MC Trey | |
---|---|
Birth name | Thelma Thomas |
Also known as | MC Trey |
Born | Suva, Fiji |
Origin | Australia |
Genres | Hip hop |
Occupation(s) | Hip-hop Artists, Singer, Creative Producer |
Labels | Tapastry |
MC Trey, also known as Trey (born Thelma Thomas in Lami, Fiji), is a Fijian Samoan Australian vocalist, and hip-hop activist. She was nominated as one of Sydney's Top 10 Creative Innovators in the field of music [1] and is a member of ARIA-nominated band Foreign Heights.
Over the past 15 years, Trey has established herself as an artist within hip-hop and urban music in Australia and released albums and singles with artists in Australia, Fiji, Aotearoa, USA and the UK.
She collaborated with Maya Jupiter (Channel V) and DJ Nick Toth as hip-hop trio, Foreign Heights. The second single off the Foreign Heights album, "Get Yours", earned them an ARIA nomination in 2007. [2]
Off mic, MC Trey (Thelma Thomas) is a Western-Sydney based Fijian/ Samoan/ Australian, with over 20 years’ experience in community engagement and hip-hop music. Awards include NSW Council for Pacific communities and NSW Police Crime Prevention for her work with young people, utilizing hip-hop music and cultural knowledge and material. Musically, her nominations include ARIA, Urban Music, 3D and Jack Music Awards, and released several solo and collaborative albums, performing locally and internationally. She is a creative producer, storyteller, writer, events curator and digital creator. She has hosted a Foxtel TV hip-hop/ soul music show, written and performed hip-hop theatre and curated Festivals. Her qualifications include Social Work, Mental Health, Youth Work, Music and Business. Her entity, Tapastry, activates at intersections of wellbeing, sports, diversity, youth culture, music, arts, technology and the humanities, underpinned by Pacific practice.
MC Trey is a creative producer with experience in Pacific community projects, youth arts work and facilitating hip-hop music workshops for young people around Australia for over 10 years. Her work in this area was awarded a Vodafone Australia Foundation "World of Difference" grant, enabling her to co-ordinate music programs for marginalised young people at Information and Cultural Exchange (ICE) and Street University in Western Sydney. These programs aim to further-develop participant's writing, communication and performance skills and encourage young people to tell their stories through hip-hop music. [3]
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 Onefour, Hilltop Hoods, Kerser and Bliss n Eso and 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. Since the inception of the Australian hip-hop scene, Australian Aboriginals have played a prominent role.
Pauline Curuenavuli, known professionally as Paulini, is a Fijian-Australian singer, songwriter and musical theatre actress. Born in Suva, Paulini moved to Sydney with her family at the age of four. She rose to fame in 2003 as a contestant on the first season of Australian Idol and placed fourth in the competition. After Idol, Paulini signed a recording contract with Sony BMG Australia and released her debut studio album One Determined Heart (2004), which debuted at number one on the ARIA Albums Chart and was certified platinum. The album included the platinum single "Angel Eyes", which spent three consecutive weeks at number one on the ARIA Singles Chart. Paulini received two ARIA No. 1 Chart Awards for both the album and single.
The Music of Samoa is a complex mix of cultures and traditions, with pre- and post-European contact histories. Since American colonization, popular traditions such as rap and hip hop have been integrated into Samoan music.
Melissha Martinez, better known by her stage name Maya Jupiter, is a Mexican-born Australian rapper, singer, songwriter, actress, MC and radio personality. She released her debut album, Today, in 2003. She was a member of hip-hop group, Foreign Heights, with MC Trey and DJ Nick Toth, which released a self-titled album in 2007. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2007 the trio was nominated for 'Best Urban Release' for "Get Yours (Remix)". From 2004 to 2008, Jupiter hosted the national radio station, Triple J's weekly Hip-Hop Show. Thereafter she pursued her solo career based in Los Angeles and released her second album, Maya Jupiter, in December 2010.
New Zealand hip hop derives from the wider hip hop cultural movement originating amongst African Americans in the United States. Like the parent movement, New Zealand hip hop consists of four parts: rapping, DJing, graffiti art and breakdancing. The first element of hip hop to reach New Zealand was breakdancing, which gained notoriety after the release of the 1979 movie The Warriors. The first hip hop hit single, "Rapper's Delight" by the Sugarhill Gang, became a hit in New Zealand when it was released there in 1980, a year after it was released in the United States. By the middle of the 1980s, breakdancing and graffiti art were established in urban areas like Wellington and Christchurch. By the early 1990s, hip hop became a part of mainstream New Zealand culture.
