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from: http://www.threedworld.com.au/homebase_magazine/hb_magazine_article.php?id=275
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Trillion and Billy Wilson: The Other Side (Oct 2005)
billy and trillion
 
While most New Zealand hip-hop sounds like it stepped straight off the A-Train, rappers Trillion and Billy Wilson aren’t afraid to leave the American accents behind and instead let their inner Kiwi shine. Fresh from a stint at Sound Summit (This is Not Art) 3D World caught up with the leftfield hip-hop artists as they continue to tour Australia in aid of their new album The Great Divide.

New Zealand seems to be a pretty cool place to be if you're a hip-hopper at the moment. Why do you think it's become such a fertile pasture for home grown hip-hop? 
 For us it's a cool place to be because we can be unique. Most NZ hip-hop fits nicely into the 'commercial' box. This works well for radio, sponsorship and funding. On Billy Wilson's The Great Divide’ a wee bit of soil was taken from the 'fertile pastures' and sprinkled into a planter box on the She'll Be Right window sill. Some of the tracks use the language of hip hop as a springboard to launch outside of hip-hop, other tracks leave the language behind. This is not a commercial approach.

The NZ Government seems to be quite forward thinking in its approach to arts (specifically music) funding. Have you guys been the recipient of any assistance?
The grants situation is a funny one, without getting too involved in the politics of it all – there are two main grant funding bodies – creative NZ and NZ On Air. Creative NZ fund things like books, theatre and the NZ symphony orchestra. NZ on air fund music videos and recording for commercial pop music, so if you are doing something different (like most decent people) it's easy to fall between the gaps and receive no funding. Instead the acts and major labels who deserve it least (because they are already successful or a multi-national corporation) get all the funding. It's a weird situation, and quite wrong for a government to mix art and commerce in such a matter that quashes anything creative. I am more likely to receive funding from Creative NZ, and I did for my latest Trillion LP.

What does the description 'non hip-hop' hip-hop mean to you?
There's a certain school of thought that says' if you make hip-hop, the style of beats, music and lyrical content should be a certain way'. I think this is stifling to the artform. You can't live in a box – so why should hip-hop stay in a box. I take all the things I love about hip-hop and try to make something new – thus I'm almost making an opposite version of it.
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Jody: your work has been studied as part of the NZ high school English curriculum (again very forward thinking). Do you have any idea what sort of themes they've found/explored in your work?
I'm not too sure on all details – mostly it's been used as an example of how NZ English and kiwi-isms can be used in a modern way. Because Dark Tower were pretty much the first (and only) hip hop act in NZ (and the world) to do this we've sort of become part of the NZ cultural history book.

What did you initially think when you found out about it?
We were pretty flattered really. Not only on an intellectual level, but imagine all the kids going through high school – most of them will know about us in some form. You can't buy that sort of exposure.

Explain for us the appeal of fried egg and gherkin sandwiches. Do you think you could have made The Great Divide without them?
Possibly not… when boys have their heads in a project; it becomes the main focus. They can't be bothered stopping to prepare a four course meal like girls would. So it's necessary to have things that are quick and easy to prepare.

Fresh from Sound Summit in Newcastle you can catch Trillion & Billy Wilson Thursday 13 at Esplanade Hotel, St.Kilda and Friday 14 at the Hopetoun Hotel, Surry Hills, Sydney. The Great Divide is out next week through Obese Records
By JP