Bowraville-born, Sydney-based rapper Tasman Keith is proud to share his newest single ’BILLY BAD AGAIN’, which premiered overnight on triple j’s ‘Good Nights‘ and Acclaim Magazine, and is out today through his own label, Mission Famous Music. Watch HERE, listen HERE.

The idea of hometown pride rides deeper than most in Tasman’s music: everything he does is indebted to the community that raised him, to the idea of giving back and carrying on the storytelling traditions of his family. For a small town on New South Wales’ mid-North Coast most commonly recognised for housing one of the country’s most notorious missions and… most shameful history, Tasman is attempting to write a new history through his music, reclaiming pride by lifting up and giving back. His skills as a rapper have already made him impossible to ignore as a leader of Australia’s hip hop resurgence, but Tasman’s message and his storytelling are quickly making him into an essential artist, a wholly indispensable new voice in the conversation. 

A potent mix of the thick, syrupy synths of 90s West Coast hip hop, the laid-back grooves of neo-funk, the twisted bass and skittering hi-hats of trap and the shadowy emotiveness of R&B, Tasman’s music defies categorisation. Produced by Kapital J & Papertoy with additional production from James Mangohig & Michael Hohnen, ’BILLY BAD AGAIN’ trades slyly menacing verses for an audacious, trunk-rattling chorus, with Tasman’s razor-sharp, grainy, Pusha T-evoking flow. ‘BILLY BAD AGAIN’ feels strong and streetwise, exuding a quiet, don’t-mess-with-me confidence. “No one catching up to me”, Tasman sings on the chorus. And you believe him.

Of the single, Tasman shares that “‘BILLY BAD AGAIN’ came from a semi-frustrating studio session with my producers, Kapital J & James Mangohig, I was too focused on forcing out as many songs as I could. James had me step outside for a minute, when I came back in Kapital J had this beat that he said was perfect for the vibe we were in. It was this aggressive yet braggadocious instrumental that reminded me to have fun with it and talk my shit. ‘BILLY BAD AGAIN’ is the side of me that is confident and unapologetic, it’s about being that guy wherever you are and for me it’s my turn to show that through my music, whilst throwing in two Adam Sandler movie references”. So far 2019 has seen the Bowraville rapper emphatically capitalising on the attention garnered by the release of his debut 2018 EP, Mission Famous.

Recorded at Skinnyfish Music’s Studio G and produced by Mangohig and Nooky (Bad Apples Music), Mission Famous spawned singles ‘My Pelopolees’, which has racked up over 364,000 streams on Spotify, and the title track, which earned high rotation on triple j and Spotify’s All Aussie Hip Hop playlist, drawing praise from Vice, LNWY, Pilerats and more. He followed the success of his debut up with a collaborative EP with Darwin singer Stevie Jean, Evenings, released in August 2019, a narrative-driven, concept project centred around two individuals who come together for one night and the emotions that surround them as they orbit one another, feeling the other person out, clashing egos and discovering moments of connection. ‘BILLY BAD AGAIN’ follows Stevie Jean and Tasman’s lead single ‘Prey’ and Tasman’s most recent solo single, ‘move up’, both of which scored high rotation on triple j and FBi Radio. 2019 has also seen Tasman graduate to larger stages around the country, performing at Laneway Festival, Groovin’ the Moo, Bigsound, St Kilda Festival and more.

Determined to use his platform as an unstoppable, undeniable voice for the voiceless, Tasman recently shared the Mission Famous documentary directed by Sam Eagan, Harry Hunter & Joey Hunter of Entropico, taking the resonant social justice messages of his music to new mediums as he provides insights into the extreme highs and lows of life in Bowraville, shining a light on the collective achievements of his hometown. 

‘BILLY BAD AGAIN’ is out now via Mission Famous Music – buy/stream it here. 

BILLY BAD AGAIN’ SINGLE TOUR

Fri 13 Dec – Chippendale Hotel – Sydney, NSW (TIX)
Sat 14 Dec – Festival of the Sun – Port Macquarie, NSW
Sun 15 Dec – Cambridge Warehouse – Newcastle, NSW
Sun 22 Dec – “Yours & Owls Sundays”, North Gong Hotel – Wollongong, NSW
Mon 30 Dec – NYE on the Hill – South Gippsland, VIC

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