The Australian music scene is vibrant in many strengths although, what is most commonly brought to notice is the flourishing electronic music arena. When it comes to hip-hop you don’t hear of so many of it’s rising stars coming through, even though there is quite a sub-culture established in the arm of gansta rap. Australia could actually be considered in some way at the top end of the genre right-now after gaining commercial success through expat rap star Iggy Azalea.
So, surely Iggy’s success must be a countable source of inspiration to a new generation of its more pop orientated aspiring rap stars and this maybe at least in-part be seen as the case for 20 year old Sydney raised emerging pop/rap artist Nick De La Hoyde.
Nick’s rap career in only now getting kick-starter to be honest after breaking through with his debut release “The Longest Way” at the end of last year. Scoring enough of a positive response to the pop receptive element of which Nick introduces into the overall sound blend has further initated that Nick goes forward with a full EP release.
This is the juncture which we join in with acknowledging the potential of burgeoning rap artist Nick De La Hoyde, as the focus switches to debut EP “Passion” and issue of sophomore single “By My Side”.
What gets me on-side all the more is the fact that Nick’s music does offer up a balance of warmly glowing vocals alongside interjected bursts of sing stylized rap, which I have no doubt will sit with pop appreciatve ears more readily than a barrage of provocative seeking, spikey word play could muster in recognition here.
Nick is neither dumbing down rap either, I feel he’s customising it to suit the pop gravitated tonality that his true vocal lends being the rap content reinforces the statement content within the introspective lyrics of his material.
There is no agenda in Nick’s music as it is clearly apparent that it is drawn out by an appreciation of hip-hop beats and spoken word delivery uppermost, and reinforced In the case of “By My Side” which is more love ode than anything of a more verablicious intent.
Being that this is Nick’s first bite of the urban pop cherry. Nick is pop enough to pull the pop audience on side and sufficiently hip-hop competent to score a dib in on the hip-pop radar also.