Suffa

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Suffa
Suffa at Festival Hall, 2009.jpg
Suffa in 2009
Background information
Birth nameMatthew David Lambert
Born (1977-05-06) 6 May 1977 (age 46)
Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Genres Hip hop
Occupation(s) Rapper, record producer
Instrument(s) Vocals
Years active1991–present
Labels Obese, Golden Era

Matthew David Lambert (born 6 May 1977), known by his stage name Suffa or MC Suffa, is an Australian rapper and producer. He is best known as one of the members of the hip hop group Hilltop Hoods, and has been a recording artist since the 1999 release of the band's debut album, A Matter of Time . He has also produced tracks for other artists.

Contents

Early life

Matt Lambert [1] was born on 6 May [2] [3] in Adelaide, South Australia and grew up there. [1] According to the Hilltop Hoods song "The Hard Road", he left high school without graduating and was subsequently employed as a factory labourer. [4] [5] [6]

Music career

Suffa met bandmate MC Pressure at Blackwood High School in the early 1990s and formed the Hilltop Hoods. After a demo and two releases, the band had a breakthrough album with The Calling in 2003.

Suffa's first solo production was a compilation album, entitled Suffering City Vol. 1 , and was released in 2002—the album featured tracks such as "Divine Intervention Part 3", "True Aussie Icon" and "Lifes Geographics", whereby a series of artists performed over Suffa's musical creations. [4] [7] [8] Artists such as Muphin, Pegasus, DJ Bonez and Reason contributed to Suffering City Vol. 1. In an interview prior to the launch of the album, Suffa provided a description of the album:

Because of the diverse range of artists I couldn’t say there was a particular flavour to the album. Perhaps the only continuity people will find on the album is the beats. As far as the content goes I’d have to say that it’s an album that Australian listeners can appreciate. You won’t find tracks on the album geared at trying to entice a US or European market. [4]

In 2002, following his work on Suffering City Vol. 1, Suffa also revealed a perspective on hip hop production that he had discovered at that time of his career: "I think the key to hip hop production is keeping things rough. If a song’s too clean it loses its edge. My advice to producers is to look outside the standard jazz, funk and soul breaks for samples. I’ll sample anything, even if someone else has already used it. I’ve stopped caring about 'The rules'." [4]

Following the release of the Hilltop Hoods' sixth album, Drinking from the Sun , a free EP, entitled The Good Life in the Sun, was released as a free download in mid-2012. The entire EP was produced by Suffa and featured remixes of songs from the sixth album, such as "Speaking in Tongues" and "The Underground". The EP also features a song that is a collaborative effort by Australian artists Plutonic Lab, One Above and Hilltop Hoods' DJ Debris. [9]

In collaboration with Suffa, Western Australian MC Drapht released a song, entitled "Salute", on 20 February 2013, and it was uploaded to the MC's SoundCloud profile. [10] Drapht also appears on the Hilltop Hoods' seventh studio album, Walking Under Stars , providing a verse for the track "Brainbox". [11]

Hilltop Hoods released Walking Under Stars on 8 August 2014, and, while the album is a Golden Era Records recording, Universal Music Australia acquired the exclusive licensing rights to distribute the album in Australia, Canada, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and the Benelux countries, while Golden Era continues its partnership with Fontana for the US release. Walking Under Stars was conceived before Drinking From the Sun was written, and Lambert referred to the former as "a companion piece" in an August 2014 interview. Lambert also explained that "I’m a Ghost" is four years old, while a segment of "Brainbox" originally appeared on the 2012 Golden Era mixtape. [12] [13] [14]

After signing with Golden Era in early 2013, Adelaide MC K21 published the first single from his second album online in October 2014. Suffa was responsible for the production of the single, entitled "Change My Way" and features Joy Sparkes. [15] [16]

He has also produced tracks for other artists, such as Funkoars [17] and Kate Miller-Heidke, [18]

Media appearances

In 2006, Suffa appeared on the ABC quiz show Spicks and Specks . [19]

Suffa appeared with radio presenter Scott Dooley, a former host of the afternoon show of the national Australian youth radio station Triple J, in a 2009 video segment filmed in the Australian town of Sale, Victoria. [20]

Causes

In 2007, Suffa collaborated with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) to promote a campaign targeting the animal welfare practices of farms which supply chicken meat to the American fast food chain, Kentucky Fried Chicken. [21] In a press release for the campaign, Suffa was clear about his position and perspective on the subject:

The chickens who end up in KFC buckets are crammed into windowless sheds with tens of thousands of other chickens and made to live in their own feces. They have the ends of their beaks sliced off without painkillers when they're still babies and are bred to grow so big, so fast, that their legs often snap under the weight of their bloated bodies. The sickest thing of all is that a lot of times chickens are still fully conscious when their throats are cut or when they're dunked into tanks of scalding hot water to remove their feathers. If KFC execs treated cats or dogs the way their suppliers treat chickens, they could be charged with crimes. [22]

