Northern New South Wales hip hop artist Splinta has caught the writing bug, and says he’s addicted to penning his thoughts to paper.

“I started writing to get shit off my chest and to write about what I’m feeling,” Splinta says. “I started in high school and we’d mess around in maths class instead of doing our work.”

Since then he’s come a long way, developing into a multi-talented MC, producer and DJ.

“The drummer is a new thing I’ve incorporated into the show over the last couple of gigs. It goes well with a live show and gives a bit more of a bigger sound.”
Splinta says he’ll also incorporate this into his set at the upcoming Werd Of Mouth Hip Hop Festival.

“It’ll be a pretty geed-up set. I’ve got a drummer up there with me, a DJ, a couple of other guest MCs and a vocalist so there is a bit of everything in there. After playing Splendour I love playing festivals.”

Splinta opened up the Mix Up stage at Splendour earlier this year after winning Triple J’s Unearthed competition.

“It was an amazing opportunity and I had an awesome weekend. [Winning] was a big kickstart. Before that I was just trying to organise my own gigs here and there and trying to get the local support happening. Since then it’s been a bit more national.” 

Splinta’s old school hip hop beats are becoming a rarity according to the emcee, who says the industry can be too focused on appealing to the masses.

“My sound is geed-up authentic old school kind of hip hop that uses boom-bap kind of soul beats and I sample a lot of funk to make my beats. It’s got that original kind of ‘90s American sound to it.

“I focus more on the lyrics than on a catchy hook and try to create a bit of witty wordplay in it. I talk about my life, what I’m about and what I do rather than write something that will definitely appeal to someone.”

Splinta performs at Werd Of Mouth Hip Hop Festival at the Coolangatta Hotel on Wednesday Sept 26.