The Hard Road


The Hard Road is the fourth studio album by Australian hip-hop group Hilltop Hoods, released on 1 April 2006 via Obese Records. It debuted at No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart, becoming the first album by an Australian hip-hop act to reach achieve this milestone. On 8 April 2006, just one week after its release, the album was certified Gold by ARIA, signifying 35,000 units. By February 2007, it had achieved Platinum certification, with sales surpassing 70,000 units.
At the J Award of 2006, it won the Australian Album of the Year. announced on 1 December. It was also nominated for four awards at the ARIA Music Awards of 2006, winning Best Independent Release and Best Urban Release.Five of the album's songs placed on the annual Triple J Hottest 100 chart announced on 26 January 2007: "Recapturing the Vibe", "Stopping All Stations", "What a Great Night", "Clown Prince", and "The Hard Road".

Background

The Hard Road's lead single, "Clown Prince", reached the top 30 on the related ARIA Singles Chart. This featured guest verses from New York rapper, Omni, and British MCs, Mystro and Braintax. Hilltop Hoods received the inaugural Australian Independent Record Award for Independent Artist of the Year and Best Performing Independent Album for The Hard Road in 2006. The track, "The Blue Blooded", is a collaboration with Australian MCs: Funkoars, Hau Latukefu from Koolism, Mortar, Vents, Drapht, Muph & Plutonic, Pegz and Robby Balboa. On 27 April of the same year, Hilltop Hoods performed at the Bass in the Grass music festival in Darwin alongside fellow hip hop group, The Herd. That same day they issued a second single, the title track from the album. Its music video includes fellow members from the Certified Wise Crew – Cross Bred Mongrels, Terra Firma and Funkoars.
Following the success of The Hard Road Tour in early 2006, the Hilltop Hoods began their second national tour for the year, The Stopping All Stations Tour, which visited more regional areas of Australia as well as the capital cities. They were supported by Koolism and Mystro. Late that year, Hilltop Hoods released their third single from the album, "What a Great Night". The video shows the group at a club with camera shots panning up and down to reveal a new location. It used special effects and is one of the most expensive video clips for an Australian hip hop group, mirroring the group's rise in success and popularity. Also late in the year the band won the J Award for best album of the year from Triple J. They performed the Homebake Festival and Falls Festival before the end of the year. The Hard Road received the AIR Award for Best Independent Hip Hop/Urban Release in 2007.

Track listing

Secret track and extra material

  1. Video clip of the first single "Clown Prince" is available for viewing on the CD.
  2. Untitled secret track - to access this track, start on track 1, "Recapturing the Vibe", and scan backwards. The song is about Hilltop Hoods' rise to fame and the struggles they endured because of this rise.

    Song credits

Due to the MCs Suffa and Pressure performing different verses and choruses of varying songs, the sections done by DJ Debris and the large number of guest artists featured on the album, what follows is an extensive list of song credits.
  1. "Recapturing the Vibe" - 3:26
  2. *