This Thursday night, in the sleepy little town they call Sydney, a couple of Audiocracy’s wider fam are hitting the stage for a good cause. Spreading the word at the event is all to support one woman’s attempt to cycle the 550km distance from San Francisco to Yosemite National Park. Why would she do that, I hear you ask. Well she’s raising money and awareness for one of Australia’s most famous and high profile mental health organisations, The Black Dog Institute, and the work they do in suicide prevention.

 

Joining us today to discuss their involvement and hopefully get some of you out to the gig is one third of Gravity Champions, a hip-hop outfit coming out of sin city itself, the one, the only, King Rollo!

 

AA: So who are Gravity Champions for the uninitiated?

KR: Gravity Champions is a Sydney hip hop trio with a fresh take on an old sound.  Made up of Proph1 of the Beatfarmers production team; Subsketch the superhero from Adelaide, and King Rollo of Old Men of Moss Mountain, GC has been ripping up stages in Sydney over the last year.

 

AA: What’s the gig all about?

KR: Black Dog Institute does incredibly important research in the mental health field and as part of a charity drive for suicide prevention work, organizer Cathy King has brought together some awesome local artists to spread the word, raise some much needed support, and have a banging night out.

 

AA: How did you guys come to be on the bill? 

KR: Cathy King has been a fan and friend of the Gravity Champion crew since its birth and so it was our honour to be asked not only to play, but also to help out getting this gig from a great idea to an actuality.

 

AA: The funds are being raised for the Black Dog Institute, is this a cause close to your hearts?

KR: The issues surrounding mental health in this country are huge; political, academic and social.  It’s rare to find someone who doesn’t have a personal connection to these issues, with most people’s lives being affected by mental health and the stigma that goes with it.  Suicide prevention in particular is a field that has a long way to go and the most important part in these relatively early stages is general awareness.  It’s gotta be close to everyone’s hearts.

 

AA: So I hear you’re hoping to release your first album in the near future. After hearing the nerdgasm joy that was ‘Han Solo’, are you hoping to bring more collaborators to the table?

KR: We’re really excited about the record we’ve been working on and a few film clips on the cards.  Hip hop isn’t hip hop without guest rappers and cameos and we come from a big collaborator family: Dead City Zens.  DCZ has always been about sharing beats, verses and producers amongst all these amazing Sydney artists so there will definitely be some appearances on the release.

AA: If people can’t make it to the gig, whats the best way for them to help out the cause?

KR: Check out what Black Dog is all about and see what channels they offer but more importantly help and support the people around you when dark days dawn, as they do at some point for everyone.

 

My thanks goes to King Rollo and the guys for taking the time to speak to us about the gig and to bring it to our attention. Hopefully we have a made a little dent in the mammoth task of bringing the gig to the attention of the music loving public.

 

For more information, hit up the poster attached to this interview of visit the facebook events page here https://www.facebook.com/events/1434650970127506/