Alasdair David George Murray, professionally known as Illy, is an Australian rapper from Frankston, Victoria. Illy first emerged onto the hip hop scene in 2009. He has released five studio albums and has won multiple ARIA Music Awards. Illy has performed at many Australian music festivals including headline spots at Groovin' the Moo, Splendour in the Grass, Spilt Milk and Yours and Owls.
Illy at the ARIA Music Awards of 2013
Illy performing at the University of Tasmania in 2011
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"