With the hip hop scene bristling nationwide, it’s no surprise that Perth itself is contains some amazing emerging talent. Among them… or rather, leading them… is Emcee Able, a young man whose style is intelligent, sharp and insightful, not one run by ego or acquisition. His debut album – Brain.Pizza.Booze – was a stroke of genius, and Able is no stranger to the scene; he appears in WAMi nominated superband The Typhoons and is also responsible for The Flowlab nights.
Able is currently working on a double treat for the end of this year, the first being an album called Ice Cream Won’t Save You, the second a darker, more edgier piece full of glitch hop and dark futuristic sounds, an album called Read The Monitor. It’s full bore dedication to music that sees Able undertake two such ambitious projects, particularly the latter, an album he is both writing and producing himself.
‘It’s a slow process,’ Able says of producing his new album, ‘but in the end much more rewarding and gives me more room to develop my own style. Every artist has their own way of going about writing albums; I generally just make play lists constantly of the tracks that I think fit together. Eventually I cut out the weaker tracks and have something I’m happy with. The hardest thing for me is to finish a track. I have so many unfinished beats.’
Many people might be aware of Able’s work through his involvement with local spoken word collective, Cottonmouth. After all, it was Cottonmouth who chose Able as one of the shining spoken word makers in the state which led to an appearance at the National Young Writer’s Festival in New South Wales.
‘Spoken word and MCing basically go hand in hand for me,’ Able said of the crossover between the two. ‘When I do spoken word it’s usually me rhyming lyrics from songs. I rhyme them differently because it’s not to a steady beat, so I can emphasise certain parts more and leave space where I normally wouldn’t. It’s good to do because when you’re freed up and taking as much time as you like. When you return to the track it can give you ideas on how your vocals could differently sit on the recorded version.’
Able started his career off as a beatboxer, doing back up rhymes for other MC’s live. But as with most things, if you spend enough time submerged in the culture you invariably develop the skills appropriate to it through observation and exposure. After 18 months being back up, Able developed the skills to MC, and at the age of 17 took to the stage in this manner. He hasn’t looked back, crediting the tight knit nature of Perth’s hip hop scene for his development.
‘The scene in Perth is strong,’ Able added. ‘It’s sort of like a big family in a way. There are a few different factions of style and groups, and a handful of different nights. Myself and my mate Brad have also been doing our part for the scene by putting on our own hip hop events where we help out locals with their album launches, and run regular nights of hip hop for people to play at.’
Able’s co-produced nights, Flow Lab, take place every fourth Sunday at The Paddington Ale House. He also appears regularly at The Rosemount Hotel, where he will be appearing on July 31 as support to Melbourne’s MC Julez. Stay tuned for his two new albums, due out this November. www.myspace.com/emceeable
Scott-Patrick Mitchell
