Paul Reid, formerly Paul Gary James Ridge, (born 4 September 1982), better known by the stage name Drapht, is 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 ...

artist from

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

. Drapht is a member of the Syllabolix (SBX) crew, a collective that includes fellow Perth-based hip hop artists such as

Downsyde Downsyde are an Australian hip hop group from Perth, Western Australia. The group is composed of three members, Optamus, Dazastah and Dyna-Mikes. The group has performed alongside groups including Jurassic 5, Cypress Hill, Grandmaster Flash, Th ...

Biography

1982–2002: Early life

Drapht grew up in

North Perth, Western Australia North Perth is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located within the City of Vincent. This old, established suburb three kilometres north of the Perth central business district is a place of mainly solid brick homes built from the early 190 ...

, a suburb of Perth. His father, Gary Ridge, a jazz drummer introduced Drapht to music from a very young age—he first experienced hip hop at the age of eight. The name "Drapht" is based on a Western Australian Swan Brewery beer, Swan Draught; the company's logo was written on a watch that his father brought home when Drapht was 13 or 14. Drapht attended

Perth Modern School , motto_translation = Knowledge is Power , location = Subiaco, Perth, Western Australia , country = Australia , coordinates = , mapframe-stroke-colour = #C60C30 , mapframe-marker-co ...

in Subiaco but was not involved in the school's music program. At school he became friends with Damien Allia (aka DJ Armee) who introduced him to hip hop via gigs at the Hyde Park Hotel. Drapht became a vital part of Perth's hip hop crew, Syllabolix, at the age of 17.

"I was extremely fortunate. Right place, right time. I was right in the middle of it all, I had access to one of the best producers at the time Dazastah, freestyle sessions at Hunter's and constant schooling from the rest of the MC's within the crew. So I was very blessed with it all." — Drapht

This involvement resulted in his first contributions being recorded and included on Hunter and

Dazastah Dazastah is one of the MCs of the Perth, Western Australia-based hip-hop group Downsyde. History Dazastah (Darren Reutens) joined Downsyde when he met MCs Optamus (Scott Griffiths) and Dyna-mikes (Shahbaz Rind) at Leederville TAFE in the late 1 ...

's 2000 debut album, ''Done DL'', only months after he had started seriously writing.

2003–2004: ''Pale Rider''

Drapht's first track, "Misunderstood", was released as part of the ''Culture of Kings – Volume 3'' release in 2003 with Drapht saying "It was a song I wrote in a span of a day or so, and it was just lying around. So I had the opportunity to put it on ''Culture of Kings''. And then it ended up being the opening track for the release, which was awesome. That definitely helped in the early days of my career." His debut album, ''

Pale Rider ''Pale Rider'' is a 1985 American Western film produced and directed by Clint Eastwood, who also stars in the lead role. The title is a reference to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, as the pale horse's ghost rider (Eastwood) represents Deat ...

'', was released in October 2003, with all production handled by Dazastah (

), Fdel and Drapht. Special appearances on the album include: Fdel (Invada Records),

MC Layla Layla Rose Hanbury (born 5 October 1982), known mononymously as Layla, is an Australian hip hop singer-songwriter and MC from Perth. In January 2005 she released her debut solo album, ''Heretik'', on Obese Records. She is a member of Syllabolix ...

, Hunter, Selekt, Carlsani and Porsah Lane.

2005–2007: ''Who Am I''

The follow-up, 2005's '' Who Am I'', was co-produced by Dazastah (

) and Fdel, and co-mixed by Drapht with Dazastah. The songs touch on topics including politics, sex, and addiction to drunken antics. Guest appearances on the album include

Pressure Pressure (symbol: ''p'' or ''P'') is the force applied perpendicular to the surface of an object per unit area over which that force is distributed. Gauge pressure (also spelled ''gage'' pressure)The preferred spelling varies by country and e ...

