Def Wish Cast (sometimes known as Def Wish Posse or abbreviated to DWC) are a pioneering
Australian hip hop
Australian hip hop traces its origins to the early 1980s and is largely inspired by hip hop and other urban musical genres from the United States. As the form matured, Australian hip hop has become a commercially viable style of music which i ...
group from
Western Sydney
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
* Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that i ...
.
Biography
Def Wish Cast are an
Australian hip hop
Australian hip hop traces its origins to the early 1980s and is largely inspired by hip hop and other urban musical genres from the United States. As the form matured, Australian hip hop has become a commercially viable style of music which i ...
group who are among the few founders of Australian hip hop, "having created something localised that was revered and is now mythologized."
The group also states its hip hop credentials through its lyrics, rapping that they are "always hardcore/ 'cos hardcore means true to the music."
[Maxwell, Ian. "Sydney Stlee: Hip-Hop Down Under Comin' Up." In Global Noise: Rap and Hip-Hop Outside the USA, ed. Tony Mitchell, 259-279. Middletown: Wesleyan University Press, 2001.] DJ Vame
Def Wish Cast (sometimes known as Def Wish Posse or abbreviated to DWC) are a pioneering Australian hip hop group from Western Sydney.
Biography
Def Wish Cast are an Australian hip hop group who are among the few founders of Australian hip hop ...
stated that being "true to the music" is shown by Def Wish Cast's faithfulness to the "original instruments" of hip-hop: two turntables and a microphone.
Originally, Def Wish Cast was composed of MCs Simon Bottle (a.k.a. DefWish), Pablo Chiacchio (a.k.a. Die C), Paul Westgate (a.k.a. Sereck)
and featured
turntablism
Turntablism is the art of manipulating sounds and creating new music, sound effects, mixes and other creative sounds and beats, typically by using two or more turntables and a cross fader-equipped DJ mixer. The mixer is plugged into a PA sys ...
by DJ Vame (Shane Duggan).
DWC promote Australian culture by not only explicitly naming local suburbs of Sydney, but also by rapping in an Australian accent.
Their distinct Australian sound helped gain the crew notoriety both locally and internationally through graffiti mags. Def Wish Cast embrace not only the music, but all elements of the hip hop culture including graffiti art and
bboying
Breakdancing, also called breaking or b-boying/b-girling, is an athletic style of street dance originating from the African American and Puerto Rican communities in the United States. While diverse in the amount of variation available in ...
. DefWish and Sereck are shown bboying a lot in the Def Wish Cast. Can catch them Bboying in Aust (Down Under Comin Upper), Saturday Night by the
Sound Unlimited Posse and one of their latest releases Dun Proppa.
Although characterised by the main elements of hip hop, Def Wish Cast have in their own way redefined the commonly perceived African American culture into a local identity. They see hip hop as respect to the Origins in the South Bronx and Abroad, but as Sereck says "it's ''our'' thing".
In their recordings this group takes the elements of hip hop and applies them to the local Australian scene. Moreover, Sereck "reveres
frican American originatorsbut has constructed the identity and authenticity he craves on a model learned from hip-hop". For this, Def Wish Cast represents Aussie hip hop in a global market.
In 1990 the group begun performing onstage, and in 1991 they signed a record deal with Random Records.
In 1992, Def Wish Cast released a run of 500 four track vinyl EPs, ''Mad As A Hatter'', which featured MC DefWish's Australianised
ragga
Raggamuffin music, usually abbreviated as ragga, is a subgenre of dancehall and reggae music. The instrumentals primarily consist of electronic music. Similar to hip hop, sampling often serves a prominent role in raggamuffin music.
Wayne Smi ...
style on the track "Proppa Ragga" (which later appeared on the compilation album ''15.Oz Vinyl'' in 2004). "Proppa Ragga" was the first Australian hip hop track to receive international recognition, albeit in
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
, coming in at number 2 on its
NRK
NRK, an abbreviation of the Norwegian ''Norsk Rikskringkasting AS'', generally expressed in English as the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, is the Norwegian government-owned radio and television public broadcasting company, and the largest ...
's Hip Hop show (hosted by
Tommy Tee).
In 2012, a copy of ''Mad As A Hatter'' sold on
eBay
eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became ...
for A$540.
Def Wish Cast then went on to release one of the first full-length Australian hip hop albums, ''
Knights of the Underground Table'' in 1993.
Only the
Sound Unlimited LP ''
A Postcard From The Edge of the Under-Side'' came before it, which was released on a major label,
CBS Records CBS Records may refer to:
* CBS Records or CBS/Sony, former name of Sony Music, a global record company
* CBS Records International, label for Columbia Records recordings released outside North America from 1962 to 1990
* CBS Records (2006), founde ...
. Def Wish Cast then independently toured Australia, becoming the first Australian hip hop group to tour nationally.
After limited commercial success, in 1995 DJ Vame moved to Melbourne, leaving the group in hiatus for almost a decade.
During this period, DefWish, Die C and Sereck pursued other interests. MC DefWish concentrated on his band "The Quickness".
In 1996, Sereck examined the Sydney hip hop culture in the first Australian hip hop documentary, ''Basic Equipment''. The documentary was made by
Paul Fenech
Paul Fenech (born 21 November 1972) is an Australian filmmaker, film and television actor, director, producer and writer. He is best known for writing, directing, producing and starring in the television series ''Pizza'', ''Swift and Shift Cou ...
