If you have been following the Australian hip hop scene at any time since 2015 you have no doubt seen the name MLBRN grace your screen, but not always just for his music. In the past 6 years he has been more consistent with controversy than making actual music. Though MLBRN has dipped in and out of the scene over the past 5 years it would be hard to deny that when he is being consistent he sits amongst as one of the best lyricists in the Australian hip hop scene. Boasting enough technical command, lyricism and flow to generate a core fan base for any time he decides to come back. Hearing his unique and well crafted music without knowing the back story would most likely leave any one confused. How can an artist with this much talent not be the talk of the moment? But his success comes with baggage and haters… lots of them! For every positive comment he receives on his music there seems to be two attacking his personality. But as MLBRN has frequently managed to do, he once again seems to have flipped the script. So before we go into detail let’s take a quick trip down memory lane and give some context to the background of everything you need to know!
2016
Bursts on the scene and calls out every rapper in NZ and Aus calming to the best. With that came a plethora of seemingly random rappers & MLBRN volleying shots at each other back and forth from all over NZ and Aus. Everyone knows him but not necessarily because they love him.
2017
Raps it all up with a song called the last response and begins to make music that is more constructive calling out some behaviours and issues surrounding Polynesian people and their youth. Creates a real online platform not only for himself for others emerging in the Aus hip hop scene who are Polynesian , but does this in an American Accent. Numbers don’t lie, he begins to stand out from the crowd gaining extraordinary views clocking up into the half a millions at this time which was previously unseen. Creating a platform for other up and comer rappers in the process.
2018
Much the same, people start to come around and forget the beef he created early on in his career. His craft gets deeper and sharper. Drops an EP late in December called ‘Against All Odds’ which is a complete content shift on anything he had done in the past. focusing on the grime and streets of the Sth East of Melbourne and moving from RNB in to more of a rap focus.
2019
The scene erupts. One Four – ‘The Message’ is a hit and are respectively the first poly artists to come out not using an American accent. Fans across Australia and the UK love it. MLBRN comes out with a song ‘is what it is’ feat NZ based Poetic mid year dropping the accent, he attracts the most attention doing so and is heavily criticised for being ‘fake’. He also picks up some new haters, a group based in the next suburb across from him. The ‘HP BOYZ’. That begins to intensify as they leak a video of MLBRN being bashed with a swollen face on the ground via social media and then allude to being involved by ‘no commenting’ when asked about their involvement in the incident on a DME interview. Though MLBRN profusely denies they had any involvement.
2020
Complete silence to begin the year and rumours that he is now in prison. Which is confirmed in July after 8 months of nothing he returns with a song titled ‘Bars From Prison’. It doesn’t gain much traction and it looks as though, this time it might be too late for him to still hold any relevance in the thriving Australian hip hop scene.
But alas he comes back with a follow up ‘Dis n Dat’ and signs to one of Australia’s fastest growing record labels joining the likes of Masked Wolf, Will Sparks and many more. Finishing off the year with a surprise summer hit ‘Side Bitch’ which quickly becomes one of the biggest bangers of the year.
2021
MLBRN started the year with serious momentum as he dropped the clip for ‘Side Bitch’, which was trending on YouTube within two days. He followed that success with his newest single ‘Proper’ which landed on prestigious Spotify playlists A1, Drip, Local Hype and also trended on YouTube on launch. Both singles exceed a collective million streams. Sells out two stand alone shows at Melbourne’s prestigious Laundry bar in under 8 days. Signs with one of Australia’s biggest agencies ‘Lucky URBN’, and lands himself as a headliner at the Sidney Myer Music bowl alongside Timmy Trumpet & Hooligan Hefs all in under a month.
With a pending court case in April and a hot run of success it’s a fine line and even harder outcome to predict is this the comeback we all want to see and deserve, does his talent finally surpass the controversy of his past? Does he catch the break he has worked so hard for? Or does it once again all come crumbling down? At the moment the hype is real and we are on the edge of our seat waiting to see if this year is the year the underdog finally battles his way to the top? But for now I guess only MLBRN can answer that question for what’s next. But we will be sitting and watching from a distance quietly cheering on one Australia’s most talented underdogs.
