Sound Unlimited, formerly known as Sound Unlimited Posse and Westside Posse, was 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 and the first Australian hip hop act signed to a major label (

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

BMG) during the 1990s. The band's members were: Rosano (El Assassin) and Tina Martinez (who were brother and sister), MC Kode Blue and Vlad DJ BTL.

History

Westside Posse originated from the western suburbs of Sydney in the Burwood subdivision in 1983. Their first recording, "Pull the Trigger", was a track on a compilation album, ''Down Under by Law'', released by

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldwid ...

in 1988. Later in 1989 they became a dance, hip hop and pop group, Sound Unlimited Posse, with the line-up of Rosano "El Assassin" Martinez as rapper, Vladimir "DJ B.L.T." Cherapanoff (ex-Digits) and rapper Alan "Kode Blue". The group had members of Russian and mixed Spanish and

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

origin. They rapped about "the evils of racism and the power of positivity" in their single, "Peace by Piece (By Piece Mix)", released in 1990. Also in that year they supported the Australian leg of tours by visiting international artists,

Public Enemy "Public enemy" is a term which was first widely used in the United States in the 1930s to describe individuals whose activities were seen as criminal and extremely damaging to society, though the phrase had been used for centuries to describe p ...

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 ...

and

New Kids on the Block New Kids on the Block (also initialized as NKOTB) is an American boy band from Dorchester, Massachusetts. The band consists of brothers Jonathan and Jordan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg, and Danny Wood. New Kids on the Block enjoy ...

. After Martinez's younger sister, Tina, joined the group they shortened their name to Sound Unlimited. They released three singles from their debut album, ''A Postcard from the Edge of the Underside'' (1992), with "Kickin' to the Undersound" (April 1992), "Saturday Night" (October 1992) and "One More from the City" (April 1993). Members Def Wish and Sereck of

Def Wish Cast 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 ...

appear

b-boy 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 ...

ing in the film clip for "Saturday". The album title is inspired by the 1990 film, ''

Postcards from the Edge ''Postcards from the Edge'' is a semi-autobiographical novel by Carrie Fisher, first published in 1987. It was later adapted by Fisher herself into a motion picture Postcards from the Edge (film), of the same name, which was directed by Mike Ni ...

'', which is about a recovering

drug addict Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to engage in certain behaviors, one of which is the usage of a drug, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use o ...

. ''A Postcard from the Edge of the Underside'' was the only Australian rap album to be released by a major label (Columbia Sony) in the 1990s. This "breakthrough recording deal" was negotiated with the help of Public Enemy.Maxwell, Ian. "Sydney Stylee: Hip-Hop Down Under Comin' Up." ''Global Noise: Rap and Hip-Hop Outside the USA.'' Ed. Tony Mitchell. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 2001: p. 268. The group's origins in Sydney's western suburbs impacted the music they created. Those suburbs have residents, who are "traditionally regarded as real people, working-class, underprivileged and crime-ridden," and have substantial immigrant communities. They have significantly less access to the cultural and social capital of residents in more affluent, serviced suburbs, creating space for a different cultural form, that of underground hip-hop. Sound Unlimited publicly declared their underground status in that album title. Despite major label support, the group received criticism from some in the Australian hip hop community as their music was, "slick and heavily instrumental" and also because of claims by the band to represent Sydney Hip Hop. They contributed to the Australian Hip Hop scene by supporting several other bands. They performed at the

Big Day Out The Big Day Out (BDO) was an annual music festival that was held in five Australian cities: Sydney, Melbourne, Gold Coast, Adelaide, and Perth, as well as Auckland, New Zealand. The festival was held during summer, typically in January of eac ...

Music Festival in 1992. The group split up in 1994, with Rosano and Tina forming the UK-based acid jazz band

Renegade Funktrain Renegade Funktrain is an Australian groove band that formed in 1994. Renegade Funktrain was formed by former Sound Unlimited members Rosano and Tina Martinez along with Dereck Antunes. Their single "I Wonder" (a Buddhist-influenced reworking of t ...

with Tina's husband, Derek Antunes (a former drummer for New Kids on the Block's touring band).Mitchell, Tony
Indigensing hip-hop: an Australian migrant youth culture
, ''Local Noise'' (

Australian Research Council The Australian Research Council (ARC) is the primary non-medical research funding agency of the Australian Government, distributing more than in grants each year. The Council was established by the ''Australian Research Council Act 2001'', ...

). In 2004, the A.S.K. Mix of "One More from the City" featured on the various artists compilation album. ''15.Oz Vinyl: 15 Years of Australian Hip Hop on Vinyl''. It showcased early and important tracks in Australian hip hop. For the first time Sound Unlimited appeared with other key artists of the genre such as the AKA Brothers,

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 ...

, Def Wish Cast and

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 ...

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

Awards and nominations

ARIA Music Awards

The

ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...

are a set of annual ceremonies presented by

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 th ...

(ARIA), which recognise excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of the

music of Australia The music of Australia has an extensive history made of music societies. Indigenous Australian music forms a significant part of the unique heritage of a 40,000- to 60,000-year history which produced the iconic didgeridoo. Contemporary fusions of ...

. They commenced in 1987. ! , - ,

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

, , "One More from the City" , ,

ARIA Award for Best Pop Release The ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Music Award for Best Pop Release, is an award presented at the annual ARIA Music Awards, which recognises "the many achievements of Australians, Aussie artists across all music genres", since 1987. It is handed out by ...

, , , ,

References

External links

Sound Unlimited Posse artist profile on Discogs
{{Authority control New South Wales musical groups Australian hip hop groups