Hyjak N Torcha 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 ...

group from

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Biography

The group formed in 2000, consisting of Hyjak (Jack McCarthy), Torcha (John Chmielewski), and

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 ...

(George Kordas). Hyjak first appeared on the scene in 1998, at the age of fifteen he snuck into a pub in the Sydney suburb of Kings Cross to compete in a rap battle, which he won.Bio at the band's website
/ref> Torcha, hailing from Sydney's west, was an active volunteer youth worker, doing programs in youth prisons and performing at anti-war rallies. Formally part of Sydney's Eth-nik Tribe, another Australian hip hop group. Hyjak N Torcha signed to

Obese Records Obese Records was a record label that released music from the Australian hip hop genre. It was the largest Australian independent hip hop label, including performers Pegz, Thundamentals and Dialectrix. Obese Records also operated two retail ...

and their first album ''Drastik Measures'' was released in 2004. "Sneak", a single from that album, received airplay on

Triple J Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian Radio in Australia, radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greate ...

and the video clip was played on '' rage''. The album was reviewed on Triple J's website. They have since performed with artists including the

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) a ...

De La Soul De La Soul () is an American hip hop trio formed in 1988 in the Amityville area of Long Island, New York. They are best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative ...

Xzibit Alvin Nathaniel Joiner (born September 18, 1974), better known by his stage name Xzibit (pronounced "exhibit"), is an American rapper, actor, television presenter, and radio personality. Xzibit began his musical career after the release of his ...

Mobb Deep Mobb Deep was an American hip hop duo from New York City. The duo consisted of rappers Prodigy and Havoc. They are considered to be among the principal progenitors of hardcore East Coast hip hopEdwards, Paul, 2009, ''How to Rap: The Art & Scien ...

Gang Starr Gang Starr was an American hip hop duo, consisting of Texas record producer DJ Premier and Massachusetts rapper Guru. For the entirety of their association, they were based out of Brooklyn, New York. Gang Starr was at its height from 1989 to 2 ...

, Lord Finesse,

Swollen Members Swollen Members is a Canadian hip hop group from Vancouver, British Columbia, consisting mainly of Madchild and Prevail. Frequent collaborators include vocalist Moka Only (who was actually a member of the group for a short period of time in the ...

Murs Murs may refer to: People * Marc Athanase Parfait Œillet des Murs (1804-1878), French ornithologist * Olly Murs (born 1984), English singer-songwriter * Murs (rapper) (born 1978), American rapper Places * Murs, Indre, France * Murs, Vaucluse, ...

and

Ice Cube An ice cube is a small piece of ice, which is typically rectangular as viewed from above and trapezoidal as viewed from the side. Ice cubes are products of mechanical refrigeration and are usually produced to cool beverages. They may be produc ...

. The group's members are also affiliated with Dominion, an Australian hip hop crew. Hyjak N Torcha have made guest appearances (together and separately) on records by artists including

(Hyjak performed on

' album '' The Calling''),

Bliss n Eso Bliss n Eso (formerly known as Bliss n' Esoterikizm) are an Australian hip hop trio based in Sydney. They are currently signed to Melbourne record label Illusive Sounds, and are managed and booked by label co-founders Adam Jankie and Matt Gudin ...

(Hyjak did a guest verse on the track "Get Loose" on their album ''

Day of the Dog ''Day of the Dog'' is the second album by Australian hip hop group Bliss n Eso. It was released via Illusive Sounds in March 2006 in both vinyl and CD formats. The title is a metaphor for Australian hip hop being the 'underdog' of the Austral ...

'') and

Pegz Tirren Staaf, otherwise known as Pegz (or MC Pegasus), is an Australian hip hop artist and producer hailing from Melbourne, Victoria. He was the CEO of Obese Records—the record label responsible for artists such as Hilltop Hoods, Downsyde, ...

(Hyjak and Torcha appeared on

's ''

Axis An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to: Mathematics * Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis * Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinat ...

'' album). They also released a videoclip for their track "A Night with Chopper", featuring Mark Brandon "Chopper" Read, from his album, ''

Interview with a Madman ''Interview with a Madman'' is a hip hop album by Australian criminal Mark "Chopper" Read, released on Rott'n Records on March 13, 2006. Read's foray into music features gritty tales of organised crime, jail time and ear mutilation, and he is ...

'', which, in 2006, won the award for 'Best New Filmmaker' (Matt Chuang) at the BelowGround Music Video Fest Awards. The group released their second album, ''Unregrettable'', in 2009. The album was produced by Mules and features appearances by

, N'fa and S.Q.Z.

Solo careers

Hyjak

Hyjak released his first solo EP in 2002 "Breaking Sound Barriers" through Statik Recordings, DJ Bonez produced the whole EP and it was released on limited 12" inch vinyl. In 2006, Hyjak released a mixtape, ''Shady Characters'' featuring Torcha, Kye, Bliss N Eso and others. He also performed on a track for Jase's single "Nutcase". In 2011, Hyjak released a mixtape called ''The Reminder Mixtape'' featuring Kerser, Chow. P and Thorn. Hyjak released a solo LP, ''Light at the End of the Tunnel'', in 2013, distributed by Obese Records. Two years later Hyjak released his second LP "Stage Diving With No Crowd", released on CD and digital.

