Introducing Australia’s Colorful Hip-Hop Duo SAFETY CLUB

If you’re searching for a dynamic new music act to consume, then look no further SAFETY CLUB is for you. Hailing from Australia, the duo first got their start in music earlier this year with their single ‘JUICE’. Made up of vocalist Ronnie Sinclair and producer shan, the two create material that effortlessly blends the smooth stylings of R&B with the sleek sounds of hip-hop. Their latest single ‘ICY!’ is the perfect example of their boundless creativity and is described as the “perfect mood for late-night cruising with the homies.”

Backed by their trademark effervescent sound, the track is laced with clever lyrics that put a spotlight on their journey as rap artists and hustling for the dream. Their accompanying video breathes new life into Ronnie’s lyrics as it showcases a collide of two worlds: the glitz and glam of a rising hip hop star and the quiet backdrop of suburbia. With a growing fan base and a sleuth of upcoming music releases, SAFETY CLUB is prepping to take over the music sphere. We were able to chat with the duo about everything from their creative routines in the studio, all things ‘ICY’ and so much more. Read the full interview below…

Hi Safety Club! How’s it going?

Not bad, yourself? Hopped up on Mountain Dew, let’s do this. 

We’re doing well! How’s the year been treating you?

Good man. I mean, global health crisis and all that but we’ve been really lucky in where we live (Queensland, Australia) haven’t had too many lockdowns. Either way, it’s been a year of getting shit started/getting shit done. We’ve been writing lots, making lots of things you’ll see soon.

Let’s hop into the music. When did you two first fall in love with Hip Hop?

Ronnie was semi-raised by D’Angelo. Not in a literal sense, he is very busy and has children of his own. And we know that’s not hip-hop but RnB is basically the gateway drug to hip-hop so it was smooth sailing from there. 

We both listened to a lot of random stuff growing up. Shan was really into metal and heavy electronic music for a lot of his childhood and got more and more into hip-hop when he realised you can like music that your friends will actually want to listen to with you. Acid Rap (Chance the Rapper) made him fall in love with lush production, crazy fx and 4kHD mixing and then he kinda got addicted to producing. 

When it comes to rap icons, which artists do you look towards for inspiration?

TDE was huge for us growing up, Schoolboy and Kendrick especially. TPAB came out like a year before we really started getting stuck in on this rap shit so it really set the stage for how crazy detailed and HD music can be. 

That and Smino/Monte Booker, pretty sure they’re living in the future – hope we can get there one day. Do you think that in the future like all foods will be genetically engineered so it’s all perfectly healthy and you can just like eat KFC all day every day and not feel like your insides have depression? That’s a world I want to live in.

How would you two describe SAFETY CLUB’s sound and vibe?

Kinda like light-hearted/funny but actually really hard bars over spicy 4k beats. We don’t take ourselves too seriously but try real fuckin hard to make our shit as tight as possible. We take the piss out of everything.

What’s your creative routine when making music?

Normally we go to Shan’s studio/bedroom / where the magic happens (what’s up bedroom producers bet you’ve never made that joke before) and he makes a beat on the spot. Then Ronnie goes and sits outside for like 45 minutes running the beat through in his head because Shan is hitting the spacebar continuously trying to get the delay right on some weird ASMR shit and it can really break someone.

We record a hook/whatever bars we can get done, then Ronnie takes the beat home and writes the rest of the bars, we track them and then second guess ourselves for like 3 months until we feel it’s ready.

We need to talk about your new single ‘ICY!’ (it’s absolutely fantastic). What themes did you want to explore with this track?

The bars are kinda like Ronnie playing a character that represents how we feel right now – like big things are just around the corner but we’re still living in regular real life. We do a lot of rapping for the job we want not the one we have. This is that. You can’t let your dog walking job make you feel less like a rapper or you’ll lose your mind man.

You also released an accompanying video for the record! Can you take us through the idea you two had for the visual? 

The first half of the song really feels like you’re coasting, rolling past lights late at night so we wanted to capture that constant moving feeling with tight colours and locations. But at the same time, we’re trying to vaguely give this feeling of being a rapper with real-life responsibilities. Trying to do rap shit and then going back to your day job and shopping for groceries thinking about if you’re eating enough veggies after you’ve eaten Korean food 3 times in the last week.

You guys have two incredible singles making the rounds. Are you guys working on a longer release like a mixtape or EP?

Hey hey hey, that’s a secret man. But we will eventually. We are just doing what feels best right now.

With 2021 more than halfway over, what can fans expect from SAFETY CLUB in the coming months?

SC SEASON BAAAAAAAABBBYYYY! We got songs, we got movies, who knows – anything could happen (but we haven’t been stacking up tracks for nothing).

Make sure to check out SAFETY CLUB’s brand new single ‘ICY!’ below and here.