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Allurn – Authentic Freestyle Rapper

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My guest today is a freestyle rapper that goes by the name of Allurn. I have shared many a stage with Allurn and even battled him a few times. He is a staple among the Sydney hip hop community and is known for his comical freestyles, wit, humour and entertaining bars.

Being a freestyle rapper is one of the most pure forms of emceeing, arguably the purest. It takes dedication, practice, sharp wit, the ability to think on your feet and resilience. You can’t be afraid to fuck up in front of the crowd. For me that only came from fucking up in front of the crowd. 

There are so many moving parts when you’re coming off the dome on stage. Crowd control, your next lines, thinking ahead, improvising, keeping time with the beat. All these are happening simultaneously and so many more. 

It’s people like Allurn that are must-haves in any freestyle cypher as he makes it look so damn easy and he is a funny motherfucker. Enjoy!

Allurn

When did you start freestyling bro?

I started freestyle rapping in between the end of 2010 and early 2011 (period between finishing high school and beginning uni) with a high school mate. We were both intrigued by how certain rappers were able to improvise raps off the dome whilst rapping on radio shows (e.g. Sway in The Morning 5 Fingers of Death, Tim Westwood, Funk Flex etc.)

 
Dope. What inspires you to rap?
 
There are many factors which inspire me to rap: The ability to build self-confidence, the ability to be creative in all aspects of life without having pre-assumed social restrictions, the ability to inspire and entertain others to be themselves without fear, the ability to challenge others, the ability to be seen as brave and as a powerful but fun fair leader….. in short – to be truly myself with no filter.
 
Who do you look up to? 
 
I look up to the following group of rappers, as they are all creative influences who continue to push boundaries in their own ways: Lupe Fiasco, Pharrell, Kanye West, Suboi (Vietnamese Queen of Rap), Kendrick Lamar, Tyler the Creator, J. Cole, Nah (Vietnamese rapper), Jay-Z. Outside of music, I am inspired by footballers like Lionel Messi, Philip Lahm, Andres Iniesta, Park Ji-Sung, Thiago Alcantara, and am also inspired by numerous YouTube Calisthenics personalities (too many names to mention!) In short – I look up to those who work hard to craft out a life that expresses them as unique individuals.

Have you always been into music?

Yes, from primary school days, my fascination with urban/RnB/rap/hip hop music begun the moment I watched “All Rise” by Blue on Rage ABC TV. I remember between 8.30pm-9pm always trying to listen to new Blue songs such as “All Rise”, “Too Close” and “Fly By 2”, because they sounded so much better than other genres which I considered bland.

I was really into the songs that had a mix of rap and singing verses during the 2000s, and have continued to enjoy songs produced by the Neptunes, Pharrell, Kanye etc. These days, I am more into Vietnamese Rap/Pop Music, as it helps me fulfill my long-term goal of rapping fluently in both English and Vietnamese.

Viet Rap in particular recently is on a boom trend, having recently seen the finale/ending of 2 mainstream rap shows called Rap Việt and King of Rap. This is significant for Vietnam, given the censorship of Viet Rap in the past by communist practices, and the rapid emergence and acceptance of rap by the Vietnamese as a genre that doesn’t just focus on bad things like drugs, alcohol, misogyny but as a genre that embraces family, love and respect (3 common Vietnamese principles).

I prefer freestyling over writtens

You’ll find that my YouTube is stacked with various freestyles over the years about virtually anything (e.g. football/soccer, Westfields, Donald Trump, Hustle & Flow Bar, Glebe Bed Bar, friendly rap battling), my Soundcloud is stacked with my original written songs about socially conscious relatable topics (Sydney Trains, coronavirus, racism, social distancing, masks, face to face, lust, goals, cheating, lonely, lazy etc.) while my Instagram has a mix.

I started off freestyling, and have ventured into creating original songs from time to time, but I’ll always value freestyling over writtens. I just enjoy the adrenalin and instant guaranteed enjoyment and freedom from being able to improvise live in public as opposed to the high risk yet high reward style of original songs (high risk of major depression and disappointment versus high reward of making a life-changing song).

I have to shout out Hustle and Flow Bar, Rock the Block, Glebe Bed Bar as rap venues that have allowed me to freestyle regularly.

During this pandemic, I’ve had to turn to writtens and thus have created the aforementioned songs inspired by the pandemic. The strange thing is that when I freestyle, I’m the complete opposite of seriousness as per my Soundcloud original songs! I believe that if something is written, it has to be meaningful and deep as it will be replayed and analysed time and time again, whereas freestyles are just in the moment but so much more fun!

Rapping for me is a passion..

..but not a way to make money. It is just like my passions of having a healthy lifestyle, exercising, playing football/soccer, listening to music, having a well-balanced work/life balance. Sometimes I feel frustrated when people say: “Why don’t you make money from your rapping? What’s the point in rapping? Do you get paid when you rap at the open mics? Let me know when you’re famous/rich”
 
Yes, there is nothing wrong with making money from your passion, but for me, my job is my money maker and provides me with a work/life balance. As a society, I think a lot of us are too fixated on profits/money yet have no actual hobbies/activities where we do them not for money, but for the love and enjoyment that money can’t buy… 
As a society, too many of us just consume and lack uniqueness, creativity and the ability to be unfiltered and not be a clone…. I always am more interested in connecting with others who are the opposite: producers of creativity, valuing time over money etc. For those who have the aforementioned money mentality, you need to stop thinking about just doing things to make money. You don’t make money when you eat like a pig, go to the loo etc. Just value your time to enjoy as well as making money for BALANCE.
 
Prim – I could go on!

Big ups to Allurn for taking the time to share with us. That last section was all truth and I strongly agree with Allurn’s thoughts. The cliché: “There are some things money can’t buy” springs to mind. It’s an old cliché but it’s one that has lasted and it’s one that everyone knows.. probably because it’s true and we all know it deeply.

If you wanna find Allurn’s massive body of work just type in ALLURN on all socials. I would suggest YouTube as he is in his element rocking mics live with his funny, witty raps and Soundcloud for his original serious songs.

As always thanks for rocking with ya boi Prim!

until next time, peace fam!

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