“Everywhere in the North [of Brisbane] is like a little bit dodgy, and I kinda like that. It’s like… it’s so adlay; it’s so street,” Sidney Phillips says with a chuckle. “I love Morayfield, I love walking around outside with the trees and shit. Having a chop in the woods. Feel at one with the land. It’s all really nice.”
Sidney Phillips is from the Northside of Brisbane, but she is also from The Internet. On her latest album I’m So Tired Of Being Staunchly, Sidney has made an “adlay pluggnb” album, which feels as inspired by the Internet and all the cloud rap and digicore and plugg music (and memes and forums and video games) which it’s hosted, as it was inspired by Sidney’s everyday life experiences as a 19 year old trans adlay living in Morayfield. Across Staunchly, Sidney vents about depression, suicidal ideation, police harassment, benzo addiction, self-harm and relationships. These topics appear alongside an abundance of outrageous threats, love for her mates, bars about smoking cones, racking, catching the train and references to adlay fashion, TV shows and staples of Gen Z life like Minecraft, Fortnite, IGET vapes and Telegram.
In the current Australian landscape, there are many ‘Internet’ or SoundCloud rappers who are so overwhelmingly derivative of the sound, style, cadence and/or subject matter of one or more American rappers that you’re left wondering why you wouldn’t just listen to the original instead. Sidney stands out by using her eclectic influences to shape her own sound and showcase her own personality, fascinations and way of speaking. During our hour-long chat on Zoom back in April, Sidney put it simply:
“I like to make it Aussie and I sing in the Aussie accent. I like talking about Commodores and cones, and other such Australian things.”
Her last album To Live And Die On The Northside had more of a traditional sound, channeling the spirit of Madvillainy alongside Canberra producer Chazaiya, who provided the smooth, sample-based beats which Sidney complements with her loose, earnest style and quirky adlay flavour. Though the two have been friends ever since Chazaiya found a post of one of Sidney’s early lo-fi hip-hop beats and reached out to her in 2017, they’ve never met in person, instead making the album by exchanging files online.
It’s an example of how much the Internet influences Sidney’s creative process and also an example of how Sidney tries to “do something new” with every album. “They’re harder to write,” Sidney says about the more traditional rap songs with Chazaiya, “like, I always feel like there needs to be some poetry, right? But on my new album, when you’re doing melodic music, you can be a bit more silly. A bit goofy. I still love doing the old-school rap stuff, but I guess that was just what I was feeling at the time. Singing music, lots of hooks, catchy, you know?”
A longtime fan of artists like Bladee and Yung Lean, Sidney had always wanted to make “internet melodic rap music” but just hadn’t figured out how to use autotune on her laptop. Once she unlocked that ability, she was able to make the sort of music she’d always wanted, with some help from the talented roster of producers in her group, stealthyn00b. Also contributing to the sound of the album, Sidney says, was her burgeoning xanax use. “It kinda just like fucked me life a bit,” Sidney laughs, “so you can tell some of the songs are a bit like crazy, bit spacey, bit sad. But yeah, I’m coming out on the other side now. Feels good. Chillin out. ”
Sidney is a member of stealthyn00b, an eight-strong collective of Brisbane musicians which formed on a Discord server in 2021. They all tend to make what some would call ‘Internet music’ – not hyperpop per se, but music that grows out of communities that interact over the Internet and quite often sounds hyper and digital, with vocals filtered and pitch-shifted to the high heavens.
Sidney and fellow member lil ket made a lil splash with their Lil Peep-esque collab Backwoods In The Woods in 2022 and have been riding that lil bit of momentum ever since as more of the country has taken notice. They’ve gotten the call up to support names like 1300, Bayang Tha Bushranger and DoloRRes, performed at Ninajirachi’s Dark Crystal events in Sydney and Melbourne and ventured south through the tunnels of the Australian rap underground to work with Teether, Kuya Neil and Ryan Fennis on Roll With Me.
lil ket’s appearances on Staunchly affirm the strength of their partnership, especially Baccy Cones In A Holden, where the pair trade catchy, pitched-up hooks over a sombre, skittering beat from stealthyn00b’s own ggabriel. ggabriel contributed almost half of the beats on Staunchly and other members Twinlite, luvlxckdwn and JX333 all pitch in a beat too. Each contribute to the album’s cohesive sound which, with a heap of dreamy synth pads and swirly arppegiators, feels ethereal but in a sugary-sweet, cutesy, internet way (with the occasional sonic detour, like the Chief Keef-evoking, balls-to-the-wall banger 5 A4s In My Nikes).