(

Hilltop Hoods Hilltop Hoods is an Australian hip hop group that formed in 1996 in Blackwood, Adelaide, South Australia. They are regarded as pioneers of the " larrikin-like" style of Australian hip hop. The group was founded by Suffa (Matthew David Lambert ...

), Downsyde, Layla, Pegz (Obese Records), Clandestien, MJ (Funkola) and Hunter. It was released by Obese Records in both in a CD and a limited 2 LP vinyl format. Two tracks from the album, "Drink Drank Drunk" and "The Music", received airplay 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 ...

, mostly on the Super Request program. ''Who Am I'' is more an introspective album. The song, "The Music", was selected by

as a featured track for "AusMusic Month" in 2005. Drapht also released a music video for "The Music", which was shown on Rage. He also performed a guest verse on the track, "The Blue Blooded", which was included on the

' 2006 album, '' The Hard Road''. Drapht has opened for acts such as;

Dilated Peoples Dilated Peoples is an American hip hop group from Los Angeles, California. They have had little mainstream success in the US, with the exception of the song " This Way", a 2004 collaboration with Kanye West. Better known in the UK, they reached t ...

Koolism ''Koolism'' is an Australian hip hop duo originating from Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. The members are lyricist Hau Latukefu (born Langomi-e-Hau Latukefu, 1976, Queanbeyan, Australia) and producer/DJ/musician Danielsan Ichiban (born ...

Apathy Apathy is a lack of feeling, emotion, interest, or concern about something. It is a state of indifference, or the suppression of emotions such as concern, excitement, motivation, or passion. An apathetic individual has an absence of intere ...

Rodney P Rodney Panton, also known as Rodney P (born in Balham, London, 12 December 1969) is an English MC, as well as a radio and television personality who first gained attention via the UK hip hop scene in the 1980s. A former member of UK hip-hop gro ...

& Skitz, Mystro,

Killa Kela Killa Kela (born Lee Potter) is a British beatboxer and rapper from West Sussex. Career Killa Kela’s career started in 1997 when he formed a 10 collective strong U.K Hip Hop crew called 360 Physicals; composed of MC’s DJ’s and graffit ...

, and Resin Dogs.

2008–2009: ''Brothers Grimm''

Drapht's third album, ''

Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), were a brother duo of German academics, philologists, cultural researchers, lexicographers, and authors who together collected and published folklore. They are among the ...

'', was released 10 May 2008, with the first song from the album, " Jimmy Recard", receiving significant airplay on

, where it became the second most played song on the station in 2008 The album debuted at No. 64 on the ARIA Album charts, reached No. 9 on the AIR (Association of Independent Record Labels) Charts and No. 10 on the ARIA (Australian Recording Industry Association) Top 40 Urban Album charts.

2010–2015: ''The Life of Riley''

In an interview with The Vine in November 2010, Drapht advised that he had not renewed his contract with Obese Records and that he will be releasing his forthcoming album ''The Life of Riley'' independently. The first song released from the album is "Rapunzel", for which he describes: ''

The Life of Riley ''The Life of Riley'' is an American radio situation comedy series of the 1940s that was adapted into a 1949 feature film, a 1950s television series, and a 1958 comic book. Radio The radio program initially aired on the Blue Network (later kn ...

'' was released 1 April 2011 and was the first release on Drapht’s own label The Ayems, which is distributed through Sony Music. The album debuted at #1 on the ARIA Album Chart and was the first Australian artist to do so in 2011. The second track to be taken from the album was "Sing It (The Life of Riley)".

2016–present: ''Seven Mirrors'' and ''Arabella Street''

Drapht released ''Seven Mirrors'' in August 2016, which peaked at number 4 on the ARIA Albums Chart. ''Arabella Street'' was released in November 2018.

