Phrase

Phrase, who entered the world as Harley Webster in 1981, first grasped hip-hop’s appeal after his parents seized the cassettes stashed beneath his bed, prompted by one Body Count tape in particular. During his teenage years he embodied the everyday white Australian homeboy existence, complete with graffiti, substance use, and freestyle clashes along the railway lines. Two pivotal events forced a reassessment. Former footballer Jim Stynes visited his school to discuss the Reach Youth initiative and its Dream Factory component, which assisted adolescents in developing self-assurance and personal objectives. Shortly afterward Phrase found himself in hospital care, critically underweight after sustained amphetamine consumption that supplanted proper nutrition.

Determined to avoid becoming another grim statistic, he started competing in the Revolver MC battles, sharpening his skills with every round. He enrolled in the Reach Youth program and later took on part-time duties there, delivering workshops on self-esteem, drive, and confidence at a local community center. Around the same period he crossed paths with R&B vocalist Daniel Merriweather and hip-hop producer Jan Skubiszewski, who would later gain recognition as J-Skub of Jackson Jackson; both committed to shaping his debut record. That project, Talk with Force, secured a national release through Universal Music in 2005, instantly elevating the previously obscure Phrase within Australia’s expanding hip-hop community. He contributed guest spots to tracks by Mystro and Jade MacRae, with whom he was romantically involved, and joined ex-convict Chopper Reed on the contentious Interview with a Madman.

By 2007 Phrase was back in the studio alongside J-Skub for a follow-up album. What began as a projected six-week session extended across six months once the initial five tracks were reviewed and judged to recycle the same purist boom-bap already familiar to Australian listeners. The material was discarded, and work restarted with an eye toward rock- and pop-leaning textures. The earliest result, “Face It,” featuring Ian Kenny of metal outfit Karnivool, surfaced as a single tied to the domestic launch of Halo 3. It was ultimately omitted from the finished 2009 release Clockwork, which instead showcased appearances by Kram of alt-rock group Spiderbait, pop vocalist Wendy Matthews, and Phrase’s longtime associates Jackson Jackson.