"Our live shows get the crowd moving!"
Get to know Sneakerheads, Footscray's G-Funk trio paying homage to legendary producers such as Dr Dre, DJ Battlecat and DJ Quik. We chatted to Sneakerheads about all things Aussie hip-hop and the local music community.
So tell us about yourselves!
We are a Western suburbs based hip hop group consisting of one emcee (Al-flex), one emcee/producer (Vision) and one talkbox vocalist/ producer (Mellow Sea). We enjoy creating light hearted and party style hip hop so our live shows can get the crowd moving. We love Footscray, hip hop and G-funk music!
Congratulations on dropping your debut album! What was the process like?
It was a pretty long process actually. We released our debut self titled album ‘Sneakerheads’ in late 2019. A few of the tracks were a number of years old, some were written and finished closer to the album release date. We prefer to write lyrics about what we know and we strongly encourage you to check out our latest animated video clip ‘Shoeshine’ on social media by following @wearethesneakerheads or typing ‘Sneakerheads Shoeshine’ into YouTube.
There are many hip-hop scenes in Australia that are still yet to infiltrate mainstream airwaves. Do you find you have to look outwards to other countries (eg: the US) for inspiration?
When we first started rapping, we were heavily influenced by Aussie hip hop groups such as Hilltop Hoods, TZU and Form of Audio so we didn’t have to look overseas for inspiration. That being said, it was impossible to avoid hip hop in the 90s when we were old enough to appreciate it so of course that played a role too. After all, who can resist a melodic Nate Dogg hook?
Who are your favorite West-based artists at the moment?
Definitely Yaw Faso. He combines the hip hop and dancehall genres so well and we feel blessed to know him. We’re thankful that we have collaborated with him in the past as well!
What’s your advice for budding hip-hop artists growing up in the Western suburbs?
Quality beat choice is really important, if you have well constructed lyrics but the beat is ordinary then the chances are higher that the listener might not stay engaged for as long. Ultra serious vibes and low BPM beats don’t always translate into solid live tracks too.
What has your experience been like growing up in the Western suburbs? Do you feel it has influenced the way you make music?
We feel like growing up in the West has given us very down to earth personalities. We are proud to say that we’ve organised many successful hip hop gigs at places like Pride of our Footscray, The Reverence (RIP), The Night Heron (RIP) and The Mersh just to name a few. When you walk around the streets of the west there is so much material on offer so many of the tracks we have written have reflected what we see.