Nikolai Egel
I'm a young up-and-coming hip-hop artist coming out of Adelaide, the Hip-Hop Mecca of Australia. I'm a Port Adelaide boy, born and bred. Me and my mates are all Black Diamond Boys!Band/artist history
I started writing songs about four years ago - It started when me and my best mate Walshy were sitting in McDonalds, and these little Homie fags walk in like they own the joint and started acting like Dickheads. He turned to me and said "Wouldn't it be funny if there was a song that they'd listen to, that paid them out?" and so we decided to write one. It was awful when I look back on it now, but it got us started on writing, and the two of us formed a group called the "Infinite Simplistic" and did about 8 songs together and put them on a bad CD. Not long after this, rap began to bore us (Both listening and writing) so we dismantled the group. About a year later, I was in a real bad place emotionally, and I thought, fuck it, i'm gonna vent this shit. I started writing again, and my rhyming became more complex, but I liked to keep my flow simple. I never actually rapped any vocals to my tracks until about 2 years after, when an opportunity arose at a house party. There were these two guys who were supposed to be "Stars" and while they could beatbox very well, their lyrics sucked. I was very drunk, so i'm like "Alright, let me have a go." No one but me knew that I wrote such witty and skilled stuff, and some friends are going "Don't man, you'll make a dick of yourself." But I just went nuts on that shit, and when I stopped, people were like "Whoah". I've been writing and rapping for real since.Have you performed in front of an audience?Yes. It's the greatest rush in the world to rock a party; I think Eminem said it best: "Rap is like magic, there's a certain feeling you get when you're real, and people are feelin' your shit." I've done a few small shows, but just rockin' a house party is always special to me.
Your musical influences
Rakim, Eminem, Nas, Royce da 5'9", Bubba Sparxxx, Redman, Pharoahe Monch, Mos Def, Tech N9ne, Raptile, Proof (R.I.P), Figgkidd, Dr. Dre, Jin, Xzibit, Tash, King T - there's so many. Sometimes just one line someone says will inspire a whole song for me.What equipment do you use?
Acid Pro 4.0, Fruity LoopsAnything else?
It aint where you're from, it's where you're at. And do what I say, not what I do.