Manu Crooks exploded onto the international hip-hop scene last year with his debut track “Everyday”, before exceeding expectations again with the follow up breakout single “Blowin’ Up” which, all jokes aside, BLEW. UP.

The clip has now massed over 1.7 million views, and the track was added to triple J rotation, featured by Zane Lowe on Beats One, premiered by Hip-Hop’s biggest music news site The Fader, and earned the opportunity to open for both YG, Danny Brown,and Stormzy on their respective Australian tours, as well as an invite to Australia’s largest music conference BIGSOUND Festival.

Although based in Sydney, Manu Crooks has a definitively international sound. “Building a dedicated following with his “raw lyricism and seamless flow,” (The Fader) some have likened him to the hugely popular Atlanta scene, with comparisons also coming out of Toronto, while some can’t place his accent at all.

This universal sound comes from growing up in Ghana, before finally settling as an Australian citizen in Sydney as a young teen. Because of this, Manu’s palette of influences is lush and diverse – he speaks two languages, is a producer, an artist, and a rapper. This comprehensive creativity perfectly showcases a new breed of beats coming out of Sydney, breaking the traditional structure of hip-hop in Australia to reveal an exciting and interesting new soundscape.

Early on in his career, yet already viewed as a pioneer in the Australian hip-hop scene, Manu Crooks is bridging hip-hop hemispheres and representing a new era of music in Australia – an era of culturally diverse and sonically challenging artists who are telling stories of their life experiences and the world around them, proving Manu “might just be our best hope for Aus rap to make a significant impact on the international scene.”(Complex).

Working with producers Miracle and DOPAM!NE for his debut EP mood forever, out now, Manu Crooks’ has a fresh perspective and a continent full of hip hop fans who are ready to root for one of their own.