Top of the Hill: How our Hoods conquered the country
They sell out the biggest stadiums in the country and their records go straight to number one on the charts, but Australia’s biggest touring act Hilltop Hoods never turned their backs on their hometown of Adelaide.
They completely sold out the Adelaide Entertainment Centre in just a couple of days, something some of the world’s most famous bands struggle to do.
Their last record debuted at Number 1 on the ARIA charts, their fifth in a row to do so. All up they’ve sat atop the Aussie charts six times.
And this year they opened for Eminem in front of 80,000 people in Melbourne, the biggest concert crowd in the history of the MCG.
Not bad for a bunch of blokes from Blackwood.
The rise of Adelaide’s own Hilltop Hoods from pioneers of an emerging genre that was dismissed by rock snobs as “skip hop” to bona fide stadium fillers has been one of the great Australian musical success stories.
Not only have Matt Lambert (Suffa), Dan Smith (Pressure) and Barry Francis (DJ Debris) risen to the top themselves, they’ve brought a whole raft of young artists with them and helped to change the face of hip hop in this country.
Acts like Adelaide’s own Funkoars and K21 were early signings to the Hoods own record label Golden Era (the group has since sold the label), as was Briggs, who was also taken on tour by the SA outfit.
Briggs has gone on to become one of the decade’s biggest stars, whether out front of indigenous hip hop outfit AB Original or on one of his many regular TV presenting, acting or writing gigs.
Also taken under the Hoods’ wing – pun intended – was up and coming Adelaide vocalist Adrian Eagle.
Eagle, who was a guest vocalist on the Hoods’ smash hit Clark Griswold and sang on stage with them at the Eminem show, has told how the Hilltop Hoods gave him the inspiration and courage needed to pursue music as a full-time career.
“My earliest memory of the Hoods, I was in the last year of primary school and I remember seeing flyers for their shows but the shows were always 18-plus so there was no way I could go,” Eagle said earlier this year.
“I remember hearing that the Hoods sold out this place and the Hoods sold out that place. And they were from not far from where I lived, so that really inspired me.
“They showed me that you don’t have to be American, you can be true to your environment. That’s what I respected about them. When I first moved to Melbourne, that first week, the Hoods were playing. I didn’t know a single person. I remember I was front row, one of the best shows I’d ever seen. I remember clearly being front row by myself and relating to them as a piece of home.”
For MusicSA general manager Lisa Bishop, the Hilltop Hoods embody the old hip-hop philosophy of “keeping it real”.
“I think that they give people a sense of pride and they’ve shown that you can have an incredibly successful national and international career and still be based in South Australia. They are still very much part of the South Australian community.”
Ms Bishop said the group – without making a big deal of the fact – were role models for emerging artists.
“They have young families and they’re all involved with various charities,” she said.
“But also there’s the fact that they have mentored and fostered so much young talent over the years.”
Ms Bishop mentioned Eagle and Adelaide singer Nyassa – who recently performed with the group at the Groovin’ the Moo festival and provided guest vocals to The Great Expanse – as two recent examples of artists who had a hand up from the Hoods.
“They have a knack for discovering new talent,” she said.
“And they’ve managed to stay fresh and continue to make new and innovative music.”
Adelaide Entertainment Centre general manager Phil King said the drawing power of the Hilltop Hoods was undeniable.
“Without doubt they would be Australia’s premier touring act,” Mr King said.
And he said the fact that the organisers of Australian festival Splendour in the Grass were able to call on the Hoods at the last minute to headline after US artist Chance the Rapper pulled out at the last minute proved that they were still at the very top of their game.
“Have a look at the clips online and the reviews from that show – everyone agrees that they were the standout,” Mr King said.
“They got the call on the Friday and had to perform on the Sunday. Most acts would practice for weeks before a show like that, but they rocked up and knocked it out of the park.”
Mr King said he thought the Hilltop Hoods thoroughly deserved the big bucks that came with selling out a venue like the AEC.
“Next weekend they’re playing the biggest room in Adelaide, but they’ve come up through small rooms and probably played for two hundred bucks or even for free.
“I just think they’re a real celebration of everything that’s great about the Adelaide music scene and the diversity of the musical culture that exists within this city.”
ALBUMS (ALBUM, YEAR, CHART POSITION)
A Matter of Time (1999) –
Left Foot, Right Foot (2001) –
The Calling (2003) 50
The Hard Road (2006) 1
State of the Art (2009) 1
Drinking from the Sun (2012) 1
Walking Under Stars (2014) 1
The Great Expanse (2019) 1
REMIX ALBUMS
The Hard Road: Restrung (2007) 8
Drinking from the Sun, Walking Under Stars Restrung (2016) 1
The Hilltop Hoods, with Mojo Juju, Shadow and DJ Nino Brown, Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Saturday, August 17 (sold out)