Mantra

Dapper Melbourne rapper Mantra has had a busy year. He’s just signed up to Ten to Two records and is putting the finishing touches on his third solo album before heading off on a national tour.

Aside from being a talented chap Mantra is an all round nice guy and a mentor to up-and-coming local rappers. At the Dig Deep Program at the Arts Centre, he works on lyrics and song writing. “Seeing the young people having euphoric revelations that I had when I first got into music is amazing. Music gave me what I needed to become the person I have become,” he tells us.

With Mantra’s own music, he is feeling good about finishing his new album. “It’s not what I set out to make I thought it would be a darker album, but it has more upbeat and happy and light hearted moments.”

In the music video for his latest single Loudmouth, we see another side of the rapper: playing himself as a kid. The aesthetic is fun, retro and plays up a 1950’s Tim Burton/Pee Wee Herman style. “Loudmouth refers to me not shutting up at school and being a bit of a class clown,” which Mantra reckons has kept him in good stead as an MC.

The video was written and directed by fellow musician Grey Ghost and co-directed by Nick Rieve, the duo who created music vids for Pez, Xavier Rudd and Seth Sentry. Keep an out for the rapper’s twelve year old brother in the clip, looking like a mini Mantra.

See Mantra being a loudmouth onstage Thursday 6 June at the Northcote Social Club.
For tickets and more info visit mantraemcee.com.

Words and photos by Leila Koren.