Hilltop Hoods – Rattling The Keys To The Kingdom

So yeah, the Hilltop Hoods are back. As if we’d ever forgotten about them. But the truth is, the major duopoly running the Australian hip-hop scene – that is, the Hoods of Adelaide in the red corner and the Sydney trio of Bliss n Eso in the blue corner – is so pervasive that the release of one act’s album can have the effect of one of those MIB flashlight-pens. When the latter’s excellent (but not quite so excellent as their debut) album ‘Running On Air’ dropped mid-2010, any fleeting flirtation with the Hoods’ fifth studio album ‘State Of The Art’ was quickly expunged and all efforts seemingly redirected towards the worship of Bliss n Eso’s new long player. The two have taken to their roles as alternating stalwarts of the Australian hip-hop movement with commendable enthusiasm, bursting back into the picture as if on cue in those lulls between the opposite act’s albums. With ‘Rattling The Keys’ – Hilltop Hoods’ most patently aggressive track in a long while – it appears that the Adelaide boys have finally had enough of sharing the throne.

On 2009′s ‘State Of The Art’, the focus seemed to be on classic samples and the sort of historical and cultural awareness that defines and has contributed so much to the Hoods’ success to date. Where, for the most part, Australian rap doesn’t have tales of drug dealing and hood life to fall back on, Suffa and Pressure’s flows have always been remarkably unique, easily moving across incisively local material and bringing the sort of thick production that not too many others could pull off or afford. The production chops haven’t changed much. ‘I Love It‘, the first single released off the lads’ forthcoming ‘Drinking From The Sun’, has swamped airwaves over the last few months with audiences wooed by tell-tale Hoods strings (c/o Adelaide producer One Above), a punchy chorus and the appearance of do-no-wrong local girl Sia. But ‘Rattling The Keys To The Kingdom’ is different. Produced by frontman Suffa, it showcases a darker beat; an encouraging sign that even six albums in to their domination of the game, the Hoods aren’t resting on their laurels.

Halfway through me writing this brother J has just walked in to posit that all Hilltop Hoods tracks sound the same. Undeterred by this fundamental attack on my thesis, I’d suggest that ‘Rattling’ sounds as different for the short string sample which, looped, forms the foundations of the track, as for the totally chopped-up flow that the two emcees proudly boast – potentially a party favour from their time spent on tour with Eminem and Lil Wayne in December last year. The delivery on ‘Rattling’, notably melodic and far more obviously stanza-structured than usual, is reminiscent of back when Eminem changed things up and started rapping on off-beats (the first signs of which were on his freestyle over Drake’s ‘Over’). Moreover, the content, which sees Suffa and Pressure staking their claim to Australian hip-hop’s ‘Kingdom’ might be peppered with the kind of odd-ball references we’ve grown used to (Fukushima and ketamine in the same verse?!) but is out of character in its self-promotion. The bellows of ‘Hill-top, Hill-top!’ accompanied by Pete Rock-favourited sirens reinforces the message of what is essentially an aural attack. This is not easy listening nor is it material that might win the Hoods more platinum trophyware but ‘Rattling’ is a sure sign that the crew haven’t forgotten the value of their grasp on the keys.

Hilltop Hoods – Rattling The Keys To The Kingdom