Townsend came up with a heavy freestyle persona, embracing the Non Phixion/Necro-style of hardcore rap, but evolved his style and started to develop his own. The transformation is picking up traction, having gathered kudos from making the music he wants to make. He says he “just started doing videos and shit and putting it on the internet,” and that’s how he got noticed.
His style has definitely retained a battle rap punchline sensibility and assertive flow, but has a positivity and hook/chorus-driven structure. “I was chilling at my friend’s house in Ringwood one day and we were riffing back and forth and I just decided that writing songs about negative shit was really affecting my mood,” he says. “[I] made a conscious decision to make music that was a bit more positive.”
While we unfortunately don’t have access to his pre-Ivan Ooze work, his assertions ring true in his tracks. On and On, the lead single from his tongue-in-cheek debut EP, Ringwood Rich deals with gritty-ish subject matter, but in a stoic, brief, and rather Australian way. It has a definite “good vibe” feel to it without being contrived or losing that rap swagger attitude that you want from an MC.
Townsend’s moving from strength to strength, and it’s interesting to examine someone who’s gotten noticed quickly, and subsequently started to play bigger shows. He’s just cracked the triple j market, which he says is a gratifying step for him: “It definitely helps a lot in this country and feels good to have that crew pay attention to what I’m doing.”
Townsend hasn’t always found live performances easy; by his own admission, he’s had problems with anxiety: “One of the Cube shows, I was backstage just freaking the fuck out, having a full on anxiety attack,” he admits. “I was sweating and thought I was going to pass out. Eventually I just walked on stage and…it was one of the best shows I’ve ever done [because] I had all those thoughts and energy running through my head. [It was] very therapeutic and empowering for me.”
The battle of balancing the lifestyle of a performer or someone who’s creatively vulnerable with personal anxiety is admirable, and seeing that inherently act as a cathartic process says a lot about Townsend’s drive, capacity to accept challenges and step up to the rapper life. It’s great to see a rapper be real about mental health and personal issues without seeming like they’re jumping on the buzzword bandwagon to appeal to different markets.
Growing up, Townsend had a somewhat atypical experience, describing his perspective on how to find purpose in life: “When I was about 17, shit just got real out in Ringwood. Hanging out with your mates and there’s drugs, violence, that kind of thing,” he says. “It’s pretty easy to just smoke weed and do fuck all, but I really wanted to get away from that and do something good for myself. It all got a bit hectic for me.
“There [were] a few months there when I decided to step back that I just shut the shutters and stayed in my room, didn’t see anyone,” he confesses. “But that’s what I had to do to deal with it in my own way. That’s how I deal. A while ago I had a coffee and it just made my heart pound. I had to do something about it but I just rapped my whole album beginning to end a few times and then eventually just fell asleep. I don’t even wanna go the prescription drugs route. I’ve seen a lot of friends fuck up on that stuff and I just wanna deal with shit in my own way.”
Beyond The Valley is the next chance to catch Townsend live, where he’ll be sharing a stage with such stars as Banoffee, Danny Brown, Peking Duk and “going off my dick, being really intoxicated and having a great time.
“I’ve got a hypeman and a lot of exciting shit planned,” he says. “I can’t say too much but it’s going to be wild.”
BY REI BARKER
