Fresh off of dropping his stellar new single Swing, we caught up with local emcee extraordinaire Dylan Joel and asked him to hit us with his desert island discs, which he broke off into two sections; HOP & NON HOP.
Peep the video for the catchy as f#*k Swing below which features Mantra & Bliss N Eso’s DJ Izm and read on to find out about his 10 most listened to albums that have played their part in inspiring and shaping the up and coming wordsmith.
1. Shad - TSOL (2010)
- First time I traveled North America/Canada, I connected with a bunch of unreal people in Toronto (now some of my closest homies), and they introduced me to Shad’s record. One extremely shaping moment for me.
2. Eminem - Infinite (1996)
- By far my favourite Eminem album. Sadly miss this era of his music a lot hey. But it’s a rad one to throw on and just vibe with. If you’ve never heard Eminem rap with a positive feel ha, here it is.
3. Hilltop Hoods - The Hard Road (2006)
- Easily my most listened to album during early days of high school. Really founded a lot of my passion for hip hop in Aus, and fueled a lot of the childhood dreams I’m probably too stubborn to leave as dreams ha. Still love throwing this on occasionally for the nostalgic inspiration.
4. Bliss N Eso - Day Of The Dog (2006)
- BnE were actually the first hip hop act I’d ever seen live! I can still remember it that clearly. The next day, I woke up, went straight to my bedroom computer and I’m pretty sure I attempted to make my first ever original beat. This album carried me through those identity seeking days ha, parties, fights, every high school romance, and still I flick back to it on a semi-regular basis! (Find it helps to keep myself grounded on where I’ve been and the importance that holds in what I’m doing now). - Something real for you.
5. Chance The Rapper - Acid Rap (2013)
- When this record came out, it was a huge refreshment to the closure I was feeling in Aus hip hop at the time. Having gospel as my first experience of live music ever, and being a massive (but still fairly recent) hip hop fan, almost made this album a punch in the face more than anything. A realisation to the fact that they’re are potentially no boundaries to what hip hop should sound like musically. That the greater importance lies behind creating whatever is ‘authentic’ or ‘genuine’ to you. Will always love this record.
6. Citizen Cope - The Clarence Greenwood Recordings (2004)
- This just has too many quality tracks to skip by. One of those albums that gave me a lot of my musical inspiration outside of hip hop. Groove is on point throughout the entire record. Highly recommend listening through start to finish!
7. Tracy Chapman - Collection (1988-2000)
- Practically grew up on this. I feel like my parents used to pretty much only play this record along with Fleetwood Mac, every car trip. (probably not true, but it felt that way). May have forgotten about Tracy for a few years (guilty confession), but within the last few years, I found her again! And I know this record will always be gold to me. Takes me back home every time.
8. Ed Sheeran - X (2014)
- Had to throw in something real recent. And having only given Ed’s music a proper listen to since the album dropped, I stand firm in saying that he’s one of the most raw and talented artists in the pop scene today. Every track on this record holds its own quality and achieves what a lot of today’s music can’t. - It’s loved by every single age demographic and generation today. Talented mofo! All respect.
9. Mumford & Sons - Sigh No More (2009)
- I think this record was a game changer for most of the world. A folk album that went viral across the world. So much talent on so many levels, especially in song writing. I can’t it makes me want to play folk music ha, but I appreciate this record just as much as the next hip hop album. Unreal.
10. Frank Ocean - Channel Orange (2012)
- Damnnn. When this record dropped, people lost it! And I was too high on my horse to give it a spin straight away. So I waited for the world to chill a bit, bought it off iTunes and sat on my back deck taking in every element with a fresh perspective. Almost every time my band and I hit the road for shows/tours, this gets played right through. Dig!
Dylan Joel’s Swing is available now where all good records are sold | streamed
