Perth rapper Zero Emcee’s winning equation
Since he first started rapping as a teenager, Perth’s Zero Emcee’s craft has taken him to places he never expected. Starting out locally, he has gone on to perform in one of the country’s most televised spectacles Dreamtime at the ‘G, and shared the power of music to the most vulnerable in society, including teaching hip hop to detainee’s in Northern Territory’s Don Dale Detention Centre. He’s not afraid to push himself musically either. Last year he joined West Australian Youth Jazz Orchestra (WAYJO) on stage for a collaboration called Beats & Pieces that was a highlight of last year’s program. Now this month he is joining forces again sharing the stage with the WAYJO Wednesday Night Orchestra to add some hip hop flavour to the big band repertoire as part of the WAYJO’s 40th year celebrations which take over the State Theatre Centre of WA on Friday, May 26 and Saturday, May 27. BRAYDEN EDWARDS spoke to Zero Emcee to find out about his story to date and what we can look forward to at the show.
It’s exciting to have you performing as part of WAYJO’s 40th year celebrations! It’s maybe not the kind of setting we’re used to seeing hip hop performed…how did the pairing come about?
The pairing came about from the CEO at Perth Creative College Patricia Alessi who is good friends with Mace (Francis) the Director at WAYJO. They decided it was a good idea to collaborate and here we are now.
You joined the Wednesday Night Orchestra and Daniel Chandler for a set at WAYJO’s Beats and Pieces show at The Rechabite last year. What was that experience like?
The experience was like no other and something you don’t always get to experience in your lifetime. I was very honoured to be part of the Beats and Pieces show for that night. I believe hip hop belongs with an orchestra and us coming together that night speaks for itself.
And what can we look forward to at your upcoming set at the anniversary weekend?
A massive stage presence from myself with the help of the WAYJO Orchestra. I will also be showcasing two new songs in the upcoming set for the anniversary weekend.
What’s something that jazz music and hip hop have in common?
It makes you move, you can see the similarity to when producers use jazz in their beats. Hip hop and jazz both make you move your feet.
When you first started out the hip hop scene was still finding its feet in Australia, possibly even more so in WA. Were there any artists that showed you what was possible and inspired you to go down the path you have?
Growing up I loved hip hop music. I was 13 when I went to my first show and at that age the artists that stood out to me the most were Omac, Drapht, Complete, Bitter Belief and Kerser. As you can see in my style a lot of my inspirations comes from these artists. I have lost a lot of close friends to suicide/drugs and a lot of my passion behind my music comes from wanting to do it for them.
You have been releasing music for some time now, what have been the highlights of your music journey so far?
The highlights in my music career so far has definitely been performing for Dreamtime at the ‘G in Melbourne back in 2019. I have also had the opportunity to support The Kid Laroi at RAC Arena on the Heineken Stage in 2022. Another highlight would be performing with JMILLA and Riley P in a community called Maningrida.
I won the 2018 NAIDOC Emerging Artist Award which was a really important highlight for me and also being part of the National Indigenous Suicide Prevention Conference with artists from all around the world. My most recent highlight would definitely having the opportunity to work at the Don Dale Youth Detention Centre located in the Northern Territory teaching hip hop.
The lyrics of your songs are central to the music you create. Has that also been a motivating factor for you? To get a message out there that people might not hear otherwise?
All my lyrics relate to my life experiences from what I have lived and seen. When people listen to my music they relate because they have been through it too.
What’s lined up for the rest of the year? Any more live shows or new music on the way we can look out for?
There’s plenty of new music on the way and plenty of gigs on the horizon. Follow me on instagram and Spotify to keep up.