Drapht

Ladies and Gentleman, may we introduce to you a man who should need no introducing, from the West Coast of Australia, weighing in at considerably less than most yet with an enormous bottom end, it's Drapht, wordsmith, re-arranger, perfectionist, and the man who has finally delivered one of THE albums of 2011, "The Life of Riley".
Most of you should know Drapht, he is no new kid on the block, "The Life of Riley" being his 4th album in a slow rise to prominence from the underbelly of the Australian hip hop scene. Two albums on Obese records "Who am I" and "Brothers Grimm" providing an initial smattering of attention, before the single "Jimmy Recard" kicked the doors in properly in 2009. "Jimmy Recard" came in at 10 in the Triple J Hottest 100 2009, making serious inroads at radio and becoming one of "those" festival moments over the following year. "Jimmy Recard" went on to spend an enormous 102 weeks in the AIR independent charts (it's still in there as we write this!) and the "Brothers Grimm" album was one of the biggest selling independent records of the year.
So – how does an MC from Perth follow that up?
Well, he teams up with longtime collaborator Trials (Funkoars) as well as a veritable treasure trove of musicians, producers, singers, and a healthy sense of history, as well as a lot of pressure (outside and self imposed!) and ambition, and cooks up the musical monster which is "The Life of Riley". It clocks in at almost an hour, somehow manages to keep it's eyes on the prize and have a sense of intent and urgency despite it's length and the breadth of the musical landscape it travels over. From the almost 60's Psyche pop of the platinum single "Rapunzel", the deep dark dub styles of "Murder Murder" to the comedic "Take the Party With Us", the album travels a dark, winding yet fulfilling road, and tells the story of Paul Ridge (aka Drapht) and his journey from a smartass kid with fake ID sneaking into the Monday Hip Hop night at the Hydey. It's a journey which has taken him to mainstage all over the country, and The Life of Riley is an album which should take him to centre stage nationally.
Released on Drapht's own label The Ayems with distribution through Sony Music, "The Life of Riley" is where Drapht is now, and we would like the world to catch up.