Rapper Allday out to end ‘boredom’ of hip-hop shows with Startup Cult tour

RAPPER Allday says he’s never not been bored during a hip-hop show, so how will this 22-year-old’s Aussie tour be different?

Allday promises to keep it interesting

TWENTY-two-year-old rapper Allday, aka Tom Gaynor, debuted at No.3 with his long-awaited first album.

He talks to Kathy McCabe about the build-up to success, having better hair than Sia, covering INXS and more.

How did you celebrate your Startup Cult chart debut?

I went back to Adelaide to relax with my family and friends before the album came out but after the weekend sales came through and we hit our week-long target, we started drinking. I am not exaggerating, we have drunk a lot of different alcohol.

Melbourne rapper Allday.

Your fellow Radelaidean Sia beat you to No. 1 with 1000 Forms Of Fear.

I really love Sia. Everyone in Adelaide says Sia went to their school.

I saw you posted your debut on the Album chart, the Australian Artist Album chart, the Urban chart and you filled the top three spots on the Most Beautiful Hair Chart. Shouldn’t Sia have got a look-in on the hair top 10?

She does have that wig. It is a wig, isn’t it? I don’t want to be a wig-ist.

Even with all the likes and shares and follows, was there a moment when you realised things were getting big for Allday?

Probably when I did Groovin’ the Moo (in May). I got pushed into doing it when someone dropped out and they were by far the biggest crowds. I was backstage before the shows and I could hear people chanting Allday. I was trying to fight back tears when I walked on, I got pretty emotional.

Was it all social media build-up before then?

It was building for about a year without any radio or anything but when Triple J started playing it, I think some people see it as more legit and jump on to it. I don’t know, maybe it was all just a lot of hard work. And the fans. They were so dedicated through all last year when radio wasn’t on it.

There definitely seems to be a new wave of Australian hip-hop artists coming through who are appealing to a much younger fan.

I do sometimes have this feeling when I listen to rap music in Australia that it was maybe speaking to an older crowd. I was thinking I wanted to make loner music for Australian rap fans. Now I don’t do that as much, but it is still a mission statement.

“I would be a R & B singer if I could be,” says Allday.

Could your love of melody have something to do with the point of difference too? A lot more rappers are also singing on their tracks now. Even the older ones.

That is my favourite thing. I would be a R & B singer if I could be. Fans of hardcore Australian hip-hop aren’t really going to listen to me, anyway. It is not that big a deal to sing and make things catchy.

Australia does love pop music. We love ABBA.

Yeah, I swear we probably like ABBA more than anything else. ABBA and Pink. They should tour together and play every football stadium in the country.

Your Startup Cult tour looks like it is going to be a sellout. Are ticket sales a more accurate measure of your popularity than an album chart?

I want to be able to sell tickets. But I am more interested in people liking the record and listening to it in a way that they will still be talking about it in six months.

Melbourne rapper Allday.

You already have a lot of people talking to you about your music. How different is it interacting with fans at a gig instead of online?

It’s weird stuff when people meet you, so weird. You can say something normal but ... I have met people I idolise like ASAP Rocky and I was shaking, I was a wreck. But most people will just tell you their favourite song because they broke up with their girlfriend and that’s what they needed to hear. That’s why I love writing.

It seems male artists are big on the breakup songs in recent years.

Taylor Swift is pretty good at breakup songs. But, yeah, when I break up with someone, whether it is my decision or her decision, I can’t write about anything else, it’s going to engulf my record.

How are you enjoying the challenge of the live hip-hop experience?

I grew up watching a lot of bands as well, I have seen a lot of gigs. And I have never not been bored during a hip-hop show. I have seen my idols and still been bored at some point during the show. I want to create something that has so many live elements, it keeps it interesting for anyone, like during the Def Jam era when everything was so rock influenced.

You just nailed Never Tear Us Apart for Triple J’s Like a Version? Were you nervous taking on that song?

Oh, my God! We had a couple of run-throughs and my voice was shaking. I had to keep saying to myself I would look like an idiot if I was nervous because no one is ever that nervous, it’s just one song. But that was sick. The band was all my school friends and they were so happy that they got to do it and walk around Triple J.

So you must have been blown away by the response.

Someone actually said to me that Michael Hutchence would be looking down and smiling, and that was an amazing feeling. INXS are a very big deal and what Michael had done, how captivating he was, there was no one bigger than him so it was a bit of a risk. But people genuinely liked it.

â–  Startup Cult (Remote Control) is out now.

â–  Allday’s Startup Cult tour begins in Brisbane on October 3 and runs until the 25th with dates in Sydney, Canberra, Perth, Bunbury, Adelaide and Melbourne. For more details visit startupcult2014.com