Bliss n Eso are an Australian hip hop trio based in Sydney. The group consists of emcees Bliss and Eso, and DJ Izm, and they are currently signed to Melbourne record label Illusive Sounds, and are managed and booked by label co-founders Adam Jankie and Matt Gudinski. Bliss n Eso have released seven studio albums which include three number 1 debuts on the ARIA Charts. They have also won two ARIA Awards for Best Urban Release for their 2008 album Flying Colours and for Best Music Video for their 2017 single "Moments". Eso, under his alias Esoterik, released an album entitled "My Astral Plane" in May 2018.
Jessica Hilda Mauboy is an Australian singer. Born and raised in Darwin, Northern Territory, she rose to fame in 2006 on the fourth season of Australian Idol, where she was runner-up and subsequently signed a recording contract with Sony Music Australia. After releasing a live album of her Idol performances and briefly being a member of the girl group Young Divas in 2007, Mauboy released her debut studio album, Been Waiting, the following year. It included her first number-one single, "Burn", and became the second highest-selling Australian album of 2009, certified double platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA).
Bill Rangi Urale, known by his stage name King Kapisi, is a New Zealand hip hop recording artist. He was the first hip hop artist in New Zealand to receive the Silver Scroll Award at the APRA Awards for Songwriter of the Year for his single Reverse Resistance in 1999.
"Superwoman" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Alicia Keys for her third studio album As I Am (2007). Written by Keys, Linda Perry, and Steve Mostyn, it was released as the fourth and final single from As I Am on July 29, 2008, by J Records.
"Running Back" is the debut single of Australian R&B recording artist Jessica Mauboy, featuring American rapper Flo Rida. The track was written by Mauboy, Audius Mtawarira, and Sean Ray Mullins, and was produced by Audius. "Running Back" was released for digital download on 19 September 2008 as the lead single from Mauboy's debut studio album, Been Waiting. Mauboy felt "so excited and honoured" to work with Flo Rida, calling it a dream come true.
Sima Urale is a New Zealand filmmaker. Her films explore social and political issues and have been screened worldwide. She is one of the few Polynesian film directors in the world with more than 15 years in the industry. Her accolades include the Silver Lion for Best Short Film at the Venice Film Festival for O Tamaiti (1996).
George Kordas, better known by the stage name DJ Bonez, is a hip hop DJ and producer, originally from Sydney and currently based in Melbourne, Australia.
Simone Angela Stacey is an Australian soul and jazz singer-songwriter. She was a founding mainstay member of girl pop duo, Shakaya, along with Naomi Wenitong, from 2002 to 2006. Soon after Wenitong formed a hip-hop group, The Last Kinection, while Stacey took a hiatus from the music industry. In October 2011 Stacey was featured on The Last Kinection's single, "Are We There Yet?". In April 2013 she auditioned for Season 2 of The Voice and was eliminated in "Episode 12: The Battles". At the Deadly Awards 2013 Stacey was nominated for Single Release of the Year for "My Pledge", and for Female Artist of the Year.
Thelma Amelina Plumbe, known professionally as Thelma Plum, is an Aboriginal Australian singer, songwriter, guitarist and musician from Delungra, New South Wales. Her debut album, Better in Blak, was released on 30 July 2019 and peaked at number 4 on the ARIA Albums Chart.
Takudzwa Victoria Rosa "Tkay" Maidza is a Zimbabwean-born Australian singer-songwriter and hip hop artist from Adelaide, South Australia. She has been nominated for and won many awards, and released two albums: Tkay (2016) and Sweet Justice (2023). She collaborated with Flume on her 2023 single "Silent Assassin".
Megan McInerney, known by her stage name Meg Mac, is an Australian singer-songwriter and musician. She signed to littleBIGMAN Records in 2014, locally, and 300 Entertainment in the United States.
Foreign Heights is an Australian hip hop band made up of Maya Jupiter, MC Trey and Nick Toth. They released their self-titled debut album in January 2007. Their single "Get Yours (Remix)" was nominated for the 2007 ARIA Award for Best Urban Release
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