Rapper 360 Chats Pop Music, Changing The Game & Being Pitched As 'The Male Lily Allen'

Brandishing what would go on to be dubbed the "hip hop event of 2011," rapper 360's second studio album Falling & Flying was an instant game-changer with its unique injection of pop, electro and indie influences into the Aussie hip hop landscape.

Marking a firm step away from the more comedic stylings of his debut album What You See Is What You Get, Falling & Flying catapulted 360 beyond his local hip hop status and into a household name. Now, as 360 - aka Matt Colwell - approaches the tenth anniversary of his groundbreaking second full-length outing, much has changed both personally and professionally for the Melbourne artist who took the world by storm.

From a go-karting accident that nearly derailed Falling & Flying back in 2010, to a stint in rehab and significant mental health battles, it's been just shy of four years since new 360 sonic goodness has emerged, following the release of 2017's Vintage Modern.

But in a year that has tested and tortured the local music and entertainment industry, 360 has emerged emboldened and rejuvenated in 2021. Armed with a knockout comeback single Stand Alone that cements the fact that he ain't no one-tricky pony, 360 is also unleashing a special 10th anniversary edition of Falling & Flying today, complete with a limited edition re-pressing of the original vinyl, bonus tracks and more.    

With the original release of Falling & Flying hitting double platinum status, scooping up ten ARIA Award nominations (and two wins) before celebrating an eye-watering 52 weeks in the ARIA Album Chart top 50, it's not hyperbole to declare 360's defining opus as a trailblazer in the Aussie hip hop realms and beyond. And bringing in vulnerability and genre-defying elements was a risk that entirely paid off, as 360 discussed on today's episode of The Green Room podcast.

"It was around the time where I was really obsessed with songwriting," 360 told host Tiana Speter. "And pop music was really influential."

"Obviously with that album I was getting into all sorts of different tunes, like, The Beatles and even stuff like Lily Allen and Miike Snow... just all sorts of stuff. And I was really, really focused on writing complete songs rather than just writing good raps with, kind of, choruses and stuff like that.

"Teaming up with someone like Styalz, who produced the album and wrote it with me... he was just perfect for that, because I remember having the meeting with him when we were talking about working together... and he was very hesitant because of my background, he thought that I'd be wanting to come in and make, like, just a very Aussie hip hop album at the time.

"He didn't want to do that. And I was like: 'I don't wanna do that, I wanna make something that's bringing electro elements, and all sorts of stuff. Like: let's do stuff that has not been done.

Amongst the creative process to bring Falling & Flying to life, it was while working with the album's fellow creative instigator Styalz Fuego that 360 came to realise they were truly crafting something special - a fact fully backed by 360's longtime sonic co-conspirator PEZ, resulting in some of the tracks being played in a fortuitous meeting with EMI.

"At the time, PEZ had blown up with The Festival Song," said 360. "And he had a meeting with EMI to discuss going forward label-wise with him. And he was like: 'you've gotta play them these songs in the meeting...' which is very selfless, you know, going to a meeting for himself and then putting your mate on like that is really... really solid, you know?

"They heard the songs and were just like: BANG! Straight away they jumped on it, and they were really, really keen, it was really cool.

"They actually wanted to market me as the male Lily Allen" 360 laughed, doubling over in his chair. "I was like: 'maybe not that...' but I respect it, I respect it!"

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You can watch the full episode with 360 and host Tiana Speter below or here, or alternatively, you can also listen to full The Green Room podcast episodes below, as well as on Spotify, Apple Podcasts - or wherever you usually get your podcasts from.

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Need more music, film, TV and comedy in your life? Check out all previous episodes of The Green Room here - and did you know you can also watch episodes of The Green Room too? Head here to check out some of the recent videos, and if you're still hunting for content to feed your ears, be sure to check out some of the other exciting Handshake Agency podcasts below!

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