Freewyo is full of fresh tunes.
The Australian-South African rapper will embark on a national tour to promote his new ‘Way Too Fucking Dope’ EP. “Basically in 2015 it got to a point where music was a hobby,” Freewyo says.
“So I started to think ‘how can I make this a career?’ I’ve tried other jobs and stuff, been in a lot of trouble as a kid… so I did a business course and it was focused solely on my music and I started looking at myself more as a product. Even though I was passionate, ever since I pieced together a plan of what to do and to succeed everything [has] come together.”
Freewyo says he’s looking to spread the love when he goes on tour. “The show, to be honest, is looking almost like a theatre [show]. Sometimes artists just get up and perform their songs, but we’ve got a lot of scenes, a lot of intervals, a lot of things happening between each song. I wanted to add something different instead of being another rapper doing another show. I love how music can bring everyone together.”
A freestyle session with Australian rapper Filthy Fil highlights Freewyo's love of collaboration, with a song making the cut for Freewyo's new EP. “We had a freestyle session one day and we came up with five songs in about two and a half hours, just by freestyling.
“We said, 'you know what, that’s actually a catchy hook'. So we were in there just rapping and we said ‘let’s actually put this on a song’… And then I had the EP done about two days after that.
“But that started off from [freestyle sessions], [feeding] off the energy, and I said ‘you know what, you’re gonna be a great partner to have on the tour, you’d be a great energy to add to the tour’. That’s why [Filthy Fil] is coming along.”
Freewyo says his music is drawn from his personal experience of incarceration. “When I was a troubled kid I was locked up for a good four years, and… when you’re in a cell you’ve got nothing but a pen and paper pretty much. And so for me [music] was kind of like, I don’t know, I wouldn’t say saviour, because I’d be fine without it, but it was like a purpose.
“[The music] tells me what to write. And it’s all based off stuff I’ve seen… It’s a bit underground, it’s a bit raw, it’s a bit rebellious, but it’s just the stuff I’ve lived. I know there’s a lot of kids out there in the Aussie hip hop scene especially that have been craving a sound like this.
“I’m definitely not an angel. I do have my songs that are quite out there. But in the same sense as well I picture it as those kids who are going to be surrounded by all that gangster stuff like I was, this is the only way we can speak to them. I’ve also got motivational messages for their self-beliefs within those songs as well.
"So I find that even though a lot of the music appears to be very rugged, I can get some good messages in there. And apparently I do.”
Freewyo's new EP is available now.
Freewyo Tour Dates 2016
Thu 11 Aug - The Basement (Canberra)Fri 12 Aug - The Small Ballroom (Newcastle)
Sat 13 Aug - The Lab (Brisbane)
Sun 14 Aug - The Bald Faced Stag (Sydney)
Sat 20 Aug - Fowler's Live (Adelaide)
Sat 27 Aug - Gasometer (Melbourne)
Sat 3 Sep - YMCA HQ (Perth)
