''The Hard Road'' is the fourth studio album by Australian hip hop group

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 ...

. Released on 1 April 2006 by

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 retai ...

, it debuted at number one on the Australia

ARIA In music, an aria ( Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompa ...

Albums Chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include rec ...

, and was the first album by Australian artists to achieve that position. It contains the top 20 single "

Clown Prince "Clown Prince" is a song by Australian hip-hop band, the Hilltop Hoods. It was released in January 2006 as the lead single from their fourth studio album, ''The Hard Road''. "Clown Price" peaked at #30 in the ARIA charts, becoming the first Hi ...

". It achieved Gold status (35,000 units) on 8 April 2006, a week after release, and has now surpassed Platinum status (70,000 units). At the J Award of 2006, it won the Australian Album of the Year. announced on 1 December. It was also nominated for four awards at the

ARIA Music Awards of 2006 The 20th annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (generally known as ARIA Music Awards or simply The ARIAS) were held on 29 October 2006 at the Acer Arena at the Sydney Olympic Park complex. Presenters on the night includ ...

, winning Best Independent Release and Best Urban Release. Five of the album's songs placed on the annual

Triple J Hottest 100 The Triple J Hottest 100 is an annual music listener poll hosted by the publicly-funded, national Australian youth radio station, Triple J. Members of the public are invited to vote for their favourite Australian and alternative music of the ...

chart announced on 26 January 2007: "Recapturing the Vibe" (#77), "Stopping All Stations" (#56), " What a Great Night" (#41), "

" (#23) and "

The Hard Road ''The Hard Road'' is the fourth studio album by Australian hip hop group Hilltop Hoods. Released on 1 April 2006 by Obese Records, it debuted at number one on the Australia ARIA Albums Chart, and was the first album by Australian artists ...

" (#3). "An Audience with the Devil" samples the spoken parts (the interview between Suffa and the Devil) from the ''

Millennium A millennium (plural millennia or millenniums) is a period of one thousand years, sometimes called a kiloannus, kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting ...

'' episode "Somehow, Satan Got Behind Me".

Background

''The Hard Road's'' lead single, "

", reached the top 30 on the related ARIA Singles Chart. This featured guest verses from New York rapper, Omni, and British MCs, Mystro and

Braintax Joe Christie, better known as Braintax, is a British hip hop artist and producer. Christie had also recorded or appeared under the pseudonyms Brando Flux and Joey Brains. All of his releases were on his own record label, Low Life Records. Origi ...

. Hilltop Hoods received the inaugural Australian Independent Record (AIR) Award for Independent Artist of the Year and Best Performing Independent Album for ''The Hard Road'' in 2006. The track, "The Blue Blooded", is a collaboration with Australian MCs: Funkoars, Hau from

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 ...

, Mortar, Vents,

Drapht Paul Reid, formerly Paul Gary James Ridge, (born 4 September 1982), better known by the stage name Drapht, is an Australian hip hop artist from Perth. Drapht is a member of the Syllabolix (SBX) crew, a collective that includes fellow Perth-base ...

Muph & Plutonic Muph & Plutonic is an Australian hip hop group. It is composed of MC Muphin (Dan Young, also known as "Muph") and DJ–drummer–producer Plutonic Lab (Leigh Ryan), both of whom released several solo albums before joining together to form a comb ...

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, a ...

and Robby Balboa. On 27 April of the same year, Hilltop Hoods performed at the

Bass in the Grass Bassinthegrass (styled as ''BASSINTHEGRASS'') is an Australian music festival. It is the largest music festival in the Northern Territory, and has been held annually since 2003 in the territory capital. The festival is operated by the Northern ...