Touring

In March 2009, Drapht undertook a national tour of Australia with fellow Western Australians,

with a number of the eastern states performances being supported by Pez. Drapht also made appearances at Homebake, Pyramid Rock Festival, Southbound, Open Arms and

MS Fest MS Fest was a music festival, held annually in Launceston, Tasmania Australia since 2006 until 2011 when the MS Society unsuccessfully attempted to establish a new event under the brand. Hobart, Tasmania. It was a single day event, held in Febr ...

. Drapht appeared at the 2011

Groovin' the Moo Groovin the Moo is an annual music festival that is held in six regional centres across Australia. The festival is held during autumn, typically in May of each year. Groovin the Moo was established by Cattleyard Promotions and their first fe ...

festival and undertook a national tour to promote the album, with support from Mantra and The Tongue. Drapht was the opening act for American musical duo

Twenty One Pilots Twenty One Pilots (stylized in all lowercase or as twenty øne piløts) are an American musical duo from Columbus, Ohio. Initially a band, the group was formed in 2009 by lead vocalist Tyler Joseph along with Nick Thomas and Chris Salih, who ...

during the Australia and New Zealand leg of The Bandito Tour in December 2018.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Compilation appearances

* ''Culture of Kings Volume 3'' (2003, Obese) (song: "Misunderstood")

Other appearances

Alongside many other Australian hip hop artists, Drapht appears in the music video for the Hilltop Hoods song, "Rattling the Keys to the Kingdom" (2012).

Awards and nominations

AIR Awards

The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as

AIR Awards The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector. History The inaugural 2006 awards were held at ...

) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector. , - ,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, himself , Best New Independent Artis , , - , rowspan="2" , 2011 , rowspan="2" , The Life of Riley , Best Independent Album , , - , Best Independent Hip Hop/Urban Album , , -

APRA Awards

The APRA Awards are presented annually from 1982 by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA), "honouring composers and songwriters". Drapht has been nominated for four awards. , - , 2011 , , "Rapunzel" (Paul Reid, Daniel Rankine, Larry Siler) , , Urban Work of the Year , , , - , rowspan="2",

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 ...

, , rowspan="2", "Sing It (The Life of Riley)" (Paul Reid, Daniel Rankine) , , Urban Work of the Year , , , - , Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year , , , - ,

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

, , Paul Reid, Daniel Rankine , , Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year , ,

ARIA Awards

The ARIA Music Awards are presented annually from 1987 by the

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing ...

(ARIA). In 2011 Drapht won two awards from eight nominations. , - , rowspan="7", 2011 , , rowspan="2", "Rapunzel" , , Single of the Year , , , - , Breakthrough Artist – Single , , , - , "Rapunzel" – Dave Parkin , , Engineer of the Year , , , - , rowspan="3", ''The Life of Riley'' , , Best Male Artist , , , - , Breakthrough Artist – Album , , , - , Best Urban Album , , , - , Drapht , , Most Popular Australian Artist , , , - ,

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

, , ''Seven Mirrors'' , , Best Urban Album , , , -

J Award

The

J Awards The J Awards are an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio station Triple J and which are judged by the music and on-air teams from radio stations Triple J, ...

are an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

's youth-focused radio station

. They commenced in 2005. , - , J Awards of 2011 , ''The Life of Riley'' , Australian Album of the Year ,

West Australian Music Industry Awards

The

West Australian Music Industry Awards The Western Australian Music Industry Awards (commonly known as WAMis) are annual awards presented to the local contemporary music industry, put on by the Western Australian Music Industry Association Inc (WAM). The WAMi Awards are Western Aust ...

(WAMIs) are annual awards presented to the local contemporary music industry, put on annually by the Western Australian Music Industry Association Inc (WAM). Drapht has won two awards. (wins only) , - , 2009 , Drapht , Best Urban/Hip Hop Act , , - , 2011 , Drapht , Best Urban/Hip Hop Act , , -

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Drapht 1982 births ARIA Award winners Australian hip hop musicians Australian male rappers Living people Obese Records artists People educated at Perth Modern School Rappers from Perth, Western Australia Sony Music Australia artists