Iggy Azalea is to Australian rap what Baz Luhrmann’s Australia is to Australian film—basically, it’s the work of its very famous creator much more distinctly than it is any sort of statement of national identity. Fortunately, in the decade since “Fancy” was released, figures like Tkay Maidza and Genesis Owusu have cropped up, carving out a new, weirder vision of Oceania that more so reflects the avant-garde stylings of Ozploitation or Meatpie Westerns. But if you dig deeper still, you’ll find figures like Teether & Kuya Neil, an emcee-producer pairing who chew up hip-hop as it develops in the US, UK, and across the internet, and spit it out within the unique context of their diverse local Footscray scene.
The duo recently announced a debut record via Chapter Music titled Yearn IV, the culmination of four years of collaboration that previously yielded a set of stellar mixtapes. First single “Zoo” pairs Teether’s familiar deep, near-monotone flow with Kuya’s chippy instrumental rife with bass drops. Further influenced by online hip-hop culture and their individual cultural backgrounds (Teether being part Malawian, Neil part Filipino), the duo are quickest to credit the peers they came up with in and around Melbourne, the city which most drastically shaped the project (Teether is newly based in London, only further expanding their scope of influence).
Ahead of the project’s May 2 release date, we asked the artists to share some of their favorite local sounds in hip-hop, electronic music, and all the blurry spaces in between (including, you know, “exploratory raw black metal” and “alt-rock songwriting with industrial club and 5/4 time signatures”—that sort of thing). Check out their playlist below, and pre-order Yearn IV here.
KUYA NEIL
Corin, “Lux Aeterna”
Corin is on another level as a producer and artist—constantly pushing boundaries and executing projects that are so world-building and unique. A huge inspiration to me and many producers in Australia and worldwide.
Khya, “Our Girl Miri J” (Mirasia Remix)
This incredible track from Khya (produced by Vetta Borne) spawned so many cool remixes, it was hard to pick one. Mirasia chops Khya’s vocal so perfectly, building up the pads slowly before shifting gears with the breaks. Delicate, but club-ready. Shout out to the House of Silky!
Sidney Phillips feat. lil ket & Rapallo, “That C**t”
The future of Oz rap! The bounce and stream-of-consciousness bars situate the influence of internet rappers such as RXKNephew within the Australian SoundCloud context. Super authentic and unapologetic delivery from some of my favourite young rappers in Australia. Thank you, stealthyn00b.
ZK king, “4Ever”
ZK king’s music feels like disassociating in the luxury shopping center in the best possible way. One of the country's most low-key, underrated artists and producers. ZK king is also an esteemed novelist—Gunk Baby out now in all bookstores!
Ryan Fennis & Voidhood, “Plasticine”
Extender is one of my favourite releases from 2023 from the most slept-on goth heartthrobs in Melbourne. No one is blending alt-rock songwriting with industrial club and 5/4 time signatures like these two. Dense, heady, futuristic music, but never straying into indulgence, gluing you in with pop hooks and melodies.
Blood Lotus, “Motions”
One to keep an eye out for in 2025. This track is so brooding and intimate, and is an exciting turn for Asian-Australian music, pushing into denser and more ambient sonic territories.
BAYANG (tha Bushanger), Sevy, Uncle Kal, & Grasps, “Gimme Ur Love”
This track captures the spirit of community and making music with your nerdy ethnic friends. There’s something so raw and wholesome about this track, and every verse bounces off the next one in such an organic way. Also marks the return of Uncle Kal from legendary West Sydney rap duo Slim Set!
DJ PGZ & Yikes, “Ouss Ouss”
Crazy linkup between Naarm (Melbourne) and Boorlo’s (Perth) finest DJ/producers. I might stay out past my bedtime just to hear this on a big club system.
HTRK, “Eat Yr Heart”
The unofficial Narrmageddon soundtrack. I used to rinse this record when I first moved to Melbourne from Hastings. Opened me up to a world of Aus-alternative music.
Dungeon Possee, “Abort Abbott”
I always loved the style and spirit of artists like En.V and Luis CL. I feel they don’t get the recognition they deserve for influencing a lot of current popular lo-fi aesthetics in Australian music. A relic from a time before identity politics landed in Melbourne art and music spaces and changed everything (for better or worse, you decide…).
TEETHER
Nū, “Night Time”
Nū is one of the artists I’m most excited about from home. Each time I’ve seen her perform, it’s like the whole audience is holding their breath, no-one daring to interfere with the next note that’s about to come along. Whatever she drops next, I swear to god I’ll be the first one to press play.
Chef Chung, “Skateboard P (2013)”
My man has been steady honing his craft for years now, and I feel grateful to have seen the growth. He was always great but his production, bars, art, etc. are all at crazy levels now. I definitely wouldn’t be going as hard without someone like him around.
JUPiTA, “Shy Sol”
JUPiTA is such a talent. The music slaps, her live performances go off, and the stage presence is mad. Such a complete artist, we need to do a song together ASAP!
Mr. Society feat. Cherry Chola & Ryan Fennis, “Good for Me”
This guy invited me to make music in 2014 and we’ve been [tight] ever since. He’s an amazing producer and I’m excited to see him drop more as a solo artist. Though producers can be a bit less visible, his sound is definitely embedded in what’s currently happening on Australian laptops. This track from last year is insane.
Realname & Stoneset, “Brick”
I’m lumping them together due to the nature of this collab track, but these are two separate Naarm GOATs who’ve been a huge influence to me and, dare I say, the city. Both have popped up on Kuya Neil and I’s music and probably will continue to do so in the future. I literally can never predict what the next thing they respectively do will sound like.
Kilat, “Sembelih”
This supergroup might be my favourite band in Australia. Self-described “exploratory raw black metal” and I challenge you to find anything that goes harder. I’ve never said “aura points” before, but they got heaps.
Hawkrada, “side A”
I’ve never seen anyone flip samples like Hawkrada—what he does is actual magic. One of the best producers on the planet.