music festival in Darwin alongside fellow hip hop group, The Herd. That same day they issued a second single, the title track from the album. Its music video includes fellow members from the Certified Wise Crew – Cross Bred Mongrels, Terrafirma and Funkoars. Following the success of The Hard Road Tour in early 2006, the Hilltop Hoods began their second national tour for the year, The Stopping All Stations Tour, which visited more regional areas of Australia as well as the capital cities. They were supported by Koolism and Mystro. Late that year, Hilltop Hoods released their third single from the album, "What a Great Night". The video shows the group at a club with camera shots panning up and down to reveal a new location. It used special effects and is one of the most expensive video clips for an Australian hip hop group, mirroring the group's rise in success and popularity. Also late in the year the band won the

J Award 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 ...

for best album of the year from Triple J. They performed the

Homebake Homebake was an annual Australian rock festival, featuring an all-Australian lineup (with the occasional artist from New Zealand). The festival was first held on 3 January 1996 at Belongil Fields in Byron Bay, on the far north coast of New S ...

Festival and

Falls Festival Falls Music & Arts Festival (commonly known as Falls) is a multi-day music festival held annually in Lorne ( Victoria), Marion Bay (Tasmania), Byron Bay (New South Wales) and Fremantle (Western Australia), Australia over the New Year's Eve an ...

before the end of the year. ''The Hard Road'' received the AIR Award for Best Independent Hip Hop/Urban Release in 2007.

Track listing

Secret track and extra material

#Video clip of the first single "Clown Prince" is available for viewing on the CD. #Untitled secret track ("Ya Feel Big?", which works only on some stereos) - to access this track, start on track 1, "Recapturing the Vibe", and scan backwards. The song is about Hilltop Hoods' rise to fame and the struggles they endured because of this rise.

Song credits

Due to the MCs Suffa and Pressure performing different verses and choruses of varying songs, the sections done by DJ Debris and the large number of guest artists featured on the album, what follows is an extensive list of song credits. #"Recapturing the Vibe" - 3:26 #*Produced by Suffa #*Verse 1: Pressure #*Verse 2: Suffa #*Scratches by DJ Debris #"Clown Prince" - 3:52 #*Produced by Debris #*Verse 1: Suffa #*Verse 2: Pressure & ct #*Verse 3: Suffa & Pressure #*Scratches by DJ Debris #*Contains samples of "Laying Pipe" by Pornosonic, "

Excursions An excursion is a trip by a group of people, usually made for leisure, education, or physical purposes. It is often an adjunct to a longer journey or visit to a place, sometimes for other (typically work-related) purposes. Public transportati ...

" by

A Tribe Called Quest A Tribe Called Quest was an American hip hop group formed in Queens, New York City, in 1985,Q-Tip

and "Things Done Changed" by Notorious B.I.G. #"The Hard Road" - 4:06 #*Produced by Suffa #*Verse 1: Suffa #*Verse 2: Pressure #*Verse 3: Suffa #*Scratches by DJ Debris #*Contains a sample of "Out in the Woods" by

Leon Russell Leon Russell (born Claude Russell Bridges; April 2, 1942 – November 13, 2016) was an American musician and songwriter who was involved with numerous bestselling records during his 60-year career that spanned multiple genres, including rock and ...

#"Stopping All Stations" - 3:52 #*Produced by Suffa #*Performed by Pressure #*Scratches by DJ Debris #*Contains samples of "Ego Trippin' (Part II)" by

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 alternati ...

and "1-800 Suicide" by

Gravediggaz Gravediggaz was an American hip hop group from New York, known for its dark sense of humor and abrasive, menacing soundscapes. Gravediggaz blended hardcore hip hop, gangsta rap and heavy metal with horror elements to pioneer the hip-hop subg ...

#"Conversations from a Speakeasy" featuring Omni - 3:28 #*(M. Lambert/D. Smith/B. Francis/J. McDonald) #*Produced by Suffa #*Verse 1: Pressure #*Verse 2: Omni #*Verse 3: Suffa #*Scratches by DJ Debris #*Contains a sample of "You Gots to Chill" by

EPMD EPMD is an American hip hop duo from Brentwood, New York. The duo's name is a concatenation of the members' names "E" and "PMD" or an acronym for "Erick and Parrish Making Dollars", referring to its members: emcees Erick Sermon ("E" a.k.a. ...

