It’s been a few years since Adelaide MC Prime showed us his skills, but his new release The Sweetest Victory Of All cements this diverse rapper as a voice to be reckoned with across the Hip Hop landscape. Blending solid production and effortless on point lyrics, this young MC keeps the bar raised high. From the battle scene, to recording with some top notch Aussie producers, to performing at Adelaide’s biggest New Years Eve concert, Prime’s sweetest victory is his continued presence as a formidable MC. Sarah Connor caught up with him to discuss the man behind the making of this highly anticipated release.
Tell me what you think you nailed on the head with this album?
Ha, good question. I dunno I guess just that I think I’ve got my own style and this was pretty much locked into that but I am also doing some new stuff as well. So I think my music is always just giving my side of things or my impression on things and I think I’ve done that again this time.
One of the things I picked up from your lyrics is the idea that artists are sometimes expected to drown out their skill or dumb it down. Do you ever feel a pressure to have to dumb it down or lower the level of your skill in order for success?
No. No I don’t. I don’t think its about that. I think people can still have commercial success and still have good lyrics. I think when you hear, often people think an artist he or they are trying to do something commercially, that’s generally not to do with lyrics its more to do with the sound. Yeah, I don’t agree with that. I think you can definitely still have songs that will appeal to a lot of deal of people that still have great lyrics.
Adelaide seems to be a hot spot for talent in Australian Hip Hop. What do you think has come together to make so many successful artists come out of there.
For people my age I think it’s just that there were heaps of influences when we were young. You had almost countless artists doing their thing. If we go back early 2000s when I was a teenager you had Certified Wise, Delta, basically you didn’t have to look far for inspiration. A lot of the artists that are my age, like Purpose, Dialect, Koolta or K21– we all sort of come up at the same time and I think that was directly influenced by the artists that existed before us.
Do you think there is anything particularly unique about the Adelaide Hip Hop scene? Have you been to other cities and do you come back and think there is anything special or unique in Adelaide?
I have been around. I think um, it’s a little bit different now. The hip hop scene when I was sort of coming up was a lot more, basically you’d have a lot more shows. You could pretty much guarantee every week there would be a show of some sort and that a large proportion of people would go to it. Now there’s not as many shows but where there are shows of artists who are doing their thing they’re probably bigger and all sorts of people there, where as before it was probably more like the scene people. I’m not even saying its a good or bad thing its just the way it is. In terms of other cities I think there is a lot of similarities in terms of the community part of it. That’s something you see everywhere I’ve been.
Your lyrics in the track November are “They watched him and provoked him and insisted he would fall and now he brings to you the sweetest victory of all.” In terms of your coming success, tell me about that victory. What is it, and what does it represent?
Ok the whole thing about The Sweetest Victory Of All (#TSVOA) is basically just still existing for this is still a victory for this. Because its been three years since I dropped the last thing and you know living life normally ,it can be difficult to keep finding the momentum to keep at it and do it to the best of your ability. The whole sort of survival of me as an artist is the victory.
Whose been instrumental in supporting you along the way over the last couple of years, who could you have not done it without?
The album wouldn’t exist with out Purpose. He has been absolutely vital in the recording and mixing side of it so yeah it wouldn’t exist at all without his help. Soulmate Records have made it possible as well. And just all the people who have contributed to the album. And just my friends as well for the support they give me and they keep pushing you along.
You’ve been up on the battle scene, what skills can you take from the battling scene and put into being a recording artist?
Not for a long time but I was when I was younger. Most of all, in the live aspect it helps because battles, you’ve gotta kinda work the room and that’s something you’re definitely gonna need. A lot of being an artist is about killing it live and having a show that people want to see and you can sort of learn those skills in the battle arena as well. As well as being good at the rapper side of things which doesn’t hurt, in battles ha ha. Definitely a cross over- but battles have changed heaps since I finished battling.
What do you think about the new kind of battle scene? A lot of seems to be going to written?
Yeah its all written now and its no beats. Battles are just their own world now. You see a bit of cross over between battles and music. And it was always a kind of stepping stone to music especially kinda of pre youtube when in order to get your name out there, that was the main way to do it.
You had to go to the battle to see it as well?
Which is why there was such a constant amount of shows because there were battles involved as well. As far as the new battles I actually didn’t watch them for a while but I’m kind of back into them now and I’m a fan. Its just different. Theres an emphasis on different stuff. It’s not about, its just separate from the music side of it. Speaking of youtube and the internet in general that’s whats propelled it to the new fan base- to millions of people watching battles now which was just not possible before.
What are you doing when you’re not rapping?
I like sport.
Do you like cricket?
I do like cricket it’s on in the background at the moment but I am primarily a soccer fan. I pretty much watch any sport.
You said on twitter it was amazing how one thing after another was falling into place since releasing track by track of your upcoming album, with so many more to go and I think you mentioned there’s 24?- what can fans expect?
Good question. I don’t even know what I’m supposed to expect. The amount of songs I referred to there was really two releases so I’ve already got heaps done for the next one. I kind of made em all in a bunch and we kind of made it from there. That tweet is about how when you haven’t released anything for so long you kind of just slip away and your off the radar as such and you kind of forget that there is an audience there. Just releasing one song, people are kind of like oh yeah this guy exists again and not just in a fan way but other ways as well. So yeah, it was just exciting to know that I am ahead of the 8 ball now and I’ve got product lined up for the next year or a bit. Where as previously I’ve just been putting stuff out as I’ve made it so if I don’t do anything for a while then I just disappear where as now I’m sort of set up.
Whats the plans for this release, will you be touring or offering anything else for fans to get amongst it?
Yeah I am definitely getting around early next year. Theres nothing locked in yet its just in the planning. But also with this release its digital only when it drops next Friday but we are also gonna have packs you can buy with the hard copy and the merch and also with my previous album Good Morning we want to put some hard copies of that in those packs as well because that was also an internet download project but there are heaps of people who want the copy. So we’re gonna put those in there as well.
What are your plans for New Years Eve?
I am actually playing a show. Me and DJ Sanchez from Adelaide entered this competition to play at the Adelaide New Years Eve Concert, 30 thousand people go. And we took it out so we’re playing on New Years Eve. I think its mostly bands and so we’re the only hip hop act. It was done through Fresh FM which is a radio station here which I have been on heaps of times and they like hip hop and RnB and Dance but it was judged by all sorts of people. We had to go to Channel 9 a few weeks ago. So I wasn’t surprised a hip hop act won’t it but I was surprised that I won it.
Catch Prime’s unreleased track November
The Sweetest Victory Of All out now digitally.
Buy it here: https://itunes.apple.com/au/album/sweetest-victory-all-bonus/id949057801
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PrimeIsHere
Twitter: @PrimeIsHere
Hashtag: #TSVOA