Hilltop Hoods share the heartbreak behind their new single The Gift
Hip hop pioneers Hilltop Hoods return after six-year album hiatus with deeply personal new single. You may need tissues for this one.
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Aussie hip hop kings The Hilltop Hoods usher in their first new record in six years with a heartstrings-pulling tribute to their parents after the death of Matt “Suffa” Lambert’s father last year.
The revered MC opens the new single The Gift, featuring rising soul singer Marlon, with a verse about his beloved dad who collected jazz and blues records.
“My dad used to put on the blues, I could hear his head banging on the wall in the next room. And now after he had passed, I realised it was music he had passed.”
It has been the longest break between albums for the Adelaide trio of Suffa, Pressure and DJ Debris, one of Australia’s biggest groups with more than 1.6 billion streams and six No. 1 records that have sold more than one million copies.
They are also one of the biggest box office draws in the country with an enviable setlist that features hits including 1955, the Nosebleed Section, Leave Me Lonely and Exit Sign.
The trio shared the new single – the first new music they have released since the one-off track Laced Up in 2023 – is the “heart” of the upcoming ninth record.
“The Gift is the cornerstone of the album, its heart. And to be honest, it was really f … ing difficult to write. It’s about the role that music played in our homes when we were growing up, and how it’s a gift that our family gives us,” Suffa shared on social media.
“Writing about family’s always hard, but I feel like it’s a song that everyone can connect with.
“A song can connect us to our childhood memories as easily as a photograph, and that’s what we aimed to do with The Gift.”
While the Hoods are renowned for their bangers, the Adelaide trio have often shared their personal struggles in songs such as 2014’s Through the Dark which shared Pressure’s young son’s battle with leukaemia.
The song features the stunning soulful vocals of Marlon Motlop who featured on Kill The Dead, the ARIA award-winning debut record from First Nations hip hop collective 3% and was discovered by the group’s producer Trials.
The ARIA award-winning band have yet to share the title or release date for the long-awaited new album which is “nearing completion”.
The hip hop trailblazers apologised for the delay as they shared the new track., telling fans “we’ve missed you.”
“It’s been a crazy journey since our last album, The Great Expanse, came out in 2019. It somehow manages to simultaneously feel like yesterday and three decades ago,” they said.
While the band have played sporadically at local festivals and toured overseas in recent years, it is likely a national tour will be announced to coincide with the new record later this year.
They are booked to perform at the final Bluesfest at Easter before heading to Switzerland in August for three festival appearances.
Originally published as Hilltop Hoods share the heartbreak behind their new single The Gift
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