Hilltop Hoods is an Australian hip hop group that formed in 1996 in Blackwood, Adelaide, South Australia. They are regarded as pioneers of the "larrikin-like" style of Australian hip hop. The group was founded by Suffa and Pressure, who were joined by DJ Debris after fellow founder, DJ Next, left in 1999. The group released its first extended play, Back Once Again, in 1997 and have subsequently released eight studio albums, two "restrung" albums and three DVDs.
Suffa (left) and Pressure (right) performing at Groovin' the Moo 2012
Hilltop Hoods performing at the One Movement Music Festival in October 2009, Inglewood, Western Australia.
Australian Hip-Hop traces its origins to the early 1980s and was initially largely inspired by Hip-Hop and other urban musical genres from the United States. As the form matured, Australian hip hop has become a commercially viable style of music that is no longer restricted to the creative underground, with artists such as The Kid Laroi, Manu Crooks, Onefour, Iggy Azalea, Hilltop Hoods, Bliss n Eso and Youngn Lipz, having achieved notable fame. Australian Hip-Hop is still primarily released through independent record labels, which are often owned and operated by the artists themselves. Despite its genesis as an offshoot of American hip-hop, Australian hip hop has developed a distinct personality that reflects its evolution as an Australian musical style.
Hilltop Hoods, an Australian hip hop group, has been awarded several ARIA Music Awards.
Bliss n Eso consists of an American and two Australians. According to Bliss, "When I [moved] to Australia [in 1992], I met Eso and he was the only guy at my school into hip-hop. It was so scarce you'd be lucky to find a hip-hop record in a store let alone a whole section." Eso is seen here performing in 2011.
Briggs has the name of his Indigenous tribe, the Yorta Yorta people, tattooed on his forearms "so every time I rock the mic people know I’m representing".
Rob Farley on 3RRR's "Wheels of Steel"