Album: Hilltop Hoods - The Hard Road (2006)

Continuing with the international theme, I'm bringing you a taste of Australian hip hop for your now refined hip hop palette. The Hilltop Hoods, representing Adelaide (Southern Australia), follow the classic Run DMC model of two MC's (Suffa & Pressure) and one DJ (DJ Debris). These dudes are definitely my favorite international rap group. What I love about them is that their style always stays true to the roots of hip hop, meaning that their formula for making music is good lyrics, slamming beats, and dope cuts.

The Hoods have been putting out amazing music ever since their first album A Matter of Time dropped in 1999, but they're sound has since become much more refined and musically appealing. Their 2006 album The Hard Road is a prime example of this with nearly every beat being a banger and the lyrics are infused with seriousness and at the same time their unique touch of punning humor. Many songs such as Recapturing the Vibe, The Hard Road, City of Light, Circuit Breaker, & The Captured Vibe get me hyped with their well-crafted uptempo beats that seem to have a perfectly balanced blend of samples and scratching thrown in. Honestly, what more can you ask for? Maybe a follow-up remix album with added symphonic accompaniment by the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. Check. The Hard Road Restrung is a one-of-a-kind remix album...honestly how often does a collabo like this go down? The song in the above video Roll On Up is offered exclusively on the Restrung album. However, I recommend listening to the original before the Restrung album to get your first taste of dope songs with Australian accents.

Note: This blog entry's title is a link to a video of the first single off the Hilltop Hoods new 2009 album State of the Art