Lonely Souljaz are Australian music’s most potent provocateurs

“We’re the hardest-working group out of Australia. That’s why we get all the success we deserve.” It’s a bold statement from videographer mp4oscar, one-sixth of the Australian rap collective Lonely Souljaz – but it’s one they stand behind.

Reaching across generations, the Sydney-based group is made up of seasoned rappers Shotta, Jords and Lil Golo, as well as producer DON!, mixed with the youthful exuberance of firebrand 4orttune. Lonely Souljaz’s innovative sound, combined with their relentless work rate, has made them emerge as the de facto leaders of a movement that’s been bubbling away in Australian rap, one that’s ready to boil over: Aus UDG.

Aus UDG (underground) rap, as it’s been labelled by fans, takes inspiration from cutting-edge US and UK artists like OsamaSon, Nettspend, Xaviersobased and Fakemink, and adds an Australian lens. On the Lonely Souljaz tape, for example, references to sports stars Johnathan Thurston, Sam Thaiday and Gout Gout are all present.

Sonically, think distorted bass lines, thumping 808s and lyrics that don’t shy away from the ups and downs of the rapper lifestyle, touching on substances, hustling and more. At times crass, at other times heartfelt, the group’s music gives voice to an oft-ignored online generation.

Australia’s rap underground has grown in large part thanks to the power of social media, gathering momentum through often-silly videos on Instagram Reels and TikTok, as well as more cinematic music videos on YouTube. If you’ve previously seen a man outrunning a Melbourne tram online, then that was Golo.

Whether you’re a casual consumer or following the group closely, it’s easy to take the online personas of the Lonely Souljaz at face value. Hedonistic, chaotic and rarely serious, the group’s music delivers a burst of energy similar to skolling a slab of energy drinks in the morning.

Dig a little bit deeper, though, and the group’s passion for the craft becomes clear. Discussing their social media strategy, for example, the group lights up. Carefully considered and intentional but spontaneous, the group backs themselves to win audiences over, one short-form video at a time.

“They either hate it or they love it,” Jords says. “And if they hate it, it’s probably even better because they fuel it, and because it pisses them off they want to watch it to the end and see what else they can hate about it, right? It’s just about being consistent. If every day people are seeing you, they get familiar, and it’s just a matter of time for you to be able to convert them into a fan.”

Across their self-titled mixtape and the just-released “deluxe” version they walk the tightrope between shocking and sensational with the touch of a seasoned circus artist. Bouncing off one another, they trade hyperactive verses littered with cultural references, while DON!’s production flips some of modern music’s biggest hits into speaker-shaking jerk and trap beats. There isn’t much room for introspection when listening to Lonely Souljaz: their music is a rollercoaster ride of adrenaline, designed to get the heart pumping.

While they’ve been loosely writing songs together for the past couple of years, they only officially debuted as a group in November, before dropping their tape in January. The deluxe version comes just as they’re getting ready to take their URL momentum into IRL, with preparations well under way for an Australian tour set to take place throughout May and June (including a stop in Ulladulla, the result of an online fan campaign). The group is laser-focused on seizing the moment because they’ve all been preparing for this moment.

“We never stopped and we just kept evolving,” Shotta says. “And as we evolved, the new generation grew up, and it took Australia to evolve, too, to be able to take in what we were doing.” Shotta and Golo went to high school together in Parramatta and it’s here where they first had visions of what they were set to achieve. Shotta adds, “We were always talking about that: we’re going to change the whole of Australia into what we like. Maybe it took a little bit longer than I thought originally, but it got there.”

The saying ‘overnight success takes a decade’ is literal in Shotta’s case: he and Golo have been making music since 2016, while Jords was previously part of much-beloved trio Freesouls. As DON! explains, there’s no faking your 10,000 hours. “It takes time. For example, it took 10 years for me to pop off as a producer in this country. I think even if you go hard – some people go hard for two years, three years, and then they think that was it. If your heart’s not in it you probably aren’t going to see it through until the end.”

With more eyes on them than ever, the group is conscious of staying one step ahead of the competition. Rap moves at a fast pace, and what was innovative one month will be cloned, copied and ultimately outdated the next. Lonely Souljaz are taking it in their stride, though. “I think it’s good if we’re the ones getting copied. I think that’s the best part,” 4orttune explains.

Shotta adds, “If you’re jumping on something while it’s happening, and you don’t know what you actually are genuinely about and what you like, you’re already behind because then that person who started the trend is already on to the next thing.”

The group’s chemistry is evident throughout the interview – it’s the most I’ve ever laughed during a chat. I walked away feeling like I’d run a half-marathon, attempting to manage six larger-than-life personalities. Talking over Zoom, the group’s split into two different settings: 4orttune at home, while the other five were in their natural habit, the studio. In comparison to the out-there ’fits the group are often wearing online, everyone’s looking quite casual – though DON! is wearing sunglasses inside. Some habits die hard.

In-jokes fly thick and fast in conversation, and answers often end up at a totally different destination to where they began. It goes a long way to explaining the dynamics that have fuelled the movement because nothing is being taken too seriously. 4orttune, for example, refers to Shotta and Jords as “uncs”, thanking them multiple times for the guidance they’ve given him along the way (not that he always listens to them). I’m even sucked into the group’s online universe post-interview, posted in among one of their many photo dumps on the Instagram account for the group.

This sense of joy (and chaos) radiating from my laptop screen throughout the chat underpins the group’s ethos. Music can be a lonely grind, and the relief of finding like-minded people with whom to enjoy the ride is evident whenever the various members of the group speak. “I’m just having a great time with my brothers and just making good music, just loving life, and trying to get a nice little bag out of it,” Jords says. DON! adds, “Everyone’s turned into a brother. This is family now,” while 4orttune chimes in with, “It’s the best friend group I’ve ever had. I can truly be myself.”

As to what’s next – that’s hinted at by the deluxe edition of the mixtape, which added five new songs. Where the original tape was a reflection of the group’s movements over the past couple of years, the deluxe version captures even more of a united front, with Jords in particular shining. “It’s a bit more intentional than the [original] tape,” DON! says. “The tape was a collection of songs we made as a group over the last two years.”

How does mp4oscar feel about the journey so far?

“It feels like a period of time that none of us are gonna forget, no matter what pathway we take after,” he says.

“We’re just having fun with it. Personally, I just gave up on everything that’s not this, and realised that I really had to put my all into it. I think we’re all at that stage. It’s nice to share moments with people that share the same goal, and it’s turned into something crazy.”

Lonely Souljaz (Deluxe) is out now. Their national tour includes shows at Canberra’s Fiction on May 1, Ulladulla’s The Marlin on May 2, Wollongong’s Uni Bar on May 8, Brisbane’s Prince Consort Garden on May 22, Melbourne’s Bourke St Courtyard on June 13 and Sydney’s Oxford Art Factory on June 20.

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