Music & Nightlife

Hip-hop has been ruling the airwaves for decades and the rap game evolves every year, interweaving a barrage of genres from jazz to afrobeat, and minting fresh new faces and sounds. It takes a special catalyst to transcend beyond oblivion. Here are Singapore’s boundary-pushing rising stars that are taking the urban sound to another level. RECOMMENDED: The hottest EDM artists and DJs in Singapore 

"It isn't a gimmick or a stunt. I rap in Malay because I am Malay – it’s part of who I am," Muhammad Fariz Abdul Rashid explains. "I want to create music that my community and I can relate to." Working under the moniker Fariz Jabba, the 21-year-old rapper and younger brother of local comedian Fakkah Fuzz is unlike most peers his age. This hip hop wunderkind isn’t afraid to embrace his culture and he’s showing it in the music he makes by adding local humour and a dash of 'Malay-ness' in his bars. Breaking onto the scene last year after posting a series of freestyle rap videos on his social media, the young rapper has since gotten the attention of hip hop icons from around the region including rapper SonaOne and ex Too Phat member Joe Flizzow. Fariz’s most watched video, Kunci Gang – a playful Malay remix of Lil Pump's infamous rap anthem Gucci Gang – has close to 200,000 views and over 13,000 shares on Twitter. Now managed under independent record label M03 Records and training under homegrown producer Flightsch – who’s worked with local acts like Sam Rui and Gentle Bones – Fariz Jabba's proving to be an underdog in the scene and he's gunning for the throne. On how his rap career took off "I’ve been listening to hip hop and writing songs for as long as I could remember but only started taking it seriously after my national service. I did a couple of freestyle rap videos, uploaded it online and eventually got recognition from Malaysian rappers like SonaOne and DJ Fuzz.

Singer-songwriter Julie Byrne's beautiful sophomore record Not Even Happiness won her a wave of adulation when it was released in February 2017, picking up a Pitchfork Best New Music tag in the process. As the year closed, the album also made numerous Best of lists (including Pitchfork again), with critics inescapably spellbound by Byrne's beguiling finger-style tunes, performed on her father's old guitar. The other part of her musical equation is her vocals. Byrne was born with the gift of a golden voice (to borrow a phrase from Leonard Cohen), one that imparts her songs' poetic lyricism softly yet has the power to stop you in your tracks and demand your full attention. Even over a slightly fuzzy Skype connection her voice is captivating, as she carefully delivers composed, thoughtful answers. We take some time to chat with Byrne before she drops by our city on February 9 for her debut performance. Your released your second album Not Even Happiness almost exactly a year ago to widespread acclaim. What have the last 12 months been like for you? It's been a real whirlwind – and it hasn't stopped quite yet. There's sort of a lot of processing that will need to be done when I have some time without travel. It's been a year of growth, which can probably be said of any of the years before it, but this one... I don't know... it feels a little bit beyond the measure of words at the moment. "Touring can be such an unusual way to live and so psychologically demanding"

It’s been three years since The Internet released their Grammy-nominated third album, Ego Death. Over the months, members Syd Tha Kid and Matt Martians have produced debut solo albums while guitarist Steve Lacy, bassist Patrick Paige and drummer Christopher Smith each worked on their EP. Now that the band’s done with their own individual projects, the group says it’s time to put out their highly anticipated fourth offering. We sit down with the members (although, Smith was missing in action) at this year’s St Jerome’s Laneway Festival to get all the scoop. What does The Internet mean to you – literally and as a name?  Syd: It means the world to me. It’s a livelihood right now. But as name? It honestly doesn’t mean anything. We thought it was just funny.  What’s it like to play in SouthEast Asia?  Matt: We did Laneway two years ago and I remember it being hotter than it is right now! But it’s so beautiful here. It’s a place we’ve always wanted to come and perform at. The people are nice and the shopping here’s really good too! You guys have toured a lot around Asia including Seoul, Tokyo and Singapore. What other Asian countries or cities would you like to perform in? Syd: Hong Kong, for sure. Steve: I’d definitely like to go to the Philippines. I have a lot of brothers and sisters there and I can’t wait to visit them. Syd Tha Kid. Photo: Aiksoon Lee. What’s it like to be back in Singapore? Syd: It’s a lot better because it’s not as hot like back in 2016. Two year