Plenty of post-Huskii Australian gutter rap could be described as ‘emo’, but Sidney, whose first true musical loves were the likes of Fall-Out Boy and My Chemical Romance, is, like many artists of her generation, giving her own spin on the angst-filled singing of actual emo, post-hardcore and pop punk music – in this case a kind of goofy Aus rap spin which also blends in the irreverent styles of Chief Keef, Kerser and Lil B.
Sidney seems to delight in these cultural fusions. Her music maintains a balance of cute and hard – of stereotypical Aussie blokiness and uninhibited e-girliness. She’s making music that is bubbly, pretty and vulnerable while also sitting firmly within the tradition of Australian street rap where you try to be as tough, grimy and gutter as possible. She takes her angst and her petulant aggression to cartoonish extremes, mythologises the persona and the world of Sidney P, but ultimately doesn’t take herself too seriously and balances it with humility, humor and matter-of-factness, e.g. “They like Sidney you so staunchly, you so cute/I just kick back, make tracks, punch beugs.” She has a way of writing that makes things feel mundane and everyday, yet has a melodic flair and wildness to her voice that can make a line like Effy’s “Cops search me think I look ratty/I’m just trying to get high and be happy” feel so dramatic and moving. Ultimately, Sidney favours sincerity, fun, individuality and catharsis over irony or disaffected coolness – a template that more Australians should follow when borrowing sounds from abroad.
One particular cultural fusion which seems to delight Sidney most is her embodiment of the trans adlay. “I wanna be sorta like an inspiration, you know? Like I want people to see me and be like, aw this cunt, like, can wear make up, and can wear skirts and still be a sick cunt and still be a staunch cunt.” Trans people are victims of a disproportionately high amount of violence and, for many trans people, they feel unsafe just walking around. Lads or eshays, however, at least in the popular imagination are more likely to be the ones someone is afraid of while walking through a train station. On Sick Kunt, when Sidney boasts that she can walk through the train station and know that no one can fuck with her, it feels like a self-assured shrug in the face of transphobia and a refusal to be defined by victimhood. On Baccy Cones In A Holden, in a textbook moment of Sidney simplicity, she raps “I’m transgender but I can fight!” One begins to see why Sidney might feel the persistent, exhausting need to stay ‘staunchly’, but it’s not really her style to spell it out like that.
“Black eyeliner, black TNs/You don’t wanna cross me I’m a mean cunt”
Sidney Phillips, Wizard (2023)
Since releasing Staunchly, Sidney has released a deluxe edition of the album, many a loosie and collab, and more recently a collaborative EP with Bootleg Baby and another EP with Lil Ket and Eko Atari.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
So, you mentioned Bladee and Yung Lean, who were the other artists that you were inspired by on this project?
Aw shit, Chief Keef, a big one, of course, for all the like Chicago drill sorta sounding songs. Chief Keef, Bladee, fuckin… well I’ve got so many influences but that’s mostly what I be listening to. And Kanye West’s music always had a big impact on me. I think those are the big three ones. Aw, Kerser is a big one, like as far as like the adlay lyricism goes. That’s a big thing I love about Kerser is that he’s not ashamed to be himself. He’ll talk about being broke, he’ll talk about how he used to smoke ice, and just like ‘I’m a sick cunt’, you know?
Yeah, he’s a big character.
Yeah, big character, that’s what I want. Those are the big ones. Bladee, with the mysticism and the kinda like beautiful sounding melodic music. I feel like he made a whole new sound. All of Drain Gang. Aw, and Summrs, I guess, for like the plugg shit. I love Summrs; I was listening to a lot of Summrs when I made the tape. That’s what made me wanna get on plugg.
