Sydney rapper Lanstan recently released his new single 'Trophy'.
It follows the 21 year old's earlier 2020 release 'Blueprint' and continues his introspective songwriting weaved in-between modern hip hop influences."I usually begin writing any song with one, stand-alone melody. I feel like within any instrumental there is only one perfect melody and my first task is always to find it," Lanstan says.
"Once I've found it, the rest of the song seems to build itself naturally around it.
"With 'Trophy' I heard the melody instantly and sang it out loud during my first listen of the beat. The entrancingly rhythmic flute and guitars seemed to tell a story of pain and struggle, but at the same time felt victorious."
With close to 300k monthly listeners on Spotify and more new music on the way, Lanstan reflects on what has been a turbulent year listing five 2020 moments that deserve their own trophy.
"2020 hasn't been a great year. Outside of climate change getting much worse, we also had a global pandemic break out.
"But let's not focus on that; here are five moments in 2020 that deserve a trophy!"
1: Africa eradicated polio
At one point in time, 75,000 children in Africa suffered from poliovirus. Now in 2020, it has officially been declared eradicated. That's pretty cool if you ask me!2: Kanye West pissed on a Grammy and exposed the music industry
While some people may not view Kanye urinating on a Grammy as one of the greatest moments of the year, I personally see it as a big win for artists.The video came during a tweeting frenzy that involved Ye posting his entire contract page by page and announcing he's on a mission to restructure the way deals are made between artists and major labels.
This could be a huge turning point in the way the record contracts work moving forward. Also, it's hilarious.
3: Costa Rica legalised same sex marriage
The world has come a long way since The Netherlands became the first country to legalise same-sex marriage in 2001. Now Costa Rica has joined the club, making 29 countries in total. Hopefully the rest of the world can catch up soon.4: The Kid Laroi dropped his debut project
Having watched Laroi's come up from local buzz to international superstar has been pretty incredible, especially as an artist in a similar lane from Sydney.Now, after years of hype and Instagram snippets, we finally have a full-length project to listen to. Hopefully this sheds some light on the thriving hip hop scene here in Australia.
5: Tiger King blessed Netflix
While everyone was trapped in lockdown for months, we were at least blessed with some quality TV. 'Tiger King' was one of the most entertaining things to hit our screens in a long time and gave birth to heaps of hilarious Carole Baskin memes.
