Matthew Victor Barrett, who performed as Matty B, is a former

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 ...

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing ...

and MC. Originally from

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, he released an album, ''The Courageous LP'', in 2002 on

Obese Records Obese Records was an Australian hip-hop, Australian hip hop record label based in Melbourne, Victoria. It was the largest independent hip hop label in Australia and was home to acts such as Pegz, Hilltop Hoods, Thundamentals, Reason (Australian ...

. He relocated to the Gold Coast in 2006 and followed with an eight-track extended play, ''Simple but Effective'' in May, on his own label, B-Style Entertainment.

Biography

Matthew Barrett grew up in

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

and became a member of Perth's Syllabolix Crew. In the 1990s he was a professional surfer, Barrett began rapping seriously when Syllabolix was formed in 1999. He recalled, "I used to just freestyle at parties, take the piss out of people. My mates would tell me I should go rap, since I was about 17." Formerly signed to

, he released music on his own label, B-Style Entertainment, in 2006. Barrett's first track to be released was "Courageous", appearing on the ''Culture of Kings'' compilation in 2000. It was co-written by Barrett with fellow Syllabolix Crew mate, Scott Griffiths (

Optamus Scott Griffiths, better known by the stage name Optamus, is one of the MCs of the Perth-based Australian hip-hop group Downsyde and member of WA's Syllabolix Crew. Optamus is also the name of Griffiths' solo project. Music career Downsyde Grif ...

). Note: User may have to click "Search again" and provide details at "Enter a title:" e.g. Courageous; or at "Performer:" Matty B In 2001 he performed at the

Margaret River The Margaret River is a river in southwest Australia, southwest Western Australia. In a small catchment, it is the eponym of the town and tourist region of Margaret River, Western Australia, Margaret River. The river arises from a catchment ...

Masters Concert. In the next year he performed at the

Big Day Out The Big Day Out (BDO) was an annual music festival that was held in five Australian cities: Sydney, Melbourne, Gold Coast, Queensland, Gold Coast, Adelaide, and Perth, as well as Auckland, New Zealand. The festival was held during summer, typi ...

concerts. He followed in 2002 by his debut album, ''The Courageous LP''. The album was co-produced by Griffiths and Darren Reutens (a.k.a. Dazastah) of Syllabolix. Mandy Nolan of ''

Byron Shire Echo ''The Byron Shire Echo'' is a weekly independent compact newspaper published every Wednesday in Mullumbimby, New South Wales, Australia. The newspaper was founded in 1986 as ''The Brunswick Valley Echo'' by Nicholas Shand and David Lovejoy. Ove ...

'' felt ''The Courageous LP'' was "a must listen release for people who love music coming from the luckiest country in the world; Australia." ''Beat Magazine''s Carlisle Rogers described listening to it as "akin to digging Australia's homegrown version of grime. After all, hip hop's very roots lie in that soil composed of just talking about everyday life, unfiltered, unadulterated." An album track, "Fridays (I Love 'Em)", also appears on

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 2005 album, ''Super Request—Dog's Breakfast'', which is a compilation album of frequently requested songs from that station's ''Super Request'' program. "Fridays" was written by Reutens. Barrett relocated to the Gold Coast and released an eight-track EP, ''Simple but Effective'', in May 2006 on his own label, B-Style Entertainment. He described his song writing style "I used to, when I first started, write rhymes all over the place on bits of paper and then try to match it up with beats later. Now, what I do is get beats from Syllabolix and I listen to the beats first for a few months and I work out the feel of the beats. At the same time I'm dreaming up song titles and subject matter, and things I want to talk about. I match them all up and I start writing over the beat." He performed at the Rosemount Hotel in Perth at an All Stars gig following the

Robert Hunter Cup Robert Alan Hunter (1 October 1975 – 20 October 2011), better known as Hunter or Huntz, was an Australian rapper and hip-hop artist. He was a founder of Perth's hip hop scene in the 1990s and a member of the MC collective Syllabolix (SBX) Crew ...

in October 2014, in honour of his late friend Hunter.

Discography

Albums

* ''The Courageous LP'' (2002) –

(OBR 009)

Extended plays

* ''Simple but Effective'' – B-Style Entertainment/Shogun Distribution (2006)

Compilation appearances

* ''Culture of Kings — Volume 1'' –

(2000) (song: "Courageous") * ''Mamma's Kitchen'' – Obese Records (2005) (song: "Courageous") * ''Super Request—Dog's Breakfast'' – ABC Records (2005) (song: "Fridays")

Guest appearances

* "3 Demon MC's" by Clandestein (''Clandestein'' 2001, Syllaboliks Records) * "Matty B's Insight" by

Downsyde Downsyde is an Australian hip hop group from Perth, Western Australia. The group is composed of three members, Optamus, Dazastah and Dyna-Mikes. The group has performed alongside groups including Jurassic 5, Cypress Hill, Grandmaster Flash, T ...

(''

Epinonimous ''Epinonimous'' is the debut album released by the Australian Hip Hop group Downsyde. Although Downsyde are now quite well known throughout Australia, this album is hard to get hold of. It was released in September 2000. Track listing All songs ...

'' 2001, Syllaboliks Records) * "Esposing EM" by Hunter and Dazastah (''Done DL'' 2002, Syllaboliks/

) * "Raw Cause" by DJ Ransom (''15.OZ Vinyl'' 2004, Crookneck Records) * "Nothin to Us" by

Chopper Read Chopper may refer to: Transportation * A colloquialism for helicopter * Chopper (motorcycle), a type of customized motorcycle ** Chopper bicycle, a customized bicycle modeled after the motorcycle * Nickname for the British Rail Class 20 dies ...

(''Chopper Read – Interview with a Madman'' 2006, Rott'n Records)

References

External links

Beat Magazine album review – ''Simple But Courageous''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Matty B Australian hip-hop musicians Rappers from Perth, Western Australia Living people Obese Records artists Year of birth missing (living people)