Welcome to a special guest feature of the homie Boo Lawson. I met Boo through the Sydney Underground Hip Hop scene and have rocked countless shows with the legend.
Releasing his debut album “Department of Mutual Obligation” in early 2020, Boo has continued to elevate his presence in the scene with collabs with none other than the Godfather GhostAttack and is now a prominent member of Rah!Records.
Boo’s music is a blend of hip hop, trip hop with rap vocals, singing and undertones of rock. The homie Boo Lawson.
Thanks for coming on bro. How long have you been making music/creating?
In this format, i. e. Boo Lawson, Boo! etc. I’ve been at it for give or take 4-5 years. Prior to this I cut my teeth (as many young upstarts do) in a hard rock/alt-metal group by the name of Drillhorse.
I started writing my own sounds asa kid with a guitar in 2006 and I wound up an MC a decade later. Singing and screaming are equally fundamental in my music though, and my rock’n and roll’n roots shine through in whatever I do.
I am a multi-instrumentalist first, rather than a vocalist, so it gets hard tying down a ‘personal sound’ at times because I like a bit of everything.
Dope. What inspires you?
I am inspired by solidarity, ways and means used by people to forge connec-tions with each other and greater communities. We are in this wicked world together and ‘survival’, both emotionally and physically, is fully reliant on coping with our struggles together. Also when I see someone really talented do something cool I’m like, “Wow!” -so that’s a thing too.
Did you grow up with music in your home?
Absolutely. My old man was a muso who regularly played in local venues and both my parents introduced me to plenty of artists, genres and styles. I was encouraged from an early age to perform and I’ve got the “bug” now.. My old man was a muso who regularly played in local venues and both my parents introduced me to plenty of artists, genres and styles. I was
Who are you listening to these days?
Home grown talent takes up more of my listening then ever before. Sampa the Great, Deadbeats, Dobby, Tasman Keith, ANYTHING from Rah! Records. The local hip-hop, soul and electronic scenes have been more inviting then anything else I’ve encountered in my years performing and running around different places.
That said, I still have a staple diet of 90’s hip hop (Wu, Son Of Bazerk, Tribe, DJ Shadow, Pharcyde), Jazz greats (Davis, Louis and Coltrane), British trip-hop (Massive Attack, Radiohead, Portishead) and newer influences like RTJ, The Four Owls and Four Fists. That, Tom Waits and the blues.
Boo Lawson - Pioneering Politics
What does music give you?
Frankly, a reason to live. It offers an outlet to the innermost workings of my highly deranged mind. It also gives me the option to teach people through rhythm, rhyme and metaphor about issues I feel are important in the world and need to be explored. Sometimes just saying something isn’t enough. You need flows. You need illusions. You need the embodiment of certain realities and vibrations.
What do you write about?
I’m hopelessly political, so my music often critiques the various governing bodies and institutions of the world that would seek to undermine peace, love and understanding. My lyrics regularly point to the depravity that “power” has as it corrupts, putting us in a constant struggle against whatever would seek to “Divide and Conquer”. That and occasionally I fall in and out of love, so there’s always a song or two in that hahaha.
What’s next for you?
I really want to release a vinyl album. Trouble is, I have too much material that I’ve been making (Start a thousand things, finish two) so I need to viciously cull some of my beloved art done to a reasonable size. Always learning new instruments too (currently saxophone). Also want very much to continue collaborations with other musicians and the fine folks at Rah! Records.
Oh, and given that the world is currently Fucked alla La Pandemic I’m hoping to get into more venues and gig a lot more as normalcy returns to our universe.
Funniest moments?
I like laughter that is organic. In the world of freestyle there’s always some-thing hilarious around the corner just waiting to jump outta ya head or some-one else’s. I can’t put a number on how many times I’ve been floored the past few years, in stitches because someone has done something funny like rhyme “Dolores with Brontosaurus mid-porous chorus”. It’s just an inventive corner of the creative realm and I can’t get over it. Go improv.
Big ups to Boo Lawson for taking the time to share such awesomeness with us. Boo is an artist who is not afraid to mix things up and I admire that. I also cannot wait until we are able to gig again.
I jumped on the mic at Uni the other day and belted out Friendzone. I am still buzzing. Small wins right.
So, Primitive has a brand new EP dropping Friday 12/02/2021. Get ready legends.
As always, thanks for rockin with ya boi Prim!