5 A4s In My Nikes, that song to me is Sosa Phillips.
[laughs] Yeah. Sosa Phillips, fucking oath man. I don’t wanna bite him too hard, but it’s like, you can’t really not bite Chief Keef if you’re hopping on the Chicago beats. [shrugs] I like Chief Keef cause he’s so himself, and he doesn’t give a fuck. And yeah, like 5 A4s In My Nikes, that’s kinda what I was going for. Ignorant, you know, and just dope. That’s the point that I was at in my life.
So, when did you start making music and when did you start releasing music?
So the first, like, anything that you could call music, I guess, was in 2015, I found out about vaporwave. And I was like ‘Brooo, this is mad’. I was like 12. I didn’t really know nothing about nothing. My first ever drop was this vaporwave EP in like January 2016 or something, and then I started making like [air quotes] ‘lo-fi hip-hop’. So like, J-Dilla-inspired type shit. My old producer name was ‘Mariotti’ [laughs]. If you go on the Sidney Phillips Bandcamp, all those old tapes are still up. And then, basically, I kept making beats and that for a good two years and I was like, there’s not really much traction, and I was like, I wanna be an artist. I wanna connect to people and there’s only so much you can do with instrumental music. So I was like, I wanna start rapping or singing on some shit. So, that’s when I started Sidney Phillips, and that was in like mid-2018. Almost 5 years now, which is really weird. So, I’m only 19. [laughs] (E: Sidney turned 20 in July.)
Were you always into music from a young age?
Not really. I really had low interest in music until probably like grade 5. When I was like ten or eleven, I started getting into Daft Punk and Skrillex and that sort of shit. Then I got into like Fallout Boy and My Chemical Romance in grade six. I’d say since like grade six, music’s been my main interest. I used to be really into video games, and then I switched [laughs].
There is sort of a gamer vibe, like an undercurrent. Like ‘stealthyn00b’, obviously.
Yeah, stealthyn00b. Oi, the story behind the name, right, we got it off an Xbox gamertag generator [laughs]. No joke, we were like brooo, that’s the one. It’s such a goofy name, bro. But yeah my mate JX333 from the group is always dropping like Call of Duty lines and shit. I love that sort of stuff.
So, tell me about stealthyn00b. What is it, who is in it and how did you guys all come together?
So, stealthyn00b is a music collective, mainly, with artists from Brisbane. Right now, we have eight members, which is: me, lil ket, Skratcha, twinlite, jx333, ggabriel, Aless K, and luvlxckdown. So that’s the eight of us right now. We’ve had a bunch of people come and go over the time, but the group started like March/April 2021. How it came about, one of my other mates who makes music made a Discord server for his music, and we all make music so we’re just like “let’s make a collective”. And then that Discord server got changed to the stealthyn00b discord server, and that’s where we are. Out of the eight people, only three of them have been there from the start. It’s like me, twinlite and luvlxckdown. It used to be a bit like, if I had a mate that made music, I’d be like, “Aw guys can we add old mate to stealthyn00b?” But now we’re a bit bigger, it’s a bit, like, close. So, Aless K joined a bit after, jx333 joined a bit after, and then lil ket and then Skratcha.
How it actually started out, my mate was like we should make a SoundCloud account and just give the login to a bunch of people and everybody just posts music just under the name ‘stealthyn00b’, like it’s anonymous. So, like twenty people were stealthyn00b at the start. I think a few months later I was like, fuck all these other cunts that don’t talk to us, let’s make us the group and get focused, and we should make an album. And that’s when we started the YouTube page, started posting videos.
It was mostly produced by stealthyn00b members, right, Staunchly? Where were you recording at?
Just at home mostly. Just in my room, where I’m at right now. There’s a couple tracks on there that I recorded at lil ket’s house, at his home – just in his room. [laughs] I won’t even call it a home studio, you know, but it’s like, it’s basically a home studio. I’m not gonna book out studio time, man. That’s money I’m not getting back for a long time. [laughs] DIY I think is the way, while I’m a small artist.
Do you feel like there’s a strong scene happening in Brisbane or developing in North Brisbane? Or, is it more on the internet?
Mmm I’d say right now, like, as far as this sort of music in Brisbane, the scene’s like so dead. There’s this Sidechains club in Brisbane called ‘Club Immaterial’, and they put on events with hyperpop sorta shit, I guess you could say. As far as Brisbane artists making this sort of music, all I can really think of is me and my mates.
