''Who Am I'' is the second full-length album from Western Australian hip hop artist,

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 ...

. It was released in June 2005 through Australian Hip Hop label,

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 ...

. It was released in both in a CD and a limited 2 LP vinyl format. The album features contributions by

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 ...

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 ...

(

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 ...

) and

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) a ...

). Two songs from the album, "Drink Drank Drunk" and "The Music", received airplay on community radio stations and national youth broadcaster,

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 featured on national music video show, '' rage''. "The Music" samples Living Jazz's version of " Walk On By" and was selected by Triple J as a featured track for Ausmusic month in 2005. The album has subsequently been included in the

National Film and Sound Archive The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting and providing access to a national co ...

(NFSA) as part of ''The Art of Sound'', a collaborative project between the NFSA and selected regional art galleries, which examines the intersections between sound and the visual arts.

Reception

In a review of the album, Carmine Pascuzzi, describes it as a compilation of "soulful melodies and some heavy textures". He goes further to state "Drapht’s strong voice is most apparent and he can therefore accentuate the topics he pinpoints, be it social and political concerns. And he throws in some good humorous elements as well which makes for something personable to his public. His style switching will stand him in good stead as he advances his prowess as an MC." Clayton Bennett's review on the album comments that "Drapht has the flow and the skills. Dazastah makes hot beats. Alas despite these two surefire elements the official album ''Who Am I'', the follow up to ''Palerider'', from Western Australian MC Drapht has some rough edges. Cheesy hooks and some overdone melodrama are pitfalls in an otherwise enjoyable release by the charismatic artist." Bennett goes on to state "Despite its downfalls ''Who Am I'' stands solid with diverse subject matter for a fifteen track album with the use of hooks hit and miss but the flows and lyrical ability are on point throughout."

Track listing

References

{{Authority control 2005 albums Drapht albums Obese Records albums