Torcha

Torcha formed a five-piece band,

A Broken Silence A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...

, with keyboardist B-Don (Brendon Costello), guitarist Cactus (Daniel Bartulovich), bass player Boots (Simon Lennon) and drummer Nathan Tuffin. The band attracted the attention of

Tim Freedman Timothy James Freedman (25 November 1964) is an Australian musician, best known as the mainstay lead singer and keyboardist of the Australian band The Whitlams formed in 1993. Note: n-lineversion was expanded from the 2002 edition. The song ...

, who collaborated with Torcha on "The Road is Lost", the first single from the band's debut album, ''All For What'', released in 2009. Torcha played the song whilst touring around Australia with Freedman's band, The Whitlams, with the

Sydney Symphony Orchestra The Sydney Symphony Orchestra (SSO) is an Australian symphony orchestra that was initially formed in 1908. Since its opening in 1973, the Sydney Opera House has been its home concert hall. Simone Young is the orchestra's chief conductor and firs ...

. The album also features guests appearances from

Ozi Batla Ochakiv, also known as Ochakov ( uk, Оча́ків, ; russian: Очаков; crh, Özü; ro, Oceacov and ''Vozia'', and Alektor ( in Greek), is a small city in Mykolaiv Raion, Mykolaiv Oblast (region) of southern Ukraine. It hosts the admini ...

( The Herd), Patriarch (USA) and DJ Skizo. Torcha released his solo LP, ''Frozen State'', together with producer B-Don in 2010. The beats were created without any use of samples and the instruments are mostly played by B-Don. The album features guest appearances from N'fa, Hyjak, S.Q.Z, 2furious and also

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

n mega-star Bobby Kim with his crew

Buga Kingz Buga may refer to: Places * Mount Buga, an inactive volcano in Zamboanga del Sur province, the Philippines * Buga (barangay), a barangay in San Miguel Municipality, Bulacan, Philippines * Buga, Valle del Cauca, city and municipality in the Colo ...

Discography

Albums

*''Drastik Measures'' -

Obese Obesity is a medical condition, sometimes considered a disease, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it may negatively affect health. People are classified as obese when their body mass index (BMI)—a person's we ...

(OBR016) (2004) *''Unregrettable'' -

(OBR066) (2009)

Singles

*"Sneak" - Obese (2004)

Compilation appearances

* ''Lab Exposed - Volume 1'' (1999), Statik Recordings (songs: "Kryptonite + Hijak", "Ill Combat", "Best Kept Secret") * ''The Fourth Element Effect'' (1999), Blitzkrieg (songs: "Wack or Dope", "Yeast Infection") * ''Culture of Kings - Volume 2''(2002), Obese Records (song: "Face The Music") * ''Obesecity'' (2002), Obese Records (song: "Point of No Return") * ''Culture of Kings - Volume 3'' (2003), Obese Records (song: "It's Over") * ''Straight From The Art 2'' (2004),

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

(song: "The Science") * ''Home And Hosed - Freshly Plucked'' (2004), ABC Music (song: "Corrected") * ''Chopper Read -

'' (2006), Rott'n Records (song: "Night With Chopper") * ''The Stolen Records'' (2007), FBi Records (song: "The Test") * ''The Whitlams - Greatest Hits'', ft Torcha and A Broken Silence (song: "The Road is Lost")

Hyjak solo works

* ''Breaking Sound Barriers'' (2002) ( EP) - Statik Recordings (DSR-006) * ''Shady Characters'' (2006) * ''Light at the End of the Tunnel'' (2013) ( LP) - Obese Records * Stage Diving With No Crowd (2015) ( LP) - All Out Records

Tracks with other artists

Kerser Scott Froml (born 21 August 1987), better known by his stage name Kerser, is an Australian rapper. He has released two mixtapes and several albums since 2009 and his second album ''No Rest for the Sickest'' reached No. 15 on the ARIA albums ch ...

and Hyjak, "Roll on Up" and "I Remember" (2011) * Rates and Hyjak, "Suicide" (2013)

DJ Bonez solo works

Torcha solo works

* A Broken Silence ''All For What...'' - Bad Seed/

MGM Distribution MGM Distribution (Metropolitan Groove Merchants) is the largest independent distributor of Australian music and music related merchandise and was established in April 1998 by Sebastian Chase. MGM Distribution was specifically set up as a dist ...

(ABS002) (16 October 2009) * Torcha & B-Don ''Frozen State'' - Independent/Obese (TNB001) (5 March 2010)

References

External links

Artist bio
at

website
Interview with Hyjak - Central Station (31 March 2004)

{{Authority control Australian hip hop groups Obese Records artists