Ryan Leaf, better known by the stage name Dialectrix, is an

Australian hip hop Australian hip-hop traces its origins to the early 1980s and was initially largely inspired by hip-hop and other urban musical genres from the United States. As the form matured, Australian hip hop has become a commercially viable style of musi ...

artist from Sydney. He was a member of Down Under Beats Crew (DUB Crew) and, since 2008, has been a member of Gully Platoon. In addition to his musical career, Dialectrix works in the construction trades. He was introduced to

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

culture through

skateboarding Skateboarding is an extreme sport, action sport that involves riding and Skateboarding trick, performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry Profession, job, and a method of tr ...

during adolescence.

Biography

Solo

Dialectrix has released the solo albums ''Cycles of Survival'', ''Audio Projectile'' and ''The Cold Light of Day''. The All Aussie Hip Hop site describes Dialectrix's song "Fly On the Wall", from ''Audio Projectile'', as:

. . . a landmark track in the Dialectrix cannon. A bona fide throwback song, Dialectrix raps from the perspective of a fly- observing and judging humanity from an insignificant point of view. The song is in direct parallel to the working man's plight and the feeling of helplessness that comes with being able to see everything, but being powerless to change it.

Dialectrix has supported hip hop artists such as MF Doom. Chris Singh, from ''

The AU Review Larry Heath is an Australian publisher, events organiser, and entrepreneur. He is the founder-owner of Heath Media, which publishes online magazine ''The AU Review'' and hosts the National Live Music Awards. Heath is associate producer at Soun ...

'', described a March 2011 performance:

From spitting multi-syllabic rhymes as fast as legends like Busta Rhymes and Kool G Rap (he even borrowed a beat from the former—'Break Ya Neck') to the more relaxed style of rapping Aussie MC’s are known for, this local rapper sure stamped a firm impression on the sold-out metro. Out of all the Australian rappers I’ve seen live he without-a-doubt stands out as one of the finest artists on the scene.

In mid-August 2013, Dialectrix was a 'First Longlist' finalist for the 9th Coopers AMP for the album ''The Cold Light of Day'', alongside artists such as Kevin Mitchell and The Drones—the Australian music prize is worth A$30,000 and the 2013 winner was announced in March 2014.

Collaborations

According to Dom Alessio from

Triple J Triple J is an Australian government-funded national radio station founded in 1975 as a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). It aims to appeal to young listeners of alternative music, and plays far more Australian conten ...

's ''Home & Hosed'', an Australian music radio program, Dialectrix "was actually part of the very first hip-hop crew to take out a triple j Unearthed competition, Down Under Beats Crew, back in 2004". In 2008 Dialectrix contributed a song to

Chasm In geology, a rift is a linear zone where the lithosphere is being pulled apart and is an example of extensional tectonics. Typical rift features are a central linear downfaulted depression, called a graben, or more commonly a half-graben w ...

's ''Beyond The Mix Tape'' release. Tim McNamara, from Brisbane's ''Scene Magazine'', subsequently described Dialectrix as a ''red-hot MC''. In the same year, Obese Records owner

Pegz Tirren Staaf, otherwise known as Pegz (or MC Pegasus), is an Australian hip hop artist and producer hailing from Melbourne, Victoria. He was the CEO of Obese Records—the record label responsible for artists such as Hilltop Hoods, Downsyde, a ...

and Dialectrix formed Gully Platoon, with Joe New and DJ 2Buck. Gully Platoon received high praise, and in 2009, Alessio commented, ". . . perhaps Gully Platoon is Australia's first hip-hop supergroup". In 2010 Dialectrix contributed a song called "Time Makes Fools of Us All" to Lotek's ''International Rudeboy'' album. He also rapped on

M-Phazes Mark Landon (born 1 February 1983), better known by his stage name M-Phazes, is an Australian-born producer based in LA. He has produced records for Logic, Demi Lovato, Madonna, Eminem, Kehlani, Zara Larsson, Remi Wolf, Kiiara, Noah Cyrus, an ...

's ARIA award-winning album ''Good Gracious'', on the song "The Facilitator".

Awards and nominations

Australian Music Prize

The

Australian Music Prize The Australian Music Prize (often shortened to the AMP) is an annual award of $50,000 ($30,000 from 2005 to 2023) given to an Australian band or solo artist in recognition of the merit of an album released during the year of award. The award was ...