Other activities

At the launch of the Australian Government's National Office for Live Music in July 2013, Lambert was announced as the state ambassador for South Australia. [23] Arts Minister Tony Burke said the office would "partner with governments, local councils, communities, businesses, musicians and songwriters" and "identify key policy, regulatory and process reforms to better support a robust local live music scene." [24] Lambert was reported as saying that a strong live music scene is essential given a decline in digital sales. [25]

Perspectives

In addition to the lyrical content of his MC work with the Hilltop Hoods, Suffa has also been considerably vocal in interviews in regard to his views on hip hop subjects, as well as broader issues. During the promotional period for Drinking From The Sun, Suffa conveyed his opinion on the growth of Australian indigenous hip hop, a particularly relevant issue for the artist due to his support of Trials (of the Funkoars) and Briggs, both Australian Aboriginal MCs who are on the Golden Era Records roster (the record label founded and owned by the Hilltop Hoods):

I don't want to take away from artists like Briggs and Trials and Brother Black by saying it's "Aboriginal hip hop"s time ... They've all got there on their artistic merits. You have to ask: "Is the audience ready for it?" I would say "definitely yes." I've seen the influence Briggs has on Aboriginal kids, and Trials; they're going to spur a whole generation of DJs and producers. [26]

Also in 2012, Suffa commented on the place of competition in Australian hip hop:

I never like to see music as a competition, it's not a healthy way to be creatively, it's an unhealthy mindset. You should be making music for yourself; other influences shouldn't come into it. There are some subtle rivalries but nothing like the States, there’s no violence, no real beef. The kids here wouldn't know about real beef. And, I'm glad for that. [26]

In an August 2014 promotional interview for Walking Under Stars, Lambert stated that the band's musical horizons had broadened over the course of their career and they "laugh now at how narrow-minded we were when we were kids":

When we were 18-year-old kids, there were only certain kinds of music, even hip hop, that we would listen to. The older you get, the more your horizons expand ... I think there’s a domino effect. You listen to one artist you like and then you keep digging from there. [27]

Lambert concluded the interview by mentioning how grateful he is for his life situation: "When you wake up to Israel, Palestine, Syria, Iraq, Isis, Ukraine, all that shit—in the morning, it’s like "Jesus Christ!" I have a lovely house and I make music for a living ... Two fingers to everyone complaining about their first-world problems. We have it good, we have it lucky." [27]

Personal life

The Adelaide newspaper The Advertiser spoke with Lambert in April 2012, and he revealed that he had proposed to his partner Carlie:

I've been planning on proposing to my partner Carlie for a while now, but it was on our recent trip to the States that I finally picked up an engagement ring from Tiffany's in New York ... On the weekend I took her down the coast to where we first got together and proposed to her. We couldn't be happier. [28]

In May 2012, whilst presenting an edition of the Australian hip hop show on Triple J (normally hosted by Hau Latukefu of Australian hip hop duo Koolism), Lambert confirmed that he was engaged. [29] [30]

Following the release of the "Cosby Sweater" single—from the seventh Hilltop Hoods studio album, Walking Under Stars —Lambert revealed that he owns a collection of Coogi sweaters, made famous by hip hop artists such as Biggie Smalls and Snoop Dogg. [31] Lambert said that his wife does not approve of the aesthetic of the sweater, but he said that he explains to her: "You have no idea how comfortable I am right now." [27]

In July 2016, Lambert welcomed the arrival of his first child, a daughter.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hilltop Hoods</span> Australian hip-hop group

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.

<i>The Hard Road</i> 2006 studio album by Hilltop Hoods

The Hard Road is the fourth studio album by Australian hip hop group Hilltop Hoods. Released on 1 April 2006 by Obese Records, it debuted at number one on the Australia ARIA Albums Chart, and was the first album by Australian artists to achieve that position. It contains the top 20 single "Clown Prince". It achieved Gold status on 8 April 2006, a week after release, and has now surpassed Platinum status.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Obese Records</span> Former Australian record label

Obese Records was a record label that released music from the Australian hip hop genre. It was the largest Australian independent hip hop label, including performers Pegz, Hilltop Hoods, Thundamentals, Reason, Andy Struksha, and Dialectrix. Obese Records also operated two retail stores in Melbourne, a record distribution company, a soul imprint named Plethora Records, and operated the artists' management and touring company Obese Records Artist Management.

The Funkoars are an Australian hip hop act from Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. The group is part of the Certified Wise crew of hip hop artists from South Australia, who also collaborated on various recordings. Despite being on hiatus since 2016, Funkoars are still rostered to Golden Era Records.

