The Tongue | Speaks Volumes…

The Tongue is a young rapper hailing from Sydney. He is the self-proclaimed best rapper in Australia and to be honest, when you hear his flow and thought provoking lyrics, it is difficult to question that statement.

Contrary to what most people think about rappers, The Tongue didn't grow up on the streets, living the hard knock life. Rather, he was private school educated and has a major in Sociology. Whether this makes him a better lyricist is hard to say, but it definitely allows him to look at society differently and this is reflected in his songs. "A lot of my music is a reaction to certain events or issues facing the world community. That's why the last album is called Alternative Energy for example" he said.

In addition to being able to explore these issues, The Tongue feels that as an MC he has the power to be uncensored, which very few people have these days. A far cry from journalists who have to report a story in a certain way or David Hicks who can't tell his story, and recently had the money from his book confiscated by government lawyers. He explains "everywhere you look reality is edited, warped and manipulated. But as an MC I only answer to myself. I'm not censored so I feel a certain responsibility to tell the truth and speak up for those who are … while remaining entertaining of course".

The Tongue finds the Australian Hip Hop scene very healthy and diverse. When it comes to his own success in the scene, he credits his genuine love of the art-form and being endlessly entertained by rap. Furthermore, he believes that his hard work and professionalism have led him on the quickest path to success, stating "I've put out a release every year of my career (an EP, two albums and three mixtapes) and I tour as often as possible".

As a testament to his ever growing popularity, he was chosen along with Mantra, as a supporting act on Drapht's The Life Of Riley tour earlier this year. He credits the tour as the craziest he has been involved in yet, stating "Drapht and Mantra are two sensational artists at their peak and great to tour with. Drapht's album also went number one the first week of the tour so everywhere we went there was positivity and sold out shows. We finished the run by playing to 3000 people at Luna Park in Sydney, now THAT was an experience".

After finishing up that tour, The Tongue, who openly enjoys the finer things in life, made the decision to take part in Dry July. He explained "the tour lifestyle wears you out and it’s easy to pick up bad habits learned on the road". He found that taking the month off resulted in him clearing his head and saw it as a refreshing experience. In terms of creativity, he feels that his song writing quality is about the same, sober or otherwise, but the actual number of songs he was able to finish increased greatly in the month.

A number of the songs he worked on will appear on his new mixtape, The Sextape which is available for download September 12. When asked what people can expect from this mixtape he replied "It's an exploration of love and sexual politics. Songs dealing with reality; marriage, lust, pregnancy, homophobia, pornography – I cover a lot of themes".

If you are interested in finding out more about The Tongue, find him on Facebook  or Twitter. You can also find his, and other great Local hip hop from the Elefant Traks On-Line Store and remember to download The Sextape on September 12.

 

 

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Tagged Aussie Hip Hop, Australian, Australian Hip Hop, Oz Hip Hop, The Tongue