One Step Ahead (Review)

Last year University of Queensland honours student in linguistics Renae O’Hanlon did a phonological analysis of the linguistic inflections of 30 Australian hip-hop tracks and compared them with 30 rock, pop and country songs by artists from Casey Chambers to Delta Goodrem. The findings of her thesis, Gather Round for Some True Aussie Underground, were perhaps not surprising – the vast majority of Australian hip-hop MCs use a combination of broad, general and occasionally cultivated Australian vowels, slang and cultural references with the odd smattering of borrowings from US hip-hop jargon, whereas most pop, rock and country songs are still dominated by American inflections. One of the MCs whose lyrics she analysed was second generation Melbourne hip-hop alumnus Reason (aka Jason Schulman), whose third release One Step Ahead embodies some of the broadest Australian slang and references currently on offer in local hip-hop. A dedicated geography teacher at Mount Scopus memorial College, where he regularly organises hip-hop jams by Obese Records peers such as the Hilltop Hoods, as well as running graffiti workshops and DJs school carnivals, Reason also regularly MCs DJ competitions and MC jams, and fronts a weekly Oz hip-hop show, Hitting Switches on PBS radio as well as committing his own lyrics on a variety of cassette tapes, compilations and other MCs releases since the 1980s. One Step Ahead, which includes remixes of a number of tracks from his 2002 album Reography, is an unashamedly patriotic, autobiographical but critical celebration of a wide range of aspects of Australian culture. The opening track, Have You Ever? shows that he means business, challenging the listener to think about a scattershot range of issues such as his accent, Ozhiphop.com, Obese Records, peace in the Middle east, indigenous issues, the Bali bomb blast, giving up a seat on the train for the elderly, vegetarianism, crime and Def Wish Cast in 1994. You Never Know deals with environmental issues, Weather the Storm (included in two versions) incorporates a 1980s cock rock riff into a celebration of the history of Oz hip-hop, epitomised in ‘red rattlers and suburban battlers’, the title track includes vocals recorded in Switzerland and is a personal statement of progress which even invokes Skippy’s hopping skills. Good Sport celebrates supporting one’s team in Aussie sport, Richard Hadlee, the Ashes, Tony Locket, Eddie McGuire, and the Great Outdoors (complete with reference to Ernie Dingo) - he even rhymes ‘Archie Roach’ with ‘footy coach’ and works in some didjeridu in Danger Danger. Out on the Patio is a witty Melbourne-based palimpsest of Gangajang’s iconic 1985 Queensland hit Sounds of Then (This is Australia) which offers observations on Howard’s Australia along with a hedonistic chorus, Day in the Sun is about eskies, cricket, boogie boards and the Aussie summer, and has stand-out production by Brazilian-born, Adelaide based MC and DJ Simplex of Terra Firma. There are numerous other guests from gutter-mouthed Brisbane-based MC Lazy Grey to Newsense and Ciecmate from Canberra’s Hospice Crew, but the bulk of production duties are handled by veteran DJ Vame. True Aussie Icon starts with a sunburnt country and proceeds on to a nationwide travelogue, taking in Mabo and numerous other icons, a cartography drawn by a true geography teacher. An Aussie hip-hop bench mark - thoughtful, varied, good natured and infectious.