#"What a Great Intro" - 0:24 #"What a Great Night DNR" - 3:06 #*Produced & performed by Suffa #*Scratches by DJ Debris #*Contains a sample of "For Pete's Sake" by Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth #"City of Light" - 3:40 #*Produced by Suffa #*Verse 1: Suffa #*Verse 2: Pressure #*Scratches by DJ Debris #*Bass guitar by Chris Lambert #*Electric guitar by Nick Lambert #"Obese Lowlifes" featuring Mystro and

- 2:24 #*(M. Lambert/D. Smith/B. Francis/K. Dafarmo/J. Christie) #*Produced by Suffa #*Verse 1: Mystro #*Verse 2: Pressure #*Verse 3: Braintax #*Verse 4: Suffa #*Scratches by DJ Debris #*Contains samples of "These Walls Don't Lie" by

Promoe Promoe (Mårten Edh, born Nils Mårten Ed; 28 April 1976) is a Swedish rapper, and member of Swedish hip hop group Looptroop Rockers, formed in Västerås, Sweden, 1992. He released his fourth album in 2009 entitled ''Kråksången'', and later the ...

#"Circuit Breaker" 3:29 #*(M. Lambert/D. Smith/B. Francis/D. Rankine) #*Produced by Trials #*Verse 1: Suffa #*Verse 2: Pressure #*Scratches by DJ Debris #*Contains samples of "Professor Booty" by

Beastie Boys Beastie Boys were an American rap rock group from New York City, formed in 1978. The group was composed of Michael "Mike D" Diamond (vocals, drums), Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass), and Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (vocals, guitar, programming) ...

and "Buddy" by De La Soul #"Breathe" - 3:15 #*Produced by Suffa #*Performed by Pressure #*Scratches by DJ Debris #*Bass Guitar by Chris Lambert #*Trumpet by Phil Ingram #*Contains a sample of "Unbelieveable" by Notorious B.I.G. #"The Blue Blooded" featuring Blue Blooded Allstars - 4:47 #*(M. Lambert/D. Smith/B. Francis/R. Mortimer/D. Rankine/A. Baker/L. Latukefu/P. Ridge/J. Laroner/D. Young/T. Staff/R. Warren/M. Honson) #*Produced by Suffa #*Introduction: Trials #*Verse 1: Suffa #*Verse 2: Mortar #*Verse 3: Trials and Sesta #*Verse 4: Hau #*Verse 5:

#*Verse 6: Vents #*Verse 7: Muphin and

#*Verse 8: Robby Balboa #*Verse 9: Honz #*Verse 10: Pressure #"Monsters Ball" - 4:19 #*(M. Lambert/D. Smith/B. Francis/A. Simmons) #*Produced by Simplex #*Verse 1: Suffa #*Verse 2: Pressure #"An Audience with the Devil" - 4:06 #*(M. Lambert/D. Smith/B. Francis/D. Rankine) #*Produced by Trials #*Performed by Suffa #*Contains samples from an episode of ''

'' entitled "

Somehow, Satan Got Behind Me "'Somehow, Satan Got Behind Me" is the twenty-first episode of the second season of the American crime-thriller television series ''Millennium''. It premiered on the Fox network on May 1, 1998. The episode was written and directed by Darin Mor ...

" #"The Captured Vibe" featuring DJ Reflux - 2:12 #*(M. Lambert/D. Smith/B. Francis/D. Yates) #*Produced by Suffa #*Scratches by DJ Reflux #"I Can't Take It" (deluxe edition Bonus Track) #*(M. Lambert/D. Smith/B. Francis/D. Rankine) #*Produced by Trials #*Verse 1: Suffa #*Verse 2: Pressure

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hard Road, The Obese Records albums 2006 albums ARIA Award-winning albums Hilltop Hoods albums