I have the utmost respect for the hard work DJ Peril has done developing this country’s hip-hop scene, pushing a genre without reward for twenty years is a massive effort. That said, right now, DJ Peril is making generic rubbish, by the numbers music that really has no place in our scene. DJ Peril is probably one of our best known hip-hop faces. As a DJ he has been rocking Melbourne for years, and as one third of 1200 Techniques he became the first real Australian act to have chart success. As such, there is a fair bit of anticipation behind this release. It seems to me, though, that this album is geared totally towards more of that chart success, from its awful cover art and cheesy ‘No Limit’ style pendant, to the repetitive themes on track after track. This is more of a pop album than anything else.

If you’ve heard first single, It’s About To Blow featuring Suburban Intellect, then you have pretty much heard the entire album. It’s all generic drums aimed at the club, 16 bars about why the ladies love you, chanting chorus, then repeat. I don’t even think I’m being overly harsh, it’s just how it is. Rock Ya Baby, 1st Time, Pretty Lady, Who Is She… even the titles of the tracks are generic. Sure the guests on these tracks are all different, Phrase, Nfamas, Surreal and Motley, but their style and lyrics are pretty much interchangeable. The only real exceptions to the rule are Daz’s verse on Sunday, I Know where Candice proves herself to be one of this country’s brightest singing stars, and Changes where Knowledge Bones and Nate B actually tackle some gritty subject matter. To make maters worse, rounding out the package is two remixes of average tracks that do not get improved. and a hidden track labeled as 17. Hidden Track. It’s not a track in actual fact but a crank call from Out4fame Radio to Peril where they take the piss and Peril gets progressively angrier, funny stuff.

There has been a split in the Australian hip-hop scene in the past twelve months or so, you have the traditionalists making quality music, think Hoods; Lyrical Commission, The Optimen and Delta, and those who emulate the US chart sound; think Weapon X & Ken Hell, Bliss n Eso, Phrase and now Peril. With the exception of the all conquering Hoods, it seems that you must conform to a certain sound to sell. It was inevitably going to happen I suppose, I just hope it doesn’t dilute the music quality and make it all too hard for the good stuff to be heard. I’m sure many readers are going to disagree with my take on this album, but for mine it should be called DJ Peril – Chasing Chart Hits.