle to see myself perform or record with him. Jonwaynes ‘These Words Are Everything’ struck a chord with me, my producer played it for me because he thought it matched the style I was writing and listening to every component of that song resonated with me; the beat, the video clip and the lyrism; both the execution and the words all just match in synchronicity and that’s how I want my music to sound.
 

What’s the Melbourne scene like?  

Melbourne Hip-Hop is great, every week or two I discover a new artist I didn’t know about or some event I haven’t been involved in, there are groups of artists that stick together such as the Keilor Forest, R.E.A.L. Outside inn and in recent times there has been a trap music generation that has been taking storm. Melbourne Hip-Hop is a community, because we are a small genre in the Australian schemes we stick together and you can approach any artist to have a chat and they will ask about your music, exchange soundclouds and listen to any track you send them, people who are communal just don’t fit in. 
 
What line of yours do you think you should go down in history for and why?  

I think my best lines are ahead of me as I grow in age or experience but I think the line that will resonate is off an upcoming track. “I know it's hard to visualise my mental kingdom, Especially since there's no foreseeable income”. The track is called “I Left” and it is about spending less time socially and more time to yourself for self development and to focus on your career, this line is all about trying to strive for a dream no one can see but you, and in response to people’s first reaction to dismiss over support.