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Hunter

BRING IT ALL BACK
INDEPENDENT/OBESE RECORDS DISTRIBUTION

The Australian hip hop world lost one of its most iconic characters in October 2011, when Hunter lost his battle with neuroendocrine cancer. Now, almost two years to the day, we’re blessed with a collection of songs he was working on right up until the end. It will be a tough record to listen to for a lot of people, let alone review, but it’s somewhat comforting at the same time. However not something that can be rated on a scale of one to five.

It kicks off with the feel good track, Party Fresh, but from the second track, You And Me, the mood turns down a notch. Reflective and melancholic, Hunter explores some of the mistakes of his past, segueing into Withdrawing where he declares he’s ‘withdrawing from humanity.’ This track showcases some of his most technically well-crafted lyrics, as his voice effortlessly rides the Matty Fresh beat.

In true Hunter form though, the positivity returns in the form of Relax featuring Crixus. It’s almost like he’s admonishing himself for being too maudlin earlier on and it paves the way for some Slick Rick-esque storytelling in 2 Little Boys and I Asked God.

The title track and album closer is an SBX posse cut, which in this context is especially powerful, particularly during an extremely moving verse from Layla.

Like all of Hunter’s output, this record is filled with earnest lyricism, making it a fitting epilogue to the life of a prolific and inspirational MC.

NICK SWEEPAH

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