Sydney bass talent Badrapper has truly shaken things up in the past few years.

Riding a rising wave of success on a slew of huge releases, his heavy hitting tracks recently caught the attention of Sydney-based booking legends, Maker Agency, putting him amongst Australia’s greatest electronic exports, including What So Not, Nina Las Vegas, and Golden Features.  Is it really any surprise though? Badrapper has created a distinctiveness to his music in a sea of sounds that sometimes seem all too similar.

With his dark soundscapes, metallic leads, and earth-shattering drops, Badrapper has received the thumbs up from big-wigs UZ, Slumberjack, and QUIX. We got the chance to sit down with Josh Andersen to find out a bit more about what’s gone past, and what’s yet to come. If his current output is any indication, you’ll do yourself a favour and listen up to see what he’s got in store.

Stoney Roads: Hey Josh! It’s been a pretty big year for you, signing with Maker Agency, pumping out tracks, and a heap of headlining shows. What’s been the stand out moment?

Badrapper: Hey! Thank you so much, it’s been a really exciting year. The stand out was definitely signing to Maker – it was a full circle moment for me and a huge step in my career. 

SR: You must be pretty excited for the future then. Taking it back a step though, what or who inspired you to start producing?

BR: I think the main reason I got into producing was because when I was around 13 or 14, I was first introduced to rappers such as Waka Flocka, Rick Ross, Kanye etc. As I delved deeper I discovered Lex Luger, the producer for a lot of those artists. From then I was super inspired to start producing and started off with hell basic rap beats.

Funnily enough the whole story behind the name ‘Badrapper’ was because at some point I figured I’d try to rap to my own beats, but quickly figured that wasn’t going to work haha. So when I started making heavier sort of club music – it was the first choice.  

SR: Considering the inspo you initially got from Lex Luger, would you or have you ever produced for other people, or do you prefer having it all under your creative control?

BR: I have! I was making music under ‘Yung Danish’ in the early days and actually produced a few beats for some guys from the US. If you search ‘">Yung Danish – Kyoto’ on YouTube you might find something!  

SR: We saw you did a lil Europe trip earlier in the year. That must have been a wealth of inspiration for your music. Did you see any electronic acts that stirred up your creative mindset?

BR: Yeah for sure. It was crazy to see the different cultures and perspectives on music. There was barely a scene for ‘EDM” or trap music over there – it’s all house and techno. I went to some insane shows and events and it’s definitely broadened what I listen to. One of my favourites was Daniel Avery at Printworks in London. It was in a huge abandoned factory with a 5000 person capacity and easily some of the heaviest techno I’ve heard. 

SR: Must have been a really different experience to Sydney’s nightlife I’m sure! You started playing shows in Sydney around the same time the lock out laws came into place. From your perspective as an artist, where is our nightlife at now in its process of recovery?

BR: I think there’s a lot of people pushing fun parties and a fair amount of punters are doing their best to support the scene. I only experienced pre-lockouts for a year so I can’t fully grasp how it’s changed but I feel the only way is to support the artists and events.

SR: What’s the best piece of advice someone’s given you that’s helped you in your career?

BR: It’s super cliché but I’d say something important is not to compare yourself with others, as your path will never be the same as someone else.

SR: It feels like you’ve nailed a pretty wide range of styles across your releases, and your sound has seemed to evolve quite a bit. Search For You is emotive, synth driven, with a stunning melody from Azura, Dash Dash samples more lo-fi, wavy sounds, and Put In Work straight up bangs. Can we expect more of this variety and experimentation in your sound in the future? Where would you say your sound is headed?

BR: I feel I’ve definitely honed in my style and sound since my older tunes. I still make a lot of music other than the heavy trap sound of style, so you can expect some more of those versatile releases. However in terms of where my sound is headed, it’ll very much be the signature, dark, metallic, Badrapper vibe.

SR: The bass music community in Sydney seems to be constantly spitting out more and more talent. Who are some local names we should keep our eyes on?

BR: Benji, Perto, and WILDLYF are up next!

SR: A good portion of your recent releases have been collaborations, TWERL, Stalker, and NXSTY to name a few. How do you like to approach the process of collaboration?  

BR: I like to work with people who I feel have a style that compliments mine, as well as people in the mindset of wanting to push the boundaries and create something unique. As long as those factors are there, it’s pretty natural and easy. 

SR: So who else is on the list of people you’d love to work with?

BR: I’d love to work with Luude, Hydraulix and Herobust one day.

SR: Finally, what’s coming up in the future?  

I have a bunch of spicy new originals as well as some huge shows and my first interstate run!

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You can catch Badrapper in all his wonky goodness when he supports Boombox Cartel at Home The Venue on December 22nd.