Picture Peter Pan sporting a shaved head in a pair of sneakers dropping bookworm bravado. You have Defron.
Diagnosed with hearing loss at age five, the future rapper/ poet was forced to grow up quickly. In surviving five mastoid operations by the age of ten, followed by a bout with testicular cancer at age twenty, Defron escaped his routine of hospital visits by devouring comic books and music.
He then turned to the page where he became his own superhero. Flexing a penchant for syncopated vocal samples and multi-layered instrumentation, Defron’s anvil-dropping flow has been heard over melodic beat-scapes on Triple J and seen alongside the stage with OFWGKTA, Mantra, 360, Dylan Joel and Illy.
Evident on his debut EP, 'Invalid', Defron’s mature realism and conceptual style is told with youthful charm and inventive wordplay. With 'Invalid' freshly dropped, Defron shares five things you should never say to a rapper. “This may come as news to some people, but hip hop is no longer the underground movement it once was.
“The genre is now a staple of all music worldwide and rappers are just as common as guitarists and quinoa now. So the next time you spot a rapper in his natural habitat, here are five things you should definitely not say to them, for fear of scaring them off or just starting a good, old-fashioned beef."
1. “Yo, bust a freestyle!”
While some of us can freestyle, not all of us can. And that’s okay. What’s not okay is even if we can, meeting you at a mutual friend’s party with a beer in our hand as a blurry CD system plays Taylor Swift isn’t really the time or the place to do so.This is our vocation, and like a plumber or an electrician, we don’t have all our tools of the trade with us everywhere we go. No, that doesn’t mean I want you to start beat-boxing.
2. “But you’re white?”
Newsflash: nobody cares. Also, even if you haven’t heard of Eminem, 360, Yelawolf, Seth Sentry, Machine Gun Kelly, Allday or Macklemore we’re surprised you even know what rapping is in the first place.3. “Can I twerk in your videos?”
I’m sure you have the proficiency and ability to mimic what Miley Cyrus considers to be the incredibly complicated and athletic Jamaican dance technique, but it is my job to sadly inform you that just like all metal songs aren’t about Satan worshiping, neither are all hip hop songs a Sisqo meets Jason Derulo bootyfest.4. “So, are you like famous?”
Ah, the irony that you had to ask that. Are you being ironic or just a dick? But this one isn’t exclusive to just rappers. Even if you say you play acid-jazz-folk-pop somebody is going to assume the only reason for making music is fortune and fame.5. “Hey, you should write a rap about that!” *after saying something not remotely interesting*
Yeah, 'cause that’s how I get my inspiration. Forget spending hours of my day scouring my head for song ideas, I just go to cafes and train stations and pen verses based on overheard snippets of conversation. Damn it, that rhymed.'Invalid' is out now.
