Briggs to hit the road

Victorian MC Briggs will perform at Dunsborough next month as part of his national tour promoting new album Sheplife.

The Melbourne-based rapper’s album, his second, was inspired by “warts and all” observations, experiences and stories from his hometown, Shepparton.

“I relate to where I’m from really well because if you can’t go home where can you go, ” Briggs said.

“I think Sheplife is pretty much every town. It’s relatable to any big town or rural city. The stories and the ideas that are portrayed, they’re my perspectives but it’s definitely universal in a sense. I am that kid that grew up in that town. I worked in the factories and I walked around those streets and I don’t try to sit on a pedestal and look at it. It’s my experience.”

The album was two years in the making and features collaborations with Ill Bill, Joyride, Hau Sietta and ARIA-winning Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu.

Briggs lists rappers such as Ice Cube and Snoop Dog among his formative influences and said he formed his musical tastes on a brand of gangster rap and West Coast sound popular in his youth.

“Chuck D was the man, and to this day I say Chuck D is the man,” Briggs said.

“What really drew me to rap — it was this massive entertainment value that I sensed from this whole genre of just intense charisma.

“I remember in 1993 or 1994 when I would have been about eight years old being really drawn to this character of Snoop Dog and just being mesmerised by how cool he was.”

Following the release of his debut album The Blacklist, Briggs won the opening slot on a sold-out national tour with the Hilltop Hoods.

He also joined their 2009 European tour and was later signed to their label Golden Era Records.

“The Hoods really helped me, they gave me the platform that was going to cement my presence within the music industry and that I can attribute to where I am now, ” Briggs said.

Briggs will be touring this October and November with special guest Hau, from Koolism, who is releasing his Football, Feasts and Funerals mix tape.

Briggs will perform at the Dunsborough Tavern on October 11.

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