Adelaide-born, Melbourne-based rapper, Allday (real name Tom Gaynor) had to start from the bottom, releasing his tracks online for free. “[When I first started, I didn’t have] many connections or no one wanted to sell me any beats or really wanted to work with me,” Allday says.
But by releasing a number of mixtapes and an EP, Allday was able to build a following, becoming one of the country’s hottest rappers. In July this year, Allday released his first album, ‘Startup Cult’, where it reached third position on the ARIA charts.
Allday admits that creating ‘Startup Cult’ was significantly different from working on his earlier EP and mixtapes. “It was intimidating because an EP is supposed to be a bunch of songs and an album is supposed to be more cohesive … We had studio sessions with producers and sounds we picked out one by one … So that’s how we did the album and that’s how it turned out. I felt like it represented me better.”
Interestingly enough, it has been the rise of social media and music sharing that has allowed Allday to express himself not only musically, but also on a personal level with his fans (having almost 144,000 likes on Facebook alone). “I am the exact same person in real life as I am on social media. Sometimes it's to my detriment or sometimes to my advantage. I'm not really triggered to filter myself so that parents are fine with what I say; if I want to talk about weed or whatever and all that. But I'm not a role model, I'm a rapper. I listened to Eminem when I was a kid and I didn't fucking put my girlfriend in the trunk of my car. I hate when mums [email] me and say, ‘don't talk like this!’ and I'm just like, ‘fuck off’.”
While most rappers would cite legendary MCs as an influence, Allday may surprise you with his influences “I used to love Silverchair growing up, [they’re] one of the most iconic Australian bands ... I like TLC [as well]. I like a lot of ‘90s R&B artists, they're definitely an influence to me.”
Ever since he’s utilised the internet to propel himself forward, Allday knows he’s been very fortunate with the success he has enjoyed. “It seems like a lot of people listen to rap at the moment in Australia, which is awesome. It's kind of lucky for someone like me as an artist who releases a solo record and it grows in popularity. So yeah, I feel like I'm making music in a lucky time. There are a lot of people who are doing cool music too.”
So what’s next for Allday? Could he follow in the footsteps of Iggy Azalea and invade the American market? “Yeah hopefully,” Allday says. “It's a big country and they come to Australia and we speak English. It would be sick, but I'm trying to focus on making good music and [for] it to sell itself.”
Written by Nicholas Ivanovic
Allday Tour Dates
Sat 24 Jan - OzFest @ Miami Tavern Shark Bar (Gold Coast)Sun 25 Jan - Ozfest @ Waterfront Hotel (Sunshine Coast)
Sat & Sun 20-21 Feb - Party In The Paddock (Burnscreek, Tasmania)
Sun 1 Mar - Good Life 2015 @ Royal Randwick Racecourse (Sydney)
Mon 2 Mar - Good Life 2015 @ HBF Arena, Joondalup (Perth)
Fri 6 Mar - Good Life 2015 @ Brisbane Showgrounds
Mon 9 Mar - Good Life 2015 @ Flemington Racecourse (Melbourne)
