Melissa Gibson, aka Lyrest, is an unsigned hip hop MC from Adelaide breathing new life into the local scene.
Since discovering the listening enjoyment of Tupac and Eminem in her early teens, Melissa has nurtured a driving ambition to become an established MC and is seeing her dream come to fruition with a determined, DIY ethos. “I’ve been writing lyrics since I was 14 and when I was 15 I made the name Lyrest for myself – it’s devised from the words ‘lyricist’ and ‘lyrics’,” Melissa explains.
“I [then] started trying to record. I used to use eJay then I found Fruity Loops and Reaper when I was 18 and started recording. Now I’ve been performing for the past three years in Adelaide.”
A strong aspect of Melissa's music is her sense of community spirit, which she uses to promote a positive outlook with her hip hop. “I don’t really get into [rap] battles that much, it’s the only thing I don’t really do because I think it’s a little degrading,” she says.
“I’m doing youth work as well at the moment, so I do a lot of all-ages events, like City Of Mics and I also do a lot of local events with my community centre, like an event called Art Of Rhyme.
“We do a lot of topic battles instead, where you pull a word or topic out of a hat, like ‘ocean’. You then have to rhyme everything to do with the sea. That’s the type of battles I get into.”
As a community worker and an MC, Melissa is acutely aware of the influential power lyrics can have and makes a conscious effort to ensure her music is sending the right message. “I’ve got quite a few songs that don’t actually have swearing in them so I take most of them and perform them or I can change lyrics… I’ve watched how people can easily change their lyrics and I’ve done it as well on the mixtape.
“So I’ve released an LP version of my songs then gone back and done radio edits of my songs. I have to be very mindful about what I perform when I’m in front of a community, in front of people who are under 18, because I don’t want to warp their minds too much.”
Melissa will perform as Lyrest at the aforementioned City Of Mics event, which is open to all ages.
For Melissa, it’s an opportunity to not only show off her skills on the mic, but to keep building the sense of community and family she feels defines the Adelaide hip hop scene. “I’m expecting to have a pretty good night,” she says.
“I know the stage is good, all the lighting is good and all the sound quality will be great, so I’m looking forward to a really good night. I’m looking forward to a good turnout and I’m hoping my stepson comes with me because it’ll be awesome to have my family there.”
Lyrest performs at City Of Mics 23 January at Colonel Light Hotel.
