Australia's premiere hip hop crew the Hilltop Hoods are back on the bill for this year's timeOUT Concert, promoting the release of their brand-new album State Of The Art on their own label Golden Era.

While it’s been a long time coming, the eagerly awaited six album hit the streets on June 12 and it’s everything that Hoods fans could wish for. 

It’s dark, heavy, challenging, raw and occasionally funny, and has already spawned their first radio hit with Chase That Feeling taking over the airwaves across the country since release. 

The story of Hilltop Hoods goes something like this: In the early 1990s, emcees Suffa and Pressure met at a high school in the picturesque hills of Adelaide, South Australia.  

Later introduced by a mutual friend to DJ Debris, the trio found common ground with their love of Ultramagnetic MCs and Public Enemy, along with local pioneers Def Wish Cast and AKA Brothers.  

When the trio conspired to add their own chapter to Hip-Hop’s canon, Hilltop Hoods was born.  

Applying their personal experience to the music that inspired them, the Hoods set out to represent their world, their lives and their country.  

When the crew’s first EP, Back Once Again dropped in 1997, the broad Australian accents, nimble flows and stunning beats declared the arrival of a significant new force in Australian Hip-Hop.  

More importantly, it laid down a gauntlet to an industry that had for too long ignored this burgeoning movement in Australian music.  

Over beats that celebrated the traditions of funk, jazz and soul, Suffa and Pressure displayed an instinctive rhyme chemistry that has remained as tight as it is intense. 

While their path has drawn on a broad range of influences, they have never lost touch with the unique flavour they created in the Adelaide Hills as young Hip-Hop fans.  

With an ethos that is innovative and fearless, Hilltop Hoods’ inspirational sound has been embraced far beyond Hip-Hop’s loyal underground.  

When the heads of rock fans, dance music devotees and even casual radio listeners nod in unison to the Hoods’ infectious beats, there’s no doubt the boys are at the head of their game. 

At this year’s timeOUT Concert, Hilltop Hoods will showcase new songs to the world including Chase That Feeling and fresh album tracks including Still Standing and The Return, alongside classic crowd favourites The Hard Road, Clown Prince and The Nosebleed Section. 

Continuing to rewrite the hip-hop rulebook, the Hilltop Hoods look forward to their highly anticipated return to Cairns to share their new chapter with both old and new fans alike.

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