Jason Shulman (born 1972), previously known by the stage names Reason, Rea' or MC Reason, is a retired Australian hip hop artist, who works as a secondary school teacher. He released four studio albums: ''Solid'' (2000), ''Reography'' (2002), ''One Step Ahead'' (2004) and ''Window of Time'' (2011), before retiring from his music career.

Early life and education

Shulman was born in 1972 and grew up in a middle-class area in the south-east suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, becoming acquainted with local hip hop music while still at school during the 1980s. He attended Melbourne University, where he majored in

Aboriginal Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to: *Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology * Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area *One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...

studies.

Music career

Shulman recorded his first tracks in 1988. Apart from hip hop, his musical influences include Australian music of the 1970s and 80s, including

Midnight Oil Midnight Oil (known informally as "The Oils") are an Australian rock band composed of Peter Garrett (vocals, harmonica), Rob Hirst (drums), Jim Moginie (guitar, keyboard) and Martin Rotsey (guitar). The group was formed in Sydney in 1972 by ...

and Australian reggae. During the 1990s, he became involved in an educational initiative called the Push, which ran workshops on hip hop and contemporary urban cultures to young people in lower socio-economic regions of Victoria. He was also the DJ of ''Hittin' Switches'', a long-running community radio program which played Australian hip hop music. He adopted the moniker Reason for his musical identity, and has also been known as Rea' and MC Reason. He recorded his work on

Obese Records Obese Records was a record label that released music from the Australian hip hop genre. It was the largest Australian independent hip hop label, including performers Pegz, Thundamentals and Dialectrix. Obese Records also operated two retail st ...

, with his album ''Solid'' (2000) being the first release on the label. and is known for inspiring and uniting other hip hop artists, including

Illy Illycaffè S.p.A. (branded and stylised as illy) is an Italian coffee company specializing in espresso, headquartered in Trieste. Illy markets its coffee globally in silver and red pressurized, oxygen-free cans; operates a network of cafes on s ...

, Sereck (of Def Wish Cast), Hilltop Hoods,

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, an ...

, and Briggs. He released his second album, ''Reography'', in 2002. His third album, ''One Step Ahead'', included

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

es of several tracks from this album. In them, he is patriotic but also includes criticism of several aspects of Australian culture. Reason has toured to Brisbane, Adelaide,

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, and

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

Other activities

He hosted many DMC DJ competition finals in Melbourne. Shulman works as a high school teacher, teaching

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and Australian history at Mount Scopus Memorial College in Melbourne (). He has also organised hip hop musical events by artists such as the Hilltop Hoods, and run graffiti workshops and DJ events at the school, and run music workshops in rural Indigenous Australian communities.

Influence

Tony Mitchell of UTS Sydney described his work thus: After announcing his retirement in November 2011, he was described as one music critic as "an indisputable forefather of the Australian hip hop scene as we know it today".

Personal life

Shulman is married, and has a daughter.

Discography

*''Solid'' (album, 2000) *''Reography'' (album, 2002) *''One Step Ahead'' (album, 2004) *''Life's a Lesson'' (EP, 2006?) *''Window of Time'' (album, 2011)

References

{{authority control Australian male rappers Australian hip hop musicians 1972 births Living people