I’d really wanna do like a stealthyN00b show that we put on and do every now and then, to have a community following. ‘Cause you can get really big on the internet but nobody in your city knows who you are. Like, luvlxckdown from our group, he had this one track blow up like crazy on Soundcloud and Spotify. And it’s got like 4 millions plays on Spotify, he’s still got like 40 thousand monthly listeners, but he could walk through the CBD and nobody would be like “You’re luvlxckdown!” I like keeping a sorta Aussie focus. Cause that’s where it’s gonna be easiest for me to play shows, you know? Like, in Brisbane, and in Australia.
It would be good to blow up in America or something but that’s not really what I’m aiming for, and if I was trynna aim for that, I would probably be making different sorta music. Like, some Kid Laroi [laughs], you know? There’s so many Aussie rappers that just really wanna be big rappers in America. And that’s the dream, they wanna blow up and move to L.A., but that’s not my thing. Like, I love Australia [laughs]. I love this land. I like how we have so much unique shit, like adlay culture, you know? So I like talking about shit like that in my music. Like Jisoe, graff and shit like that. Nobody really outside of the country really knows about, but I feel so prideful about it – like, this is my thing. It would be cool to show it to the rest of the world but yeah I’m not trying to move to LA anytime soon. [laughs] I feel like those cunts wouldn’t get it.
So, I’ve never been to North Brisbane, and I don’t really know anything about North Brisbane other than Morayfield…
[laughs] Where I’m at right now, bro. 4506, bro.
Yeah, Eagle Junction, just shit I’ve heard in your music. What’s it like growing up in North Brisbane? What do you think makes it unique?
Everywhere in the North is a little bit like dodgy, and I kinda like that. It’s like, it’s so adlay; it’s so street [laughs]. Morayfield’s a pretty sketchy area. I live in a nicer house though, thank God. Shout out to my Dad [laughs]. Caboolture’s the next suburb up and they’re like, I think it’s like most people on the dole in all of Queensland or something. Like, crazy drug issues, and you know, it’s sad. It’s not good. But like, I don’t know, it’s real. That’s what I like about it. It’s real. It’s real, like, gutter, I guess [laughs]. It’s dope. Yeah, but I love Morayfield, I love walking around outside with the trees and shit. Having a chop in the woods. Feel at one with the land. It’s all really nice, yeah, and you meet a lot of interesting characters in North Brisbane [laughs].
So, I listen to your music and you reference so much different stuff, even going back to Dart, you’re rapping about being in heaven with Lenin and laughing at the dead capitalists.
(singing her song) and we don’t give a shit! [laughs]
And then you’re rapping about Bjork and Prodigy – not that they’re that obscure – but you just seem very eclectic when you listen to your music. Were you exposed to so much different stuff from the internet, basically, or were there IRL influences that were exposing you to that?
Yeah nah, so I was a total, like, rateyourmusic, /mu/ kid [laughs] and I was listening to all different types of shit. Especially when I was like 14/15, I was listening to stuff like that, like Bjork, and fuckin’ shit like Joy Division, Weezer, Radiohead and all those sorts of bands. Godspeed, You Black emperor. Shit like that.
Yeah, the Lenin line, I’m talking about Vladimir Lenin, right, cause I was real into– like, I still identify as a communist, but, when I was writing Dart, I was still in school and I did philosophy in school so I had communism on the mind a lot. So, there’s so much like Marxist bars. But cunt I love The Beatles too, yeah, I fucking love The Beatles. Gotta love The Beatles.
But yeah I love talking about, like on Effy I’m talking about all my favourite TV shows and shit. ‘Cause I’m basically like, how do I make a song that I want to listen to. So, when I go to a write a song, I like writing about shit that I like. So, like, the thing I like about Effy is like, I’m talking about Skins and The Big Lez Show and The Sopranos and like relating it to how I feel. That’s a thing I seem to do a lot. Like, when I’m watching something, I’m like broo, I’m just like this cunt. This is exactly like what I’m going through right now. So it’s like ‘I feel like Tony Soprano/fake cunts round me wherever I go.’ So yeah, I always love talking about different shit. And it’s like, no rappers are talking about listening to Bjork – Post [laughs]. No rappers are talking about Morayfield. So yeah, when I’m writing I always want it to be like, me, you know? Me. Like, I could write some generic shit or I could write about shit that I don’t do, but, why would I? But lots of cunts do do that. I’m not talking about guns [laughs]. I don’t shoot guns. Never have.