(the AMP) is an annual award of $30,000 given to an Australian band or solo artist in recognition of the merit of an album released during the year of award. The commenced in 2005. , - , 2013 , ''The Cold Light of Day'' , Australian Music Prize , , -

Discography

Collaborations

* "Superpowers" (ft. Ozi Batla,

The Tongue Xannon Shirley, better known by the stage name The Tongue, is an Australian rapper, DJ and high school teacher from Sydney. He released two EPs (''Bad Education'' and "Victorious Remixes"), four albums (''Shock And Awe'', ''Alternative Energy'', ...

, Jeswon & Dialectrix) on

's ''Beyond The Mix Tape'' album (2008) * "Yes It Is" (ft.

& Dialectrix) on

's ''Beyond The Mix Tape'' album (2008) * "Walking Around Oblivious" (ft. Dialectrix) on

's ''Beyond The Mix Tape'' album (2008) * "Don't Let Your Guard Down" (ft. Dialectrix) on

's ''Beyond The Mix Tape'' album (2008) * "Nature of the Beat" (ft. Dialectrix) on Two Toes' ''Cooking With Caustics'' album (2008) * "Jack N The Box" (ft.

Thundamentals Thundamentals are an Australian hip hop group originating from the Blue Mountains region bordering the metropolitan area of Sydney. The members are currently Tuka, Jeswon, and Morgs. They have released five studio albums. History Band origin ...

& Dialectrix)'' on Two Toes' ''Cooking With Caustics'' album (2008) * "Broke Pocket Philosophy" (ft. Dialectrix) on

' ''Sleeping on Your Style'' album (2009) * "The Facilitator" (ft. Dialectrix) on

' ''

Good Gracious ''Good Gracious'' is the first album by Australian hip hop producer M-Phazes. Released in February 2010 on Obese Records, each track features different artists, including Drapht, Bliss n Eso, Illy and Forthwrite (360 (rapper), 360 and Pez (musici ...

'' album (2010) * "We Got That" (ft. Dialectrix) on Bigfoot's ''Giant Steps'' album (2010) * "Locked Down" (ft. Dialectrix) on Skryptcha's ''The Numbers'' album (2010) * "The Bust" (ft. Dialectrix) on Bingethinkers ''Where Are They Now...'' album (2011) * "Main Event" (ft. Jise One & Dialectrix) on Fluent Form's ''Word Merchant'' album (2011) * "Priceless" (ft. Dialectrix & Joe New) on

' ''Drama'' album (2011) * "Mad Bastards" (ft. Dialectrix & Joe New) on

' ''Drama'' album (2011) * "Truth" (ft. Dialectrix, Bias B & Joyride) on Reason's ''Window of Time'' album (2011) * "We've Arrived" (ft.

, Skryptcha, Scott Burns, Rinse & Dialectrix) on

's ''This Is How We Never Die'' album (2012) * "Life Goes On" (ft. Hau) on Dialectrix's ''Audio Projectile'' album (2010) * "Came For The Sound" (ft.

Drapht Paul Reid, formerly Paul Gary James Ridge, (born 4 September 1982), better known by the stage name Drapht, is an Australian hip hop artist from Perth. Drapht is a member of the Syllabolix (SBX) crew, a collective that includes fellow Perth-base ...

) on Dialectrix's ''Cycles of Survival'' album (2008)

Solo

* ''Cycles of Survival'' –

Obese Obesity is a medical condition, considered by multiple organizations to be a disease, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it can potentially have negative effects on health. People are classified as obese when ...

(OBR062) (18 October 2008) * ''Audio Projectile'' –

(OBR074) (17 September 2010) ARIA Urban Album No. 15 * ''Satellite EP'' –

(GRA7-001) (16 February 2013) * ''The Cold Light of Day –

''(OBR-088) (24 May 2013)d'Apice, J 2013, http://themusic.com.au/reviews/album/2013/05/31/dialectrix-the-cold-light-of-day-james-dapice/

Gully Platoon

* ''The Great Divide'' —

(OBR067) (8 August 2009)

Down Under Beats Crew

* ''Hiphoperation'' * ''Under Raps''

References

{{Authority control Living people Australian hip-hop musicians Obese Records artists Year of birth missing (living people)