(creator of SBS'
Pizza series) and narrated by Sereck. It featured
MC Trey, Def Wish Cast,
DJ Bonez
George Kordas, better known by the stage name DJ Bonez, is a hip hop DJ and producer, originally from Sydney and currently based in Melbourne, Australia.
DJ Bonez has been described as being at "the forefront of Australian DJing culture as a p ...
, DJ A.S.K, Mistery and Wizdm from
Brethren and more. The 28-minute program was not aired until the following year. Sereck founded a record label of the same name following the airing of the documentary, and also united artists from Sydney's hip hop scene to form the
Basic Equipment Crew. The collective includes DJ Sing, Frequency Unknown,
Sleek the Elite and DJ Vame, among others.
Def Wish Cast reunited briefly in 1997 to record and contribute the track "Hear My Raw" for the international compilation ''Bomb Worldwide''. The album was released through the
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
label, Bomb Records.
Due to a very small market for Australian urban music at that time, limited commercial response to their first album and the absence of DJ Vame, Def Wish Cast did not record again as a group for almost decade. Since officially re-uniting in 2002, DJ Vame has been replaced by DJ Murda One.
The following year, the group released their comeback LP ''
The Legacy Continues...'', 14 years after their debut. The lead single, "Allstars" was additionally featured in the soundtrack of the film, ''
Bra Boys
The Bra Boys are a gang centred on surf culture, founded and based in Maroubra, an eastern suburb of Sydney, New South Wales in the 1990s. The gang has gained notoriety through violence and alleged links to organised crime, as well as some comm ...
.
In 2011, Def Wish Cast released a digital single and video clip for "Dun Proppa" a song from their upcoming album, ''Evolution Machine''. Additionally in 2011, ''Knights of the Underground Table'' placed 91st on
Triple J
Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greater emphasis on broad ...
's "Industry List" as part of the
Triple J Hottest 100 Australian Albums of All Time, 2011
The Hottest 100 Australian Albums of All Time is a listener-voted countdown of albums run by Australian radio station Triple J in June and July 2011. In May 2011, Triple J music director Richard Kingsmill announced that the station would be cond ...
poll. The "Industry List" included some of the country's top musicians and industry experts.
Discography
Albums and EPs
* ''
Mad as a Hatter
"Mad as a hatter" is a colloquial English phrase used in conversation to suggest (lightheartedly) that a person is suffering from insanity. The etymology of the phrase is uncertain, with explanations both connected and unconnected to the trade of ...
'' - Random (1992)
* ''
Knights of the Underground Table'' - Random (1993)
* ''
The Legacy Continues...'' -
Hydrofunk (2006)
* ''Evolution Machine'' - MGM 2010
Singles
* "A.U.S.T." - Random (1993)
* "Allstars" - Hydrofunk (2006)
* "DunProppa" - MGM&Creative Vibes (2011)
* "Forever" - MGM&Creative Vibes (2011)
Compilations
* "Hear My Roar", ''Bomb Worldwide'' - Bomb Records (1997)
* "Proppa Ragga", ''15.Oz Vinyl: 15 Years of Australian Hip Hop on Vinyl'' - Crookneck Records (2004)
* "Allstars", ''
Bra Boys
The Bra Boys are a gang centred on surf culture, founded and based in Maroubra, an eastern suburb of Sydney, New South Wales in the 1990s. The gang has gained notoriety through violence and alleged links to organised crime, as well as some comm ...
: Music From The Film'' -
Sony BMG (2007)
* "DunProppa", ''
Battle of the Year
Battle of the Year, commonly referred to as BOTY, is an annual international breakdancing competition that began in 1990. It has been regarded as the premier b-boying competition in the world
and has been referred to as the "World Cup of B-Boying" ...
''
* "Daily Nightmare (1991 Demo Version)", ''Underground United Vol. 4'' - Underground United (2022)
Guest appearances and contributions
* "Boogie Boy", DefWish & DJ Sing (Feat. Tom Thum) - ''Airheads Two - Australian Beats And Rhymes'' (2005)
* "It's Only Right", 13th Son (Feat. Sereck on backing vocals) - ''Airheads Two - Australian Beats And Rhymes'' (2005)
* "Too Damn Long", Sereck - ''Airheads Two - Australian Beats And Rhymes'' (2005)
Production
* "Wattz A Kila?", Kilawattz (DJ Vame, production) - ''Basic Equipment'' (1998)
* "The Last One", Dope Runner (DJ Vame, production) - ''Basic Equipment'' (1998)
* "Flow", Brethren (Sereck, production) - ''Basic Equipment'' (1998)
* "Nothins gonna stop me" - 13th Son (Sereck Production) (2001)
* "By The Wayside", 13th Son (Sereck, production) - ''Culture of Kings Volume 2'' (2002)
Award and nominations
APRA Awards
The
APRA Awards are presented annually from by the
Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA), "honouring composers and songwriters".
!
, -
,
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...
, "Dun Proppa"
, Song of the Year
,
,
, -
References
External links
Rap Cella's Def Wish Cast Profile
{{Authority control
Australian hip hop groups
New South Wales musical groups