So, on that, what do you think rap in Australia is missing right now?
I think it’s cool that there’s a bit of like an underground scene coming up. Like, trying new different types of music. Like, you see cunts like Scan and SUS1ER and Bootleg Baby, doing Internet sorta music. So I wish there was a bit more of that but yeah, I love good old Aussie rap. Like, I love Kerser; I don’t really like ChillinIt, no more.
I think what cunts really need to do is get on better beats, ‘cause a lotta the beats you hear cunts hopping on are not that good. That’s Kerser’s biggest problem, his beat selection [laughs]. I showed my mate Bad Habits, he was like “Brah, this sounds like a royalty free piano beat”. Fuck you, man! You don’t get it, bro. Like, the real appeal to Kerser is his lyrics, how real he is, and his image as well.
But I feel like, yeah, more cool beats, more individuality and originality. Cause a lotta cunts just wanna sound like someone else. Once Kid Laroi popped off, it’s like you got a million cunts that wanna be the next Kid Laroi. But you really shouldn’t want to be the next somebody, I think. You should want to be you, and you gotta be able to sell you. You’ve gotta be able to stand up on your own, you know what I mean? Like, I have a bit of a problem with people that use, like, American accents. I can not listen to a rap song, especially a rap song, if the Australian bloke is rapping in an American accent.
That’s part of what makes your music so special, it’s adapting those sounds and you’re using your natural voice.
Yeah, that’s an important thing for my music, I reckon. ‘Cause yeah, some people can make the American accent sound sweet, but I feel like it takes away a bit of the individuality, you know? I want my verses to be like ‘Aw, that’s a Sidney Phillips verse’. Like, talking about my life. ‘Cause that is what makes it unique and that’s what makes good art, in my opinion. Or, like, art that I like.
I was wondering who are your other favourite artists right now? What are you listening to from Australia or just like all over the place?
Shit, I’ll pull up my Last FM real quick. What have I been listening to in the past month? Aw, I really love Elcammgguod, this rapper from Scotland, and he’s linked up with Bootleg Baby.
I’ve been listening to Kanye, Drake. I really love Drake [laughs]. People hate on Drake but like, he’s a good album artist. He’s got solid albums. Okay, I listened to The Beatles. Lil B. Aw, Lil B, bro.
I was gonna ask you about Lil B.
I can’t believe I forgot to mention Lil B. Like, bro, I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Lil B. I think a lot of rappers wouldn’t be doing what they’re doing if it wasn’t for Lil B. Cause he’s like… I dunno if he’s the first internet rapper but he was like the first to be silly and like– but still dope, you know? And so I feel like Lil Uzi, Lil Yachty. All those like colourful characters, they wouldn’t be there if it wasn’t for Lil B. I wouldn’t be making silly music if it wasn’t for Lil B neither.
Bladee, Ecco2k, Nas. Nas is like my biggest– like Illmatic was my biggest influence for Northside, that album. I really love– I have this mate, his rap name’s Eugene Deluxe, and he hasn’t been dropping for a bit, but fuckkk. He’s so good, like Jesus Christ. That’s my favourite rapper from Brisbane, probably.
What do you think are some of the non-rap or non-music things that influence you and your music?
Aw, fuckin, definitely, like I watch so much TV. I’ve watched Sopranos twice through in like the past year. I watch Breaking Bad a lot. I’ve been watching Succession. That shit’s mad.
Yeah, dude.
TV shows really influence me. I like shit that makes you think and yeah, I always be like relating it to my own life. Like, I feel like so-and-so and I’m just like so-and-so. And that’s like, I guess that comes from Lil B a bit, man. Like, he’s Paris Hilton. [rapping Lil B lyrics] “Bitch I’m Bill Clinton, fucking all these women”. Then just like life, in general, that’s where I get all my inspiration from. I usually think about like what’s going on in my life, what am I stressing about, what’s getting me down.
