James Chatburn

James Chatburn

Hilltop Hoods is an Australian hip hop group that formed in 1996 in Blackwood, Adelaide, South Australia. They are regarded as pioneers of the "larrikin-like" style of Australian hip hop. The group was founded by Suffa (Matthew David Lambert) and Pressure (Daniel Howe Smith), who were joined by DJ Debris (Barry John M. Francis) after fellow founder, DJ Next (Ben John Hare), left in 1999. The group released its first extended play, Back Once Again, in 1997 and have subsequently released eight studio albums, two "restrung" albums and three DVDs. Six of their eight albums have peaked at number one on the Australian Record Industry Association (ARIA) Albums Charts, recently setting the record for most No. 1 Albums by an Australian band or group: The Hard Road (2006), State of the Art (2009), Drinking from the Sun (2012), Walking Under Stars (2014), Drinking from the Sun, Walking Under Stars Restrung (2016) and The Great Expanse (2019). Three tracks have reached the top 10 on the ARIA Singles Chart—"Chase That Feeling" (2009), "I Love It", featuring Sia (2011) and "Higher", featuring James Chatburn (2015) — while a further two tracks — "Cosby Sweater" (2014) and "1955" (2016) — reached the top 5. "1955", featuring Montaigne & Tom Thum, peaked at number 2 in the Australian charts. Hilltop Hoods have toured both in Australia and overseas, including playing at music festivals: T in the Park, Oxegen, the Big Day Out, Clipsal 500, Southbound, The Great Escape, Splendour in the Grass, Bassinthegrass, Groovin' The Moo, Falls Festival, Pyramid Rock Festival, Rollercoaster, Come Together Festival and Make Poverty History. The band hold the record for the most recurrent artist in the history of the Triple J Hottest 100, with 23 songs voted into the annual countdowns since their first appearance in 2003. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2006 they won "Best Independent Release" and "Best Urban Album" for The Hard Road. In 2007, they won "Best Urban Album" for their remix album, The Hard Road: Restrung (2007). They won the same category in 2009 for State of the Art and in 2012 for Drinking from the Sun. In 2009, Debris also won "Engineer of the Year" for his work on State of the Art. The band received their seventh ARIA award in 2014 when Walking Under Stars won in the Best Urban Album category at the 28th ARIA Awards.

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