Downsyde

Downsyde originated with Scott Griffiths and Shahbaz Rind, who performed under the MC names Optamus and Dyna-mikes. The pair launched their careers while still teenagers by hosting suburban hip-hop events around Perth, and in 1996 they competed in a local talent contest. Perth audiences responded with such loyalty that the duo’s initial demo—a 200-copy cassette titled Behind the Bucket—sold out inside a few weeks. Encouraged, they recruited fellow enthusiasts to shape their energetic party tracks, beginning with D. Reutens, who rapped as Dazastah, and Damien Allia, who handled DJ duties as Armee. The resulting album Epinonimous appeared independently in 2000. Keyboardist and sampler Matt Cheetham, known as Cheeky, joined next, followed by drummer and percussionist Salvatore Pizzata. After inking a deal with Hydrofunk—the label run by the Resin Dogs—the group issued the Gifted Life EP in 2002 and the album Land of the Giants the following year. They later moved to the Obese imprint headed by Pegz, where both the Les Fortunate EP and the album When the Dust Settles arrived in 2004.