Def Wish Cast - The Legacy Continues (AUS)
If you’re a well schooled Aussie hip hop fan, then you’ll certainly know who Def Wish Cast is. These three Sydney MC’s were one of the first Aussie rappers to get any major play. Their 1992 release ‘Knights Of The Underground Table’ (the first full length Aussie hip hop release ever) remains a legendary. So when the group announced a return to hip hop 15 years after their first and only release, I was skeptical. Were they just riding the newly found interest in Aussie hip hop and trying to make a quick dollar?
Well, the answer is soon discovered the minute you put ‘The Legacy Continues’ in your CD player. The originators are back and they hit hard, very hard. The production on this album is flawless. Providing a mix old school hip hop, funk, and electro, ‘The Legacy Continues’ definitely keep your headphones jumping. The album kicks off with ‘Allstars’ where the crew reintroduce themselves to the masses, a definitive opening track which lets listeners know that they mean business. The first single off the album, ‘AUS Down’, epitomizes what hip hop is all about and if embraced by the masses will soon become an Aussie hip hop anthem. The diversity in the production can be noticed on each track, such as on ‘Rhymes Galore’ which begins off sounding something similar to an Eric B beat and then suddenly changes the tempo to an electro/funk styled beat. ‘The Lions Roar’ is another up beat production from Sereck, which sees the crew drop another hardcore banger proclaiming “Their style is vintage with a pinch of tough crew image.” I couldn’t have said it better myself.
The album is unfortunately rather short running just thirteen tracks deep including a couple of instrumentals as well as a DJ Katch remix for ‘Allstars’, but this is definitely one of those rather unique cases of quality not quantity. This is simply an album that needs to be heard if you want to feel the true essence of Aussie hip hop. ‘The Legacy Continues’ is what you NEED to hear, if you were a doubter who thought that there’s no possible way that Def Wish Cast could still produce an album 15 years after their prime then you can’t be further from the truth. Certainly one of the best Australian hip hop albums released this year, and it’s a privilege to hear from these three Sydneysiders again.
Standouts: AUS Down, Rhymes Galore, Complete
Contributed by Jon Emmenidis from Certified Hiphop
