Alex Jones: Taking Grime Down Under in Australia To New Heights

Melbourne-based rapper Alex Jones is back at it again, showing and proving why he is not only considered one of the best rappers in Australia currently but also one of the most talented grime emcees globally. Balancing classic grime influences including Ghetts, Wiley, JME, Skepta with hip-hop influences of Mobb Deep, 2pac and Nas has led to the development of a formidable and refreshing sound that is Alex Jones. Poised to break through in a major way in Australia, Britain and internationally, Alex Jones is an artist to get familiar before he blows if you don’t know. Having supported the like of The Game, Masta Ace, La Coka Nostra, Trem, Ghostface Killah, Mic Righteous, AJ Tracey, The Outlawz, Obie Trice, Tha Alkaholiks, Madchild and many more, he is certainly no newcomer to the game having amassed millions of streams and has a dynamic live show to compliment his skills on the mic.

The artist formerly known as Flea (and then Dr. Flea) burst onto the musical landscape in Australia with his self-titled debut Grime album “Blood Runs Deep” in 2011. He quickly followed this release up just a year later with the excellent extended album “Best Of Both Worlds” which dropped in mid-2012. This led to him not only joining local label Broken Tooth Entertainment, but also a handful of notable features with the likes of Tornts, Hyjak, Ciecmate as well as local grime legend and British import Fraksha of Smash Brothers / Nine High. During this period, he also had a major collaboration crossover success featuring on Will Sparks EDM anthem “Chemical Energy” in late 2012 that cracked the Top 10 on Beatport.

August 2013 saw the release of his debut 9-track solo EP on Broken Tooth Ent. titled “Keep On Moving”, this time distributing by Australia’s then number 1 hip-hop label in Obese Records. Alex Jones would then go on to team up with Son Of Sam forming LGEEZ and releasing the groups’ debut album “Cloud 9” which featured Prime, Big Hustle, Realizm, DJ Flagrant amongst others. The album was a critical success and acted as a precursor to the highly anticipated late-2016 album “Blood Runs Deep – Volume 2” that only served to cement his place as one of the top lyricists and rappers to emerge from Australia in recent years.

While being relatively quiet on the musical front in recent years, Alex Jones has continued to showcase his skills on selected tracks and radio cyphers – showing and proving why he is widely touted as one of Australia’s leading rappers. His technical ability often steals the show, and with lyrics and delivery to match it is not hard to see how his style has influenced a newer generation of Australian rappers. Now seemingly back and stronger than ever, stay tuned for the next highly anticipated release from the young veteran, and in the meantime catch up on why everyone from British Grime legend Ghetts rates the talented artist so highly.

While Alex Jones is certainly somewhat leading the charge for Grime Down Under, artists like Diem, Scotty Hinds, Murky (RIP), Sarm, Sunnah, Mr. Wrighty and especially Fraksha were all hugely influential in developing the scene throughout its infancy to today. Over the last few years, we have seen an explosion of new talent led by ChillinIt, Wombat, Nerve, Shadow, Talakai, Mitchos Da Menace and co who are all pushing it forward and starting to get the recognition they deserve, including ChillinIt’s recently released album “Women, Weed & Wordplay” that went number 1 in Australia.

Check the live radio cyphers below and above to see the best that Australia has to offer and catch him coming to a town near you soon.

Article by @thewriterau





