Formed in a casual sort of way back in 2000, KillaQueenz began when Kween G and Belizean Bombshell met while dancing at the Sydney Olympics. Making fast friends, they bonded together over the arts of rhyme, recording, music and dance.

Initially mentored by Sydney-based Tanzanian musician Mr Zux and eventually Grindin Music, KillaQueenz have since become one of Australia’s leading dancehall/hip-hop/electro crossover outfits.

Having released their debut album Sistarhood last year, late this February, they return to New Zealand for their second Aotearoan tour – this time performing in Dunedin, as well as Wellington and Auckland.

Having interviewed them last time they passed through New Zealand for shows, Martyn Pepperell caught up with Kween G via cellphone from Sydney to assess where things are at – and what the future points towards for the KillaQueenz.

mp: Okay, last time we talked you’d just released Sistarhood and were preparing to tour the record through New Zealand. What has been going on since?

kg: We’ve been pretty happy with the response to Sistarhood. We’ve just been getting a lot of shows around the country. We’ve been pretty much everywhere in Australia, expect for Adelaide, which we’re going to at the end of the month. So, we’re pretty happy with how things have gone. We’re put out some cool remixes. My favourite has to be the D-Cup Boyfriend remix. It’s been nice.

mp: D-Cup, that’s a pretty funny name for a producer!

kg: Yeah, it’s big ya know! Big!

mp: Since the record came, where have you performed in Australia where you hadn’t played before?

kg: Perth, which is on the other side of Australia. We went to Tasmania, which is one place I thought I would never go to. Those are pretty much the two places that we were looking forward to going to. We haven’t been to the Northern Territory. I’ve been to the Northern Territory to do some Hip-Hop workshops, but as far as a Killaqueenz show, we haven’t hit Darwin or anything like that.

mp: Darwin! That would be crazy!

kg: Yeah, it’s beautiful up there!

mp: So where have you found to be the most receptive to your shows?

kg: I’d probably have to say Melbourne. We did the Fords Festival over New Years and that was the biggest crowd we ever played to. We visit Melbourne quite often, more then any other place. Aside from Sydney it’s our main spot.

mp: And is it somewhere that you have been going for a long time?

kg: Yeah, we recorded some of the tracks from the album there; and it’s close to Sydney. Sydney and Melbourne always work together.

mp: Do you think there are any other factors in why it’s popping in Melbourne?

kg: Melbourne has a pretty rich hip-hop scene and live music scene. So you find that people are always supporting gigs. There hasn’t been a night when we’ve been there that it’s been quiet.

mp: What’s your radio support been like?

kg: It’s been really good. Triple J, they have been getting behind us a lot; and putting us in rotation.

mp: Any weird PR placements you wouldn’t have expected?

kg: We did a shopping spree photo shoot for Vice Magazine yesterday; which was really weird. It was a good opportunity and we appreciate it, but I don’t like shopping in Sydney. It’s just shit. They’re asking us to choose from places and, oh man, it just sucks. It’s so hard. It would have been good if it was another city. I really like the shopping in New Zealand, it’s really nice. Unfortunately Sydney is not a good place to shop [laughs].

mp: Have you been playing alongside some big artists or doing any collaborations?

kg: Definitely! Especially on the festival circuit! But we’ve mostly been doing our own shows as well, which is a good change for us. We haven’t done as much support shows; we’ve done our own shows. We’re just about to start the Good Vibrations tour, so it will be great to make some links with some of the producers and artists who are coming out for that.

KillaQueenz Double Up

mp: And you’ve just done a video-clip for your single Double-Up. What’s up with that?

kg: It’s our first video. We did it backwards. Most people put a video out before they drop an album, but we decided to let everyone know who we are before we dropped a video. It’s gotten a good response, ’nuff hits on Youtube and stuff. I’m happy with it, it’s a really nice video; it’s different to what normally comes out in Australia. The most important thing is we represented what Australia looks like in a different way to how most videos normally do.

mp: Where did the ideas in the video come from?

kg: The production company that directed it had the ideas. We just got the people. All the people in the video are mates of ours. I was pretty proud, I was like, gosh, all of our friends are so beautiful. So yeah [laughs].

mp: How much time have you been spending on the road touring?

kg: Pretty much every weekend for the past few months! We’ll have a couple of weeks off, than we’ll be back on it for a month or two. So, it’s really good to get us more inspired and develop our performance more.

mp: Have there been any songs from Sistarhood that have been starting to stand out as key at the shows?

kg: Double-Up definitely, everybody always gets moving for that. We did this show on Australia Day a couple of weeks ago and there were all these kids there. We got them up on stage and got them to dance to Double-Up. So, that is probably the one that always gets people up!

mp: Any surprise ones?

kg: Yeah! Break the Rules to Get Paid, everyone relates to that [laughs]. People like that message and I’m happy with that to, cause for me that is an important track. It’s good that people are reacting to it.

mp: And your thoughts on coming back to New Zealand?

kg: Once again, we’re looking forward to it. Last time we had a great time. I like New Zealand. I’d like to actually stay there and work with some people on music for a little bit. I’ve never been to Otago, I’d never even heard of it until we got the call to do it; and I’m going to get a tattoo in Auckland, cause I wouldn’t want to get a tattoo anywhere else but there!
By Martyn Pepperell

NZ tour dates
Wed 24 Feb @ Otago University Orientation, Dunedin
Fri 25 Feb @ Be Nightclub, Auckland
Sat 26 Feb @ Good Luck Bar, Wellington

Sistarhood is out now.