About

Holla! Ladies and Gentleman, may we introduce to you a man who should need no introducing, from the West Coast of Australia, weighing in at considerably less than most yet with an enormous bottom end, it’s Drapht, wordsmith, re-arranger, perfectionist, and the man who has finally delivered one of THE albums of 2011, “The Life of Riley”.

Drapht’s steady rise to royalty through the underbelly of the Australian hip-hop scene was finally crowned with the single “Jimmy Recard” which kicked the doors to the palace wide open back in 2009. The track went national and has spent an enormous 153 weeks (and counting) in the AIR independent charts; his “Brothers Grimm” album was one of the biggest selling independent records of the year.

For his follow up and fourth studio album, Drapht teamed up with longtime collaborator Trials (Funkoars) as well as a veritable treasure trove of musicians, producers, vocalists; grabbed his healthy sense of history, fought the outside and self imposed pressures and cooked up this magnificent musical monster: ‘The Life of Riley’.

Released on Drapht’s own label The Ayems (distributed through Sony) ‘The Life of Riley’ debuted at #1 on the ARIA charts, taking over top spot from Britney Spears and remained one of only two Australian artists to debut at number one in 2011. The now gold selling album features the platinum selling single “Rapunzel” and gold selling single “Sing It (The Life of Riley)”.

Since the release of ‘The Life of Riley’ Drapht has been a man in demand, starting with the sell out national ‘The Life of Riley’ album tour, the headline slot in the tent for Groovin the Moo Festival and appearances at Splendour in the Grass, Pyramid Rock and the Big Day Out.

‘The Life of Riley’ has received a fistful of accolades including a nomination for a J Award for Australian Album of the Year, a massive 7 ARIA Award nominations and a nomination for the Jagermeister Independent Music Award for Best Hip Hop Album. The ARIA Award for Best Urban Album and the Jagermeister Independent Music Award for Best Hip Hop Album now reside on Drapht’s mantle piece. Mostly recently Drapht had two entries in triple j’s hottest 100 with ‘Sing It (The Life of Riley)’ at #29 and ‘Bali Party’ at #74, backing up Rapunzel’s entry into the world’s largest music poll at #12 in 2011.

What the media said:

..overflowing with an impressive musicality that matches Drapht’s lyrical prowess.. – Sydney Morning Herald

It’s official, Drapht has morphed from small town emcee to bonafide hip-hop star, there is no argument – Xpress Magazine

..The Life of Riley is officially the benchmark by which all Australian hip hop releases will be measured – The Drum Media

This is a musical album; it’s hip hop with plenty of hooks and Drapht’s delivery has pitch and tonality that isn’t often associated with Australian hip hop – Rave Magazine