If you thought Kerser had peaked on previous albums, think again.
Kerser (Supplied)
Aussie rap legend Kerser has officially dropped his tenth and final album, A Gift & A Kers.
After having teased fans with five of the album's singles - Seen It All, Winner, Like I’m Trapped, Telem How and Been Some Time - the self-made rapper has released his pièce de résistance in the form of a whopping 23 tracks and zero skip moments.
A Gift & A Kers is, unquestionably, Kerser’s best set yet, with the Campbelltown-born rapper carefully crafting his final project gradually over the course of three years instead of within his traditional, self-imposed four-month window between annual, sold-out national tours – and it truly paid off.
“I honestly feel like I reached my full potential on this album,” Kerser revealed. “Fans can expect the type of music they have been asking me to recreate for years now, with a modern twist.”
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The album’s brilliant title, A Gift & A Kers, also perfectly summarises Kerser’s revolutionary underdog success story – a double-edged sword – as well.
Throughout the course of his illustrious music career, Kerser has made it crystal clear – every trailblazing step of the way – that he would drop 10 albums in 10 years.
With his final masterpiece now out, he added, “I know it’s a hard pill to swallow, but this was my goal from the start and the mission is almost complete."
For his closing sonic statement, Kerser realised that representing every era – from breakthrough mixtapes and YouTube promos right through the entirety of his coveted discography – was essential.
“I feel like I covered every Kers style, so it really takes the fans on a journey,” he explained. “There’s stuff on here to make my fans laugh, cry, reminisce, get goosebumps, think deep and feel motivated. There’s some hardcore street stuff, and heaps of addictive hooks and killer bars as well.”
A Gift & A Kers was mostly produced by Open Till L8 and Raijan Kitano, with some album cuts taking shape while they all vibed and crafted beats together during a stay in Gerringong, on the NSW coast.
On the morning of the highly-anticipated album, Kerser took to Instagram to celebrate his final music project, saying, "It's only been out a few hours and the reaction I'm getting me spinning me out," Kerser admitted in a video.
"It's like everyone's heard it already. What's going on? Everyone's saying it's the strongest Oz rap album released - I told you this - I knew I was sitting on gold and I'm to say the fans agree and they call it a classic."
"I know it's a roller coaster of emotions because this is what I built up to my whole career ... I had to do this strictly for the fans."
HGe added, "Album 10 - we did it. Classic. Thanks to all the fans and anyone who's listened, I told you so much work went into this and to see the reaction has been that good already."
"You've watched the stand the test of time. We made a classic. This is all for you. Thanks to everyone involved. We did it. The Kers effect - it's real."
The rapper is set to tour A Gift & A Kers across Australia later this year, hitting stages in Meanjin/Brisbane, Kaurna/Adelaide, Naarm/Melbourne, Boorloo/Perth and Eora/Sydney over September and October. You can see all the details on that tour here.
“I used to see Hilltop Hoods and Bliss n Eso were playing the Enmore Theatre and I’d look up the capacity and I’d go, ‘Oh, okay, I don’t think I’ll sell that out in my career; that’s more for the artists on the radio with a massive push.’ We actually sold the Enmore out for this upcoming tour and I never expected I could do that, so it’s a massive accomplishment," Kers said of the sold-out tour.
“I’ve got such a loyal fanbase, ‘cause they’ve seen me go against the grain. Back when I was coming up you needed radio play or you weren't gonna get anywhere. Or even Channel [V] – I’m showing my age there!” he recalled.
“With all those doors shutting in their face, I think a lot of artists in that position would’ve quit! But, yeah, I prove that theory wrong and showed that you can overcome [a lack of industry support]. It’s good to see the upcoming artists have realised that and they give me props for it now, which is pretty satisfying.”
Kerser boldly set out to create “the greatest Australian rap release ever” with album number 10 and it's safe to say that the rap sensation has done just that with A Gift And A Kers - and if you thought Kerser had peaked on previous albums, think again.
“I know this is my best piece of work yet,” he said of his final gift to fans.
“I’m leaving my fans with an album that will carry them through the rest of their lives. My final thank you and my final imprint on the scene I built.”
Check out A Gift And A Kers below.