That hair, those eyes, the rhymes – it’s safe to say Melbourne-based rapper Allday is pretty hot right now. His busy schedule will take him to four different states over the next couple of weeks, so during some rare downtime we caught up for a chat.
“I’d love to have a chat. At the moment I’m just sitting around twiddling my thumbs. The Push Over festival got cancelled, which sucks. But a few of the bands and acts that would have been on at Push Over will be at the Pop Up Stage at the Moomba Festival. People who were going to Push Over can now go there for free, so it’s not all bad.”
Presented by the City of Melbourne, the Moomba Festival aims to bring Melburnians together to share in the vivacity and diversity of our much-loved city. Also appearing on the Pop Up Stage will be inner-city punks The Smith Street Band, triple j Unearthed Artist of the Year Remi and the nine finalists in the FReeZA Push Start Band Comp Grand Final (including local hopeful Residual).
“The Push Start Comp, and Push Over festival in general, has done a lot for Australian youth trying to break into the industry. Hopefully Push Over will be back next year. It’s really unfortunate that some festivals haven’t made it.
“But Moomba should be a lot of fun. I love living in Melbourne. I’ve been here for just over two years. I moved around my twentieth birthday, in February 2012. I’ve just turned twenty-three and birthdays always make me reflective. Looking back, I realised that I wasn’t really taking music seriously then, so in the last two years I’ve gone from nothing to what it is now.”
Allday grew up in the town of Blackwood, a south-eastern suburb in the foothills of Adelaide. Interestingly, it’s also the hometown of hip hop superstars Hilltop Hoods. “I wouldn’t say moving to Melbourne was a culture shock, because I’ve always been surrounded by music and art, but it was kinda an ‘Aha’ moment!” he laughed. “Everything just clicked right away.
“I see people from bands in the cafés and on trains around my area and it’s very inspiring. I’m a vegan, and my local café is a hive for creative people. But you can find artists in any city, and Adelaide has a wonderful artistic landscape. I love going back to see friends.”
This past weekend Allday was back home to play alongside Bliss n Eso at Adelaide’s Clipsal 500. “I’ve been to the shows lots of times before. My friends live close by and everyone that lives nearby gets free tickets. It’s always incredibly loud but so much fun, so to actually be up on the stage doing my thing was pretty surreal.”
If you’re anywhere near the city this long weekend, you can catch Allday “doing his thing” – and it’ll be well worth it. “I’ve been working on a lot of new stuff and I’m driving myself crazy trying to make it perfect. I’m just working hard, trying to do my best and taking it as a blessing that I don’t have to go back to work at the call centre just yet!”
When&Where: Birrarung Marr Park – March 10
Written by Natalie Rogers