Hunter | The King of Kings

Anyone who is a fan of Aussie hip hop will be familiar with the name Hunter. He is recognised for his hardcore sound, was dubbed the original c*nt and most importantly, he is a pioneer of the hip hop scene in Australia. Unfortunately, recent times have been tough for Hunter, and have seen him in a battle with cancer. While undergoing treatment, Hunter is still in the booth creating the music we love, which is a testament to his character and skill. So when I got the chance to ask Hunter some questions, needless to say I felt honoured to be able to interview a true King of hip hop.

Hunter has been rapping for as long as he can remember, long before he even knew what rapping was. It wasn’t until 94’ that he started to muck around with mixing and recording. Then as the 90s wore on, he began to take his music more seriously. Around this time, he hooked up with a crew that would become SBX and the rest is history!

Throughout his illustrious career, Hunter hasn't focused purely on solo releases, rather opting to work on numerous collaborations projects such as Hunter & Dazastah and more recently Hunter & Mortar. The reason for this is that he enjoys the process of having a producer and rapping with fellow artists. Hunter explained, "Going Back to Yokine and Monster House had mostly solo tracks because I realise as a rapper, you can't just rattle of a verse and call it a song.  I guess that's why in my 11 years of recording, I have only 4 albums.  If I had been in a group, say Hunter, Mortar, Layla and Dazastah, we could have an album out every two years I reckon!"

Hunter has not only been immortalised through his own music, but through references in Matty B's "Fridays" and Drapht's "Sing It", both of which pay homage to his apartment. An apartment where walls were plastered with hip hop posters and sketches and parties were held any day of the week. Luckily, Hunter owned the joint and couldn’t get kicked out. He explained, "I used to get letters from the Strata title board requesting to kick out the tenants all the time". However, he would not comply and kept the dream alive. He went on to say "I could tell you some stories that would tarnish the clean skin of our mate Drapht! Haha, but it was a dope flat, many adventures had by all!”

Being around from the beginning, Hunter has experienced the commercial growth of Aussie hip hop. He described how it has developed from the pioneering days where rappers were spitting tracks for play on the dark dingy underground radio, to modern days where they are rapping for the top 40. He has grown to accept this though, stating "why not? You could make a million dollars!”. Hunter also realises the importance of the rise of social media in helping to get a generation of rap out in the public eye that may have been previously overlooked.

When it comes to hip hop as a whole, Hunter says the three quintessential albums for your collection are: Paid in Full – Eric B and Rakim, Fear of a Black Planet – Public Enemy and Zaggin4Efil – NWA.

In closing, when asked if there was anything else he wanted to add, Hunter stated “God walks with us, and when it's time to go, I will go with God.” While Hunter doesn’t consider himself strong or inspirational I am sure many of his fans will disagree. If you would like to show your support for Hunter you can do so by purchasing his music off iTunes.

Anyone looking to make a donation to a very worthy cause, can make one to the Cancer Council can do so by clicking the image below.

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Tagged Aussie Hip Hop, Australian, Australian Hip Hop, Hunter, Hunter & Dazastah, Hunter & Mortar, Oz Hip Hop