I met Pete/Primitive a few years ago. One of the first things he told me was that he is a rapper. I thought to myself: “Shit. This guys gonna want me to listen to his music”.
Well, I was pleasantly surprised by This music. I watched the film clip ‘Found in ash’… what I heard was skillful rhyming and a lot of passion/heart. I was sold; instantly a Primitive fan and more than anything: relieved that’s I didn’t have to lie to my new mate.
I hadn’t know him long but we clicked straight away. Pete is charismatic, humble, funny and brutally honest. All these qualities are evident in his music but I in order to fully get the Primitive experience, I recommend going to see him perform. The bloke is not shy. He’s just as comfortable on stage as he is in the booth. He’ll make you laugh, you’ll nod your head, maybe even throw your hands on the air. He might even get you to sing one of his choruses. So, sit down, shut the fuck up and give it up for ya boy Prim. – Darcy Doogan
1st memory of music?
This is a great question. I remember my Mum having a party one night just after she’d met my stepdad. She was really into singer songwriters like Elton John and John Denver and I remember all the adults listening to the music in the lounge room. I must’ve been around 6 or 7 years old.
1st favourite song
I’m gonna be a bit cheeky and put 3 songs lol. To give context, my stepdad introduced me and my brother to bands like Metallica, Skid Row and Pantera which was obviously radically different from my mums collection haha. So I had 3 songs I liked to listen to before school : Quicksand Jesus, Darkened Room and Wasted Time, all by Skid Row. Amazing songs to this day.
How did you get into hip hop?
When I was around 12 years of age, my next door neighbor gave me a cassette tape of The Slim Shady LP. Prior to that, hip hop and rap were never part of my childhood home. That tape changed everything for me. I couldn’t get enough of the aggression, clever wordplay, punchlines and Em’s flow. That tape felt like something so precious and also so edge and naughty for me at that age. That’s when i started getting into raw rap and ultimately hip hop.
What did you like about it?
Like I said it felt so naughty. It was so different than anything I’d heard up to that point in my life. I felt like it was banned or something. I mean, if my mum heard it I’m sure it would’ve been for me. It spoke to me in a way no music had before. Apart from the technical prowess of the wordplay, the lyrics themselves were so potent.
When did you realise you wanted to rap?
When 8 mile came out, I used to fuck around and ‘battle’ kids in school but it was nothing serious. I was about 13 or 14. I used to freestyle when we were smoking weed and stuff like that. I was pretty good at it and I think I knew then that I wanted to be a rapper. I always had a deep love of words.
When did you start?
Well I guess I started around that time as I said above but I didn’t continue rapping from that point. I left it alone for a number of years. After I got clean and sober the 1st time, I began writing to get my emotions and thoughts onto paper. In my mind it was always rap, but that early stuff was more poetry. That was about 9 years ago.
Prim's Hymns
When did you get serious about it?
About 6 and a half years ago after I got sober this time round. Prior to that I always used to tell myself things like ‘I can’t write unless I’m stoned’. Haha it turned out to be the opposite for me and I write more now than I ever did on drugs.
Tell me about your 1st rap composition.
Haha I had this verse I was working on and had a beat from YouTube. It was the 1st time I was putting my lyrics to music and I was drunk. I was with my ex and an old friend. I began spitting these bars and it all soon started to go off-beat and become a bit of a mess. My lines had too many syllables and words in some, and not enough in others. The shame!
What’s been happening during Covid?
Lots of writing and studio time. I now have a home studio so its always fun to muck around and record some demos. I’ve learnt to record vocals and add a basic mix in Logic so that’s been great.
What are you working on?
My big project is my debut album Return to Emerald City, produced by the homie Supaadry. I had all the vocals recorded but at my new uni they have a ridiculous studio that’s just been built so I want to re record the vocals. I’m trying not to rush it and get it as close to perfect as I can. Other than that, Friendzone filmclip is on the horizon and will be my next release.
Why did you choose the title ‘Return to Emerald City?’
Suup said that Sydney is referred to as ‘Emerald City.’ It was news to me lol. So we came up with a few titles but it stuck with Return to Emerald City. I thought it was cool as it implies that we are returning to the City and we’ve been there before. It’s something familiar. Like there’s already been a collab with me and Suup. We wanted to pay hommage to Mighty Ash, Bugsy and the whole Rah Records crew after the epic release of Escape From the City of Steel as well.
Big ups to Darcy Doogan for asking me those questions and writing such a dope intro for me. Good to see the payment went through successfully lol. Jokes!
I found it cathartic and really awesome answering these questions.. I hope that’s how others feel when they are featured in this blog.
As always, thanks for rocking with ya boy Prim!
Great read!! You’re a true inspiration!! Love your studio pic Lol
Aww thank you!
Excellent interview prim.
Thanks bro!