<i>The Greatest Hits</i> (Funkoars album) 2006 studio album by Funkoars

The Greatest Hits is the second album released by Australian hip hop group Funkoars. It was released by Obese Records on 17 July 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden Era Records</span> Australian record label

Golden Era Records is a record label that specializes in Australian hip hop music and is based in Stirling, South Australia, Australia. The label was founded in 2008 by South Australian hip hop trio Hilltop Hoods.

<i>State of the Art</i> (Hilltop Hoods album) 2009 studio album by Hilltop Hoods

State of the Art is the fifth studio album released by Australian hip hop trio, Hilltop Hoods, on 12 June 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vents (musician)</span> Musical artist

Joseph Lardner, better known by the stage name Vents and also known as Vents One, Vents 1 and Vents Uno, is an Australian hip hop artist from Adelaide, South Australia. He has released two albums, 2007's Hard to Kill and 2011's Marked for Death. The latter was nominated for an ARIA Music Award.

Daniel Smith, better known by his stage name Pressure, is an Australian rapper who serves as one of the MCs of the hip hop group Hilltop Hoods, formed in Adelaide, South Australia.

<i>Golden Era Mixtape 2011</i> 2011 mixtape by Golden Era Records

Golden Era Mixtape 2011 is a mixtape by all artists signed to Australian Hip hop label Golden Era Records. It was released as a free download on 17 January 2011 on the Golden Era Records website. In an interview about the mixtape on Triple J, Suffa of the Hilltop Hoods said that "everyone's been downloading it so much that the website has crashed". There is not going to be a commercial release of the album, although physical copies were distributed free with purchases of Golden Era releases and at gigs featuring Golden Era artists.

Robert Alan Hunter, better known as Hunter or Huntz, was an Australian rapper and hip hop artist. He was a founder of Perth's hip hop scene in the 1990s and a member of the MC collective Syllabolix (SBX) Crew. During his career, he released four albums: Done DL (2002), Going Back to Yokine (2006), Monster House (2010) and Fear and Loathing (2011).

<i>Drinking from the Sun</i> 2012 studio album by Hilltop Hoods

Drinking from the Sun is the sixth studio album by Australian hip hop group the Hilltop Hoods. The album was released on 9 March 2012. The album's first single, "I Love It", was released on 25 November 2011, and features vocals from fellow South Australian and Adelaide-born singer-songwriter Sia. The album debuted at number one on the Australian Albums Chart reaching gold status on its first day, making it Hilltop Hood's third consecutive chart-topping album. The album is certified double platinum in Australia. It received four nominations at the ARIA Music Awards of 2012, becoming the group's fourth consecutive release and third consecutive studio album to win Best Urban Album.

<i>Golden Era Mixtape 2012</i> 2012 mixtape by Golden Era Records

Golden Era Mixtape 2012 is a mixtape by all artists signed to Australian hip hop label Golden Era Records. It was released as a free download on 30 January 2012 on the Golden Era Records website. The mixtape was launched on Triple J's Hip-Hop show.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Briggs (rapper)</span> Aboriginal Australian rapper

Adam Briggs, who performs as Briggs and self-describes as Senator Briggs, is an Aboriginal Australian rapper, record label owner, comedy writer, actor, and author. Briggs became well known as a "solo rapper", signing with Golden Era Records in 2009, before co-founding the hip hop duo A.B. Original in 2016.

<i>Golden Era Mixtape 2013</i> 2013 mixtape by Golden Era Records

Golden Era Mixtape 2013 is a mixtape by all artists signed to Australian hip hop label Golden Era Records. As was the case with the Golden Era mixtapes that were released prior to 2013, the Golden Era Mixtape 2013 is publicly available as a free download.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1955 (song)</span> 2016 single by Hilltop Hoods featuring Montaigne and Tom Thum

"1955" is a song by Australian hip hop group Hilltop Hoods. It was released as the second single from the group's second remix album, Drinking from the Sun, Walking Under Stars Restrung (2016). In Australia, "1955" peaked at No. 2 on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart, becoming Hilltop Hoods' highest charting single to date. The song was rated number four in Triple J's Hottest 100 in 2016. The song's accompanying music video was released on 7 February 2016 via their Facebook page.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trials (musician)</span> Musical artist

Daniel Hendle Rankine, known professionally as Trials, is an Ngarrindjeri rapper, songwriter, and record producer hailing from Adelaide, South Australia. In 2020, he signed to Island Records Australia and Universal Music Australia to release his debut solo album.

The discography of Australian hip hop group Hilltop Hoods consists of seven studio albums, one compilation albums, six extended plays (EPs), twenty-four singles and three DVDs. Their debut studio album A Matter of Time was released independently in 1999.

<i>The Great Expanse</i> 2019 studio album by Hilltop Hoods

The Great Expanse is the eighth studio album by Australian hip hop trio Hilltop Hoods, released on 22 February 2019 through Universal Music Australia. The album was produced by members Suffa and DJ Debris, and features gold selling ARIA Award winning single "Clark Griswold" featuring Adrian Eagle, platinum single "Leave Me Lonely", and new single "Exit Sign" featuring Illy and Ecca Vandal.

