INTRODUCING: TOMMY GUNN & 99HURTS

The bond between brothers is said to be unbreakable; and Tommy Gunn and 99Hurts exude that throughout their music.

The artist / producer duo have been there for each through the ups and downs of their young careers, but with their latest EP release ‘BET ON ME’, the momentum has been impossible to ignore.

We were grateful to have the opportunity to catch up with the pair as they recount the excitement surround their latest releases, as well as discussing what is to come.

Produced & photographed by MINORI UEDA
Written by MATHEW SIEBUHR

M: To start things off generally, how have you guys been?

T: It’s been busy, with everything around the EP - and it’s still going but we’re back in the studio already making new music.

M: Do you think your fans have come to appreciate your high work rate as artists and how much music you guys put out?

T: Last year we definitely could have dropped more music but I felt we were still really consistent and I think they’ve come to notice that.

TOMMY GUNN, photographed by MINORI UEDA

 

M: What type of audience do you think you’ve curated, is there a niche?

T: It’s super mixed, all types of people because our genre is really diverse so it’s cool to see people who f*ck with everything - gravitate towards us.

M: What type of sound came easiest to you guys when you first began making music?

T: Trap music, but because we’re brothers we’ve always experimented and bounced back and forth as a mix of both our tastes.

99: We used to have way different tastes growing up but nowadays it’s a lot more similar - which helps in our creative process being so fluid. I produce pretty much everything we put out, so we have eachothers inputs on how to try and meet a middle ground.

T: Nowadays we kinda just know what to make, we know the type of direction we’re going for.

99hurts, photographed by MINORI UEDA

 

M: Which artists are the biggest influences to your sound?

T: I grew up listening to Meek Mill so it was mostly trap stuff and street stuff at first - even before the newer stuff with Lil Baby and those types of artists.

M: How do you guys feel you fit in or stand out in the landscape of Aussie rap Hip Hop?

T: We definitely stand out, I’ve never felt like our sound fit in with what’s going on in Australia. We don’t work within boundaries and we like to try new stuff and we’re special in that regard I think.

M: So how long have you guys been making music together?

99: Probably 17 or 18.

T: Yeah I mean we’ve been around music our whole lives, since a kid it’s been sports and music for me. He was a clarinet teacher before our music took off a bit more, I was an 8th grade chelloist by age 10, and we also self taught the piano and guitar so it’s just for as long as we can remember.

M: So with the acoustic background you guys have, how does that relate to hip hop?

T: I’ve always been listening to rap music as a kid, and I would always freestyle to my friends over beats and instrumentals. Our dad’s favourite genre is hip hop and his most listened to artist is Tupac so it kinda runs in the family.

M: When someone listens to your music, what’s the ideal affect you’d like to have on someone?

T: Well just people saying “your music changed my life”, that stuff means everything. Even just to say that your music has affected someone’s day to day or how they feel.

M: For my final question, what is something you can tell aspiring artists to help them along their journey?

T: Work hard, and work smart because you just have to take the time to figure things out yourself.

99: The only thing that matters is the music at the end of the day.

LATEST MUSIC VIDEO RELEASE

TOMMY GUNN - OUTTA LOVE

Produced by Thomas Tang & 99hurts
Directed by Slippn

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MUSIC | EP OUT NOW

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Produced by MINORI UEDA
Interview by MATHEW SIEBUHR