AmuThaMC is ready to surprise us again

AmuThaMC made his dreams come true: he made music a full-time career, taking care of his family and doing it all on his terms. But none of this surprises him. As the Brisbane rapper tells Complex AU, he worked for it, and now he and his peers are reaping the rewards.

The latest might just be the sweetest yet: he appears in a JD Sports campaign with New Balance alongside A.GIRL and his brother, rapper Nokz. The campaign highlighted his photo across Australia and New Zealand and reached many proud friends and family members.

It’s a far cry from growing up in Forest Lake, Brisbane, an area Amu describes as “not like a neighborhood area, but not a nice area”. In the span of two decades, Amu went from writing poetry outside his local supermarket to performing at a festival with his brother, going from being a newcomer to his hometown’s hip-hop scene. city ​​to that of one of its eldest statesmen.

Amu fired her first shot at the national stage in 2016, responding to industry-wide dissent from MLBRN to spark a back-and-forth. After nearly half a decade away from the spotlight, Amu resurfaced in 2020 with “Some Nights,” a sonic shift that saw the emcee blend lyricism and melody.

It set the table for a string of hits, the biggest being “My Team,” a raucous anthem that has since racked up over a million streams and solidified Amu as one of the scene’s most beloved veterans from Brisbane.

Looking ahead to the second half of 2024, Amu is ready to get to work. It launches a new era. Speaking to Complex AU, Amu talks about the evolution of his sound, his family and the best show he’s ever played.

How did you start making music?
I’ve been writing music since I was 11 or 12 years old. I was writing outside on a milk crate at the local FoodWorks. People would see me and always think I was crazy. My friends will say to me, “Man, we thought you were a dreamer,” but I’m glad I persevered. Obviously, I’m one of the oldest on the scene. I am 30 years old. So I was making music before a lot of these artists, it was all I wanted to do.

With my brother Nokz, he was very talented from the start. He’s good at everything he does because he’s that kind of person: he finds a way to make things happen, whereas for me, music has always been my only focus.