Who do you relate to in Succession?
Bruh, I am Kendall, bro. I swear bro, I’m just like Kendall. Nah, just like drug shit. I also feel a bit like Roman ‘cause he’s a bit dumb. I feel a bit dumb sometimes [laughs]. But yeah, Kendall’s my guy bro. He tries and tries, and his addiction gets the best of him some times and that’s like me. But yeah, fucking good show aye. I wrote a line about ‘I feel like Kendall’.
[singing] Cunt, I’m Kendall.
I said… aw yeah, fucking South Park. I watch so much South Park. I made a song about my life’s like South Park, but I haven’t dropped that one yet [laughs]. [E: It has since been released.] ‘Why I feel like towelie, why I feel like Kendall, I’ve been going mental, bricks that laced with fentanyl’. [laughs]
Ooft.
BARS!
Keen for that. Well, I wanted to ask you– there’s been some shit, like basically Spanian’s Instagram posts, which really brought to light how prevalent anti-LGBT bigotry still is in the Australian rap scene. Is that something you think about much as a queer artist who’s starting to come up and get more in the spotlight?
Yeah, definitely. Yeah, nah, well I’ve always sorta struggled with being able to feel comfortable. Like, presenting more feminine and being a bit of a gay cunt. Because hip-hop is so traditionally, overtly masculine– and I love it for that. But yeah, at first, I was like I’m not gonna be talking about none of that shit in my music. Like, Northside, there’s not that much, like, talking about transgenderness. I was more just trying to be a hard cunt, but you can’t be a hard cunt all the time, and I got a bit tired of being staunchly [both laugh].
‘Cause like going through high school as someone that’s not straight, like, I never told none of my friends about any of that shit. I just acted like a bloke, you know? ‘Cause that’s what I felt like I felt most comfortable doing, I guess. It’s scary being at school as a gay kid, ‘cause cunts are gonna pick on you. So, I kept it a big secret, and then after I finished school I was like who really gives a fuck – I’mma be me.
And yeah, I was like, man, I’m like trans, right, and I’m like a bit fruity. I can’t be ashamed of that. Like, it’s a part of me so I’ll make it a part of my music, you know? And anybody that don’t fuck with it can fuck off. But yeah, I’ve had some nasty comments from like– aww, I had like a little bit of beef with this one cunt and all of his mates. They were sending me like sort of homophobic shit, and I’m like maannn. Yeah, it’s still prevalent in today’s society. I can’t go out in a dress feeling like safe, you know, like dressing how I want.
The Spanian thing really disappointed me hectic though. Like, hardcore though. Cause I always… like, once Spanian became popular, I got really into following him. I would watch all the Hood Logics, all the Hood Talks, listen to everything this cunt had to say. Like, bro this cunt is spittin’. Like, aw man, one time Spanian said that the only two real, like, Australian-born cultures are like Aboriginal Australian culture and adlay culture. And I’m like fucking oath bro. I was like brah, these middle-upper-class cunts ain’t got no culture, aye [laughs]. Spanian made another video about, like, the cool guy contest, which is like when two adlays see each other, they’re like eyeing each other out like, aw, you’ll look away first. Like, aw, I’m tougher than you. But you should think about like, this cunt is in the same area as you, wearing the same clothes as you, probably listens to the same music as you. Like, that’s your brother. Like, why you gotta feel like you gotta be the top cunt? Why you gotta start fights? And I was like that’s so true, man. Like, I always thought he was on some positive shit. But it seems like lately, he’s just on that Andrew Tate shit, bro. I don’t know. It’s like something switched. But yeah, that was really disappointing, I had to unfollow Spanian.
I still love the cunt. I’d like to think he doesn’t have anything personal against LGBT people, but like ehh, some of the shit he was saying, man, made me so sad. It was like Kanye with the anti-semitic shit, it’s just like brooo. You’re my idol, man. Why you gotta do this to me, bro? But yeah, nah, yeah homophobia’s still a thing. I feel, yeah, cunts will hate on a agfay rapper, but other cunts will love an agfay rapper. Like, Brockhampton, that was a big thing. Cause Kevin Abstract, that cunt was rapping about being gay and sucking dick and shit, and it’s toughhh. He has a line, it’s like, “Why you always rap bout being gay?/Cause not enough n-words rap and be gay” [laughs]. And I’m like, bro, that’s so true, man. And I wanna be… like, I don’t wanna be a role model, but like, there’s so many trans teenagers. You know, people that are struggling with their identity, people that feel like they need to act tough when they’re actually not that tough, and I wanna be sorta like an inspiration, you know? Like I want people to see me and be like, aw this cunt, like, can wear make up, and can wear skirts and still be a sick cunt and still be a staunch cunt. So, it’s important to me. And it’s important that I stay true to myself.
