Trio celebrate decade with tour

Celebrating their 10th anniversary, Australian hip-hop group Thundamentals will visit the region next week as part of their Decade Of The Thundakat regional tour.

Since forming in 2008, the trio have graced stages across Australia and Europe, headlining their own shows and supporting international acts including Big Boi, Macklemore and A Tribe Called Quest.

Now 10 years, two EPs and four full-length albums deep into their careers, the trio have hit the road for a lengthy 32-date anniversary tour.

TheTimesspoke with rapper Tuka (Brendan Tuckerman) ahead of the band’s appearance in Dunsborough and Margaret River, to chat about the tour, the challenges of the music industry and the group’s connection to the broader Australian community.

While Tuka said the group did not have a political agenda, they were not afraid to speak their minds.

“We’ve kind of seen the realities of some weird elements of Australia and hip-hop just throws a mirror in front of it all,” he said.

“I think Australian hip-hop or hip-hop made in Australia rather, sounds better than ever because we have this diversity that wasn’t really celebrated by the broader audience until recently.”

Hailing from the Blue Mountains region in New South Wales, Tuka said the trio had high hopes in the beginning but never imagined they would have “kicked so many goals”.

“Australian hip-hop (on commercial radio) wasn’t really a thing when we started,” he said.

“Our music translating effectively has been the most surreal thing.

“We’re actually doing the thing we set out to do — it’s a nice feeling.”

Support acts B Wise and Adrian Eagle will join the trio on their tour and Tuka said fans should expect the unexpected.

“We’ll definitely be revisiting songs that we would normally never play,” he said. “There’s the three of us on stage but there’s a couple of other things we’ll be putting into the live show as well.”

Thundamentals will perform at Settlers Tavern in Margaret River on Wednesday and Dunsborough Tavern on Thursday.