Using humour to send a message with MC Matt Xander
Emerging MC Matt Xander has came into the spotlight of Aussie hip hop with his latest release poking fun at politicians ‘Scraping the barrel.’ The MC uses humour and to-the-point lyrics to drill in his message, accompanied by some fresh rhymes that is reminiscent of R.A the Rugged Man.
We sit down with Matt and chat about how he started in hip hop, what his latest EP ‘Fornicating Arachnids’ is about, and what he would do if he was in politics for a day.
How did you start in hip hop?
I started making hip hop cos I didn't have enough friends (or at least talented ones) to form an actual band, so I had to do everything myself. But I did manage to trick my best friend into being my DJ and forced him to rehearse with me every night for like a year.
How do you see the hip hop world progressing?
I really hope it progresses lyrically. Hip Hop seems to be the only genre you can get away with talking about how good you are. I can't imagine Bob Dylan writing a song called Folk God. Having said that, I have a track on this record called Gonads so I'm not sure I'm helping things progress.
You just released an EP could you tell us about it?
It's essentially an expression of my anger, energy and love for pop culture. There's duality between taking things seriously and having fun. You don't know whether to stop and think or do the funky chicken.
<a href="http://mattxander.bandcamp.com/album/fornicating-arachnids">Fornicating Arachnids by Matt Xander</a>
If you were in politics for a day, what would you change?
I like the idea of building a wall. Can we build one around Canberra?
What's next for you?
I hope to make a couple more videos for this record then onto the next. I'd like to expand my universe and work with some diverse artists.
What Aussie artist would most like to work with and why?
Connie Mitchell from Sneaky Sound System. She has such power and energy. Her previous band Primary was the first band I ever saw. My parents were friends with the band and got me on the door. I would spend hours dreaming up schemes to convince them I should be in the band.
What stimulates your soul?
Slapstick comedy. That's probably an oxymoron for most people but I'm a sucker for it. I have a framed quote from Charlie Chaplin saying "A day without laughter is a day wasted".
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