Yeah and I have no doubt that you are an inspiration. But it’s like you say, it’s just hard.
It’s different.
Yeah and it’s building up this really interesting character.
I’m a trans adlay, make-up and a skirt/I’ve been pulling cones all day, now my lungs hurt
[both laugh]
Hard, hard.
Yeah bro, uniqueness. I feel like I’m a bit of like – not to like toot my own horn or nuttin – but yeah I feel like I’m a bit of a niche cunt. I’m a bit of a unique donnie [laughs]. But people fuck with it.
Alright, it’s getting to the end. Do you have a favourite or a couple favourite music-related memories of like the last 12 months? Anything that comes to mind?
Aw, there’s a lot really. The week I was in Sydney was so mad. It was me and lil ket. Getting to meet so many Sydney musicians. DoloRRes from Melbourne was up in Sydney, so I met DoloRRes. Yeah, got to meet Bayang. Got to meet Connor – Wildlife. Fucking, Nerdie from 1300. So yeah, like, if we didn’t meet Nerdie, I don’t think we’d be opening for 1300 so yeah, bro that’s mad.
Another one’s like, first time that all of stealthyn00b went over to lil ket’s house, cause he lives in a big share house near the city. So he just invited all the cunts over and it was like a good six of us or something, just all making music. Those are my favourite moments, when it’s all the dudes [laughs]. The whole group, coming together, making some shit. Those are my favourite.
Aw yeah, and my first gig. My first gig was really mad. [laughs] My first gig I was really excited. That’s a highlight.
What’s a stealthyn00b show like?
Aww a stealthyn00b show, always packed– naahh. All the shows that we’ve done where it’s been me and ket, it’s just so good man. I swear that cunt’s a born performer. Like, I feel like I have to work a little bit harder to get in the zone but I don’t know, something about lil ket, man. He’s a born star, bro. Even when we rehearse, even if it’s just like three of us in the room, he’ll be playing it like there’s like a thousand people in the room. He’ll put in like full energy. But yeah, stealthyn00b shows go hard. When me and lil ket do Tommy Polo, when we do Backwoods In The Woods, crowd goes wild [laughs].
Yeah, I love doing Morayfield Mode too, cause that’s like, cunts know the lyrics to that one. So I guess my new big song to play will be Effy.
That’d surely go off.
Yeah that’s the one that cunts will know. Suuurely. I’m keen to play that.
Is there anything else you want to say as far as what you got coming, what you’re trying to do this year?
Awww, so in the works right now, like my main project that I’m trying to focus on is another Sidney and Chazaiya album. So like a little sequel. Cause I was like really proud of that album when it came out. But you know, I was like freshly 18 and, I’ve lived a lotta– aw, not a lot of life, but I’ve lived a bit more life. I feel like I could do it so much better if I did it now. So that’s the go, I wanna make Northside but better and more dope. Then, me and lil et wanna do a collab tape this year. That’s happening. And then, there’s also gonna be like a little EP dropping in a couple months that’s like me, lil ket and EKO ATARI, who’s– I don’t know if you know about her, but she’s an artist from Sydney that we met at the gig we played.
Dope.
She’s pretty dope. And it’s just like three pluggnb songs. Me, lil ket, EKO. But it’s gonna be dope. [E: The EP has since been released.] Music videos… on music videos on music videos. But yeah, I wanna start making country music, man [laughs]. I just wanna try a bunch of different shit. But yeah that’s the go. And yeah, stealthyn00b. The movement. The community. The world. Tysn. Yeah [laughs].
Thank you stealthyn00b.
Thank you stealthyn00b. What can I say? Thank you stealthyn00b.