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In his own words “I wrote ‘Don’t Sweat It’ after running into an ex-girlfriend, thinking it might cheer me up. It didn’t. But now it’s fun to annoy my new girlfriend by playing it.

I’ve been a fan of Joelistics for nearly 15 years, so it felt bit surreal writing and recording the song with him, getting notes on lyrics and delivery from someone I really admire as an MC and songwriter.”

Aside from managing Big Village Records, Rapaport has spent the last decade creating innovative Australian hip hop through a slew of projects and collaborations and his solo work. Most notably, Rapaport is the creator and director of the pioneering hip hop-live art game show Sketch The Rhyme and is a founding member of boom bap trio Loose Change, who released two highly regarded albums in 2010 and 2013.

The forthcoming album Village Idiot is Rapaport’s second solo album, the first being released in 2009. Village Idiot follows Rapaport’s 2012 mixtape ‘Patterns’, one of the first grime releases from an Australian MC.

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“Rapaport’s lyricism is kept tidy and smart, sticking to simple repeated phrases and plays on words… What I Got employs diverse instrumentation including sporadic guitars and vintage-style sampling in a way that brings to mind the musical and vocal stylings of RATBOY.” – AAABackstage

 “Rapaport nailing his signature flow and sharp-as-a-tack lyrics over a somewhat different vibe than we’re used to from the man.” – Pilerats

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Village Idiot is an album three years in the making and boasts a diverse range of tracks featuring producers such as Ribongia (‘What I Got’), Arctic (‘FAM’), Kid Fiction (‘Lost In The Frequency’) and Joelistics (‘Don’t Sweat It’).

Already receiving praise from FBi Radio with “What I Got” being added to rotation and nominated for FBi’s SMAC Award – Best Song of 2016, Rapaport says “The songs on Village Idiot were written mostly for me, kind of like a tool to unpack and overcome the issues of stress and anxiety that I was going through. I wrote the songs like positive mantras, so no matter when I’d perform them, even if I was the only one there, they were songs I wanted to play and lyrics I needed to hear. It was a way for me to shut down destructive thought patterns, a way to trip the negativity running on a loop in my head. Ultimately, I wanted to share my lyrics with people going through similar issues.” 

Rapaport is also founder and director of the organisation School of Rap, a social enterprise delivering hip hop songwriting and beatmaking workshops to schools and communities across NSW.

Recently announced to be joining Butterfingers on their ‘Bullet to the Head’ tour this Autumn, Rapaport says “It is going to be an honour touring the country with Butterfingers. I’ve been a big fan of their tunes for over a decade and we both share a passion for live hip hop.” Rapaport’s brand new single “Don’t Sweat It” is out Feb 2 with forthcoming LP Village Idiot set for release March 2.

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Tickets via butterfingers.info

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AMNPLIFY – DB