Hilltop Hoods

Hilltop Hoods are an Australian hip hop group that formed in 1994 in Adelaide, South Australia. The group was founded by Suffa (Matthew David Lambert) and Pressure (Daniel Howe Smith), who were joined by DJ Debris (Barry John M. Francis) after fellow founder, DJ Next (Ben John Hare), left in 1999. The group released its first EP, Back Once Again, in 1997, and have subsequently released eight studio albums, two "restrung" remix albums and three EPs. Hilltop Hoods have experienced popularity locally with six of their eight albums reaching number No. 1 on the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) albums chart:The Hard Road (2006), State of the Art (2009), Drinking from the Sun (2012), Walking Under Stars (2014), Drinking from the Sun, Walking Under Stars Restrung (2016), and The Great Expanse (2019). Three tracks have reached the top 10 on the ARIA Singles Chart —"Chase That Feeling" (2009), "I Love It", featuring Sia (2011) and "Higher", featuring James Chatburn (2015). "Cosby Sweater" (2014) and "1955" (2016) reached the top 5. Hilltop Hoods have toured both in Australia and overseas, including playing at many music festivals, including Big Day Out, Southbound, Splendour in the Grass, Groovin' The Moo, Falls Festival, Pyramid Rock Festival. As of January 2026[update] the band hold the record for the most recurrent artist in the history of the Triple J Hottest 100, with 27 songs voted into the annual countdowns since their first appearance in 2003. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2006 they won "Best Independent Release" and "Best Urban Album" for The Hard Road. In 2007, they won "Best Urban Album" for their remix album, The Hard Road: Restrung (2007). They won the same category in 2009 for State of the Art and in 2012 for Drinking from the Sun. In 2009, Debris also won "Engineer of the Year" for his work on State of the Art. The band received their seventh ARIA award in 2014 when Walking Under Stars won in the Best Urban Album category at the 28th ARIA Awards. Two of Hilltop Hoods' founders first met in early 1990s when MC Suffa (aka Matthew David Lambert) and Pressure (Daniel Howe Smith) attended Blackwood High School in Eden Hills – a suburb of Adelaide. In 1996 they joined up with DJ Next (Ben John Hare) through a mutual friend and formed an Australian hip hop group. Their name was supplied by fellow local MC Flak (from Cross Bred Mongrels) – the suburb of Blackwood is known by locals as the Hilltop. The band's influences include American hip hop artists: Notorious B.I.G., KRS-One, Gang Starr, Wu-Tang Clan and Public Enemy. At live shows DJ Next was the group's DJ, for recording he contributed audio engineering and all the scratching/turntablism on their early works. He regularly competed in the local DMC World DJ Championships (DMC) tournaments, winning the South Australian DMC championships multiple times. Hilltop Hoods recorded a demo, Highlanders, which was released on cassette tape only. As well as Pressure and Suffa on vocals, the group included MC Summit aka DJ Sum-1, but he did not appear on later Hilltop Hoods work. The group's first official release in 1997, available on vinyl and cassette only, was a seven-track extended play, Back Once Again. Production was handled by DJ Debris (Barry John M Francis), turntablism and audio engineering by DJ Next, vocals by Pressure and Suffa. The third track, "Shades of Grey", features Debris with a verse, and was co-written by Francis, Hare, Lambert and Smith. Fifth track, "Mankind Must Suffa" also features a guest verse from Quromystix (aka Quro, Andrew Michael Bradley) – a member of Finger Lickin' Good and later the Fuglemen. "Mankind Must Suffa" is credited to Lambert, Smith, Francis and Bradley. Back Once Again is out of print and unavailable for retail purchase. The group's debut studio album, A Matter of Time, was released in 1999 on CD only. As with Back Once Again, it is now unavailable for retail purchase. All scratching/turntablism is performed by DJ Next, a track, "Let Me Show You", has no vocals – solely showcasing his turntable skills. American MC Bukue One (Tion Torrence) appears for a guest verse on "Deaf Can Hear". The track is credited to Lambert, Smith, Francis, Hare and Torrence. The album was released independently but with financial assistance from Arts SA – the band were inspired, in 2005, to set up their own Hilltop Hoods Initiative, to help local artists. After the album appeared, DJ Next left the group and moved to Melbourne. In 2004 he moved to London. In 1999 Debris, who was also a member of the Cross Bred Mongrels, replaced Next and became the Hilltop Hoods' full-time DJ. Hilltop Hoods founded the Certified Wise Crew – a hip-hop collaborative – with local groups Terra Firma, Cross Bred Mongrels and After Hours. Certified Wise Crew has since expanded to include MCs Trauma, Blockade, Kolaps, Flea, with Vents and Funkoars joining in later years. Hilltop Hoods received two nominations for the Hip Hop Act of the Year Award at the Australian Dance Music Awards and again at the 3D World Music Awards in 2001 and 2002. In 2001 the group's second album, Left Foot, Right Foot, was released with Lambert, Francis and M. Veraquth producing. On 22 September 2003, Hilltop Hoods released their third album, The Calling, which became a commercial breakthrough. In an interview after the release of their fourth album, Suffa revealed that The Calling was recorded on his mother's computer and the simplicity of their 'studio' is the reason why some of the music on the album is in monaural ('mono') sound. The Calling entered the ARIA Albums Chart in March 2004 and reached No. 53 before exiting the top 100 in September of the same year. By December 2006 it was certified platinum for shipment of 70,000 units, becoming the first Australian hip hop album to achieve platinum status. In March 2012, it re-entered the chart and peaked at No. 50 – eight-and-a-half years after its first release. It featured two singles, "The Nosebleed Section" and "Dumb Enough", which were listed in the Triple J Hottest 100, 2003. Furthermore, "The Nosebleed Section" was ranked No. 17 in the Triple J Hottest 100 of All Time in 2009 and No. 2 in the Triple J Hottest 100 of Australian Songs. Hilltop Hoods' chart and commercial success was a turning point in the Australian Hip Hop scene because it demonstrated widespread support for the genre that reached beyond an underground fan base. On 1 April 2006, the group followed with their fourth album, The Hard Road, which peaked at No. 1. It was the first Australian hip hop album to do so. It was certified gold within a week of being released. Its lead single, "Clown Prince", reached the top 30 on the related ARIA Singles Chart. It featured guest verses from a New York rapper, Omni, and British MCs Mystro and Braintax. The Hilltop Hoods received the inaugural Australian Independent Record (AIR) Award for Independent Artist of the Year and Best Performing Independent Album for The Hard Road in 2006. The track, "The Blue Blooded", is a collaboration with Australian MCs: Funkoars, Hau from Koolism, Mortar, Vents, Drapht, Muph & Plutonic, Pegz and Robby Balboa. On 27 April of the same year, Hilltop Hoods performed at the Bass in the Grass music festival in Darwin alongside fellow hip hop group, The Herd. That same day they issued a second single, the title track from the album. Its video includes fellow members from the Certified Wise Crew – Cross Bred Mongrels, Terrafirma and Funkoars. Following the success of The Hard Road Tour in early 2006, the Hilltop Hoods began their second national tour for the year, The Stopping All Stations Tour, which visited more regional areas of Australia as well as the capital cities. They were supported by Koolism and Mystro. Late that year, Hilltop Hoods released their third single from the album, "What a Great Night". The video shows the group at a club with camera shots panning up and down to reveal a new location. It used special effects and