90's RD Are About Much More Than Just Hip Hop

"Melbourne city will be stolen," is what you hear from Baro at the beginning of his new release 17/18 but what you may not know, is it won't be just him that is going to do it. It's going to 90's RD (Raw DiverCity). 

"RD isn't just music," Baro says. RD is more than a collective. It is a entity, built on ideals and family. More than anything though, it's art. Not just art in the form of sound, either. MC Marcus himself is a graphic designer. RD is a community of like-minded people that want to see Australian art grow. They want to take it worldwide — not just in hip hop; they want to support anyone who has a positive message in the form of art, and they are sure they're not the only ones who share this opinion. They know there are others who have the same view and want Australian art to grow.

The first thing people usually think of when thinking of a hip hop collective is usually OFWGKTA (Tyler, The Creator and Earl Sweatshirt's collective). What do 90's RD think about being compared to that group?

"If you're on the same page, you're RD automatically. There ain't no membership."

"The comparisons will come just because we are a collective," Marcus begins. "You listen to our music and know we are not trying to be Odd Future, it's nothing like that, it's just what people want to perceive. Our music speaks for itself, we didn't just decide to go, 'Shit, Odd Future are popping, let's make RD,' it was more, we were all on the same page, we should start a collective."

It grew from all of them being solo artists, and finding it harder and harder to be heard in a digital age. So they formed RD a way to support each other and others around them — a group of people with a high level of creativity.

And it's not just hip hop they are interested in; that's just how it formed, how it came to be. They would love for others to become a part of this new movement. You can be a street artist or a reggae act — it's more about the mindset and a focus on the work ethic that they all share. "If you're on the same page, you're RD automatically. There ain't no membership," says Marcus.  

RD want to do it on their own terms. They believe in what they are doing and they know they can take this country by storm, and take it global. They want to be seen alongside their idols as peers. They want to prove it can be done if you just keep at it. They feel everything at the moment is fabricated — people putting on these characters — and they want to be as far away from that as they can. They are an example of what you see is what you get.

Before you ask, yes, there is a mixtape in the works. But it's not just going to be a quick release thrown together from a few sessions, it's going to be a thought-out process bringing together a group of artists and to them, it has to be coherent, perfect. More than anything, they want it to be filled with diversity — DiverCity.

So what does RD mean to Baro, Marcus and Sol' Manic? It's clear that it's everything to them. It's family, it's their lifestyle and their reason for doing what they do. If you look at the logo you see a pair of wings on a peace sign. It represents more than just the music — it's about positivity in the form of art and watching art evolve. They're at peace with themselves, always behind the scenes, trying to get that next step. 

"If you just sort yourself out on a personal level, your creativity will blossom," Marcus summarises.

Watch 90's RD member Sol' Manic's newest video below.