References

  1. 1 2 Plouffe, Jim (20 July 2023). "MC Suffa on reaching the end of the hard road". CityMag. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  2. ↑ "Golden Era Records". Facebook. 6 May 2013. Retrieved 6 May 2013. Head over to Hilltop Hoods page and wish Suffa a Happy Birthday!
  3. ↑ "Golden Era Records". Twitter. 6 May 2013. Retrieved 6 May 2013. Happy Birthday Suff! @HilltopHoods
  4. 1 2 3 4 Chalmers, John (29 August 2002). "MC Suffa brings on the joints". inthemix.com.au. inthemix Pty Ltd. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  5. ↑ Kelton, Sam (8 March 2012). "Hilltop Hoods loving life above ground" . Retrieved 28 April 2013.
  6. ↑ Lambert, Matthew (2014). "The Hard Road Lyrics". Hilltop Hoods. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  7. ↑ "Suffa – Suffering City: Volume One". Discogs. 2013. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  8. ↑ dallaske420 (2 August 2009). "Suffa MC - Divine Intervention Part 3". YouTube. Google, Inc. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 23 February 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. ↑ Kenny, Stuart (12 May 2012). "FREE EP: Hilltop Hoods – The Good Life in the Sun". Brig newspaper.com. The University of Stirling. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  10. ↑ "Drapht - Salute ft: Suffa" (Music upload). Drapht on SoundCloud. SoundCloud. 20 February 2013. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  11. ↑ "Hilltop Hoods - Brainbox (feat. Drapht)" (Audio upload). Tom:.:SBD on SoundCloud. SoundCloud. 16 August 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  12. ↑ Shea, Matt (5 August 2014). "Hilltop Hoods: "Music is not a competition"". Faster Louder. Faster Louder Pty Ltd. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
  13. ↑ "Hilltop Hoods New Album 'Walking Under Stars'". Across The Ocean. 19 July 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
  14. ↑ "Walking Under Stars Hilltop Hoods". iTunes Preview. Apple Inc. August 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
  15. ↑ "K21 – Kid Sinatra EP". all aussie hip hop. Wordpress. 11 April 2013. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
  16. ↑ K21 (2 October 2014). "K21 - Change My Way Feat. Joy Sparkes (Produced by Suffa)" (Audio upload). Golden Era Records on SoundCloud. SoundCloud. Retrieved 7 October 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  17. ↑ krazybot (5 July 2012). "Funkoars - Bodycount feat. Hilltop Hoods (Suffa remix)". YouTube. Google, Inc. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  18. ↑ katemh (2007). "Mama - MC Suffa Remix" (Music upload). SoundCloud. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  19. ↑ "Episode Thirty-One". Spicks and Specks. ABC. 2011. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  20. ↑ Dooley, Scott; Lambert, Matt (26 July 2009). "BONUS BYTE - Dools and Suffa in Sale" (Video upload). triple J. ABC. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  21. ↑ "Suffa's boycott hits KFC". adelaidenow (originally from the Sunday Mail). 16 June 2007. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  22. ↑ Cashmere, Tim (14 June 2007). "Hilltop Hoods Frontman Joins PETA Campaign". Undercover. undercover.fm, A GoConnect Company. Archived from the original on 9 September 2009. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  23. ↑ Cashmere, Paul (28 July 2013). "Kevin Rudd Announces Announces National Office For Live Music". Noise11. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  24. ↑ Burke, Tony (28 July 2013). "Rudd Government backs Australian live music". Archived from the original on 19 August 2013. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  25. ↑ Vincent, Peter (28 July 2013). "Rudd boosts national live music scene". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  26. 1 2 Alley, Jonathan (2012). "Hilltop Hoods Remain Classic". Stack. Scribal Custom Pty Ltd. Archived from the original on 29 January 2013. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  27. 1 2 3 McCabe, Kathy (6 August 2014). "MC Pressure details son's cancer battle on Hilltop Hoods' Walking Under Stars – and it will make you cry". News.com.au. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  28. ↑ HELEN SOBOLEWSKI, ANTIMO IANNELLA (29 April 2012). "MC's has his proposal accepted". The Advertiser. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  29. ↑ HilltopHoods (11 May 2012). "Everyone tune in to Triple J this Monday night. Suffa will be taking over hostin…". AuHipHop.com. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  30. ↑ Suffa (14 May 2012). "Playlist: 14 May 2012". triple j. ABC. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  31. ↑ Wilson, Julee (7 April 2014). "Coogi Is Making A Comeback, Are You Ready To Start Rocking The Colorful Sweaters Again?". Huffington Post. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
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