Episode 78. The Transition of Style featuring Merda

It’s an honour to be joined by one of Melbourne’s most iconic writers and innovators of style, Merda for the 78th instalment of Beers, Beats & The Biz.

From the mid 80’s train lines of Melbourne to the influence of GS38, Dskyz and the USA crew, Merda has taken the development of letters to new dimensions and constantly pushed style forward and he breaks it all down in this episode.

We talk everything, his groundbreaking South Yarra wall, The Chemical Lab, getting into rap dancing at a young age, travelling Europe with Loomit, his early influences and how he would go on to push the boundaries of letter structure through his graffiti and design work.

We also talk about being one of the earliest writers to push 3D lettering, globally and rarely receiving those props.

We can’t thank Merda enough for his time and contributions.

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Episode 77. Gone Fishin’ featuring Pest TMM

We are honoured to be joined by legendary Melbourne writer, Pest of TMM crew for the 77th instalment of Beers, Beats & The Biz.

In a follow up to our episode with Johnny Duel, we sit down with longtime running-mate, Pest and get his perspective and opinion on his various contributions and achievements, from Downtown Express break crew to the many trains and walls he painted.

We talk Ghetto Rock Breakers and Melbourne’s early years at The Marble, the formation of TMM, running all city with AC and DMA, crazy chase stories, Brooklyn scraps, The Style Machine, Preston Tech, Macleod Yards and so much more.

We can’t thank Pest enough for his time, many contributions and the amazing conversation he gave us.

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Episode 76. Every City featuring Optamus of Downsyde

We are honoured to be joined by a legend from the west, Optamus of the mighty Downsyde for the 76th instalment of Beers, Beats & The Biz.

From his early day’s painting graffiti and discovering hip hop to the formation of Downsyde, Optamus has been at it for decades as one of the nations most prolific and hardest touring artists.

We get into all kinds of history and stories, from signing to a major label to their time on Obese Records, we honour Hunter, SBX, individual albums and songs, tour stories, youth work, awards and even working with Guru of Gangstarr.

It is an honour to bring you some of these stories and we thank Optamus for his time and many contributions.

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Episode 75. In Between the Lines featuring Johnny Duel

We are honoured to be joined by Melbourne’s style master, Duel of AKA and TMM for the 75th instalment of Beers, Beats & The Biz.

This is a classic conversation with an icon of hip hop culture in Australia, one of the true originals, Duel takes us from the early days of B-Boying and graffiti in Melbourne and delivers some amazing stories about some crazy times.

The ghetto rock breakers, meeting Pest, joining AKA, TMM, chase stories, Burnley Abattoirs and The Chemical Lab, Preston Tech’s Colour Transition, doing wholecars in Macleod yards, the Sprayed Conflict movie and a whole lot more.

Duel is candid and hilarious, and we can’t thank him enough for this monumental conversation and all he’s contributed.

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Episode 74. From Sailys to Sponsorships featuring Luke “Jaffa” Curtis

It’s an honour to be joined by MC, B-Boy and one of Australia’s most iconic skateboarders, Luke “Jaffa” Curtis for the 74th instalment of Beers, Beats & The Biz.

This is an amazing episode that charts Jaff’s rise as a young grommet skater from Melbourne’s western suburbs to pro skateboarding for Blank, Globe and Boost Mobile.

We get into his history around Melbourne, discovering graffiti, Mcing and going on to become one of Australia’s earliest pro skaters, travelling and making a living off his passion.

Between it all we talk health, Melbourne history, his iconic single with DJ Ransom “For All My People” and the many highs and lows that we encounter along the path to success.

Thanks to Jaff for his time and many contributions.

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Episode 73. Stunts, Blunts & Project Management featuring Alec Zammitt of Craze Co.

We are stoked to be joined by guerrilla marketer and cannabis activist, Alec Zammit of the Craze Collective for the 73rd instalment of Beers, Beats & The Biz.

An informed and well spoken guy, with a background in graffiti, Alec has been involved in numerous high profile public relations campaigns and cannabis activism for close to a decade.

We discuss his history and how he came to be involved in cannabis activism as well as getting into the nitty-gritty of Australia’s weed legislation, it’s accessibility and his many guerrilla campaigns.

This is a great episode, from a different perspective and we can’t thank Alec enough for his time.

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Episode 72. Always Lurking, Never Working featuring James Straker

We are stoked to be joined by the irrepressible James Straker for this, the 72nd instalment of Beers, Beats & The Biz.

A crazy guy who’s left an indelible mark on Brisbane, James answers none of our questions but gives us all the answers and information in this classic conversation.

We get a glimpse into the entrepreneurial mind of a man who has started bands, toured and managed bands, shops, bars and various other pursuits, all while dealing with severe ADHD.

In between it all we talk 80’s Brisbane, 90’s punk rock, what success is, being creative, running businesses and being a boss, bands James has toured with or alongside and so many other random stories.

Thanks to James for this crazy conversation and all he’s given us.

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Episode 71. Discotheque Dreams featuring DJ FIB

We are honoured to be joined by Brisbane’s own - the legendary DJ FIB for the 71st instalment of Beers, Beats & The Biz.

From the early days of clubbing in Brisbane to the legacy of DJ Angus and on to the legendary KGB Crew and the 25th anniversary of Blunted Stylus Hempatitus, we talk all that talk.

DJ Fib is a seminal figure within hip hop and dance culture in Brisbane, having been involved since 1985 alongside people like Angus, Katch and Hams, Fib is one of the city’s earliest proponents of hip hop culture.

Fib talks everything from the city’s early club nights to his time writing for Hype Magazine, Phat Tape’s earliest days, the DMC’s, DJ Angus’s legacy and the importance of 1995’s Hempatitus cassette.

Thanks to Fib for his time, conversation and many contributions.

Beers, Beats & The Biz is live now on iTunes, Soundcloud and Spotify: download, rate, subscribe, share and don’t forget to five star rate us.

Episode 70. F#ck you, play me!

We are guest free and playing music from our favourite episodes on this, the 70th instalment of Beers, Beats & The Biz.

Expect to hear random songs from Bigfoot, Mortar, Ciecmate, Mnemonic Ascent, Nilvoid, Brothers Stoney, LC, Terrafirma, Raise, Nerve, Skrub, Reason and Bias B and a few stories and idle chit-chat around each.

Thank you for fucking with this podcast, donate to our Patreon and share us around - we are only just getting started so why not remind people about the work we have been doing.

Beers, Beats & The Biz is live now on iTunes, Soundcloud and Spotify: download, rate, subscribe, share and don’t forget to five star rate us.

Episode 69. Spreading Disinformation featuring Beats of The Get Down podcast.

We are stoked to be joined by Beats of The Get Down podcast and Adroit Effusive for the 69th episode of Beers, Beats & The Biz.

We had a ball this episode and spoke on everything from bitcoin and covid to running a weekly podcast and Beats’ own hip hop crew, Adelaide’s Adroit Effusive.

With 25 episodes of The Get Down podcast under his belt and a career spanning decades in the Adelaide hip hop scene, Beats breaks down his approach, his mindset and his inspirations.

This is a great conversation - one of those episodes that spans specific subjects to random shit talk - and we can never thank Beats enough for his time, dedication and commitment to the cause.

Beers, Beats & The Biz is live now on iTunes, Soundcloud and Spotify: download, rate, subscribe, share and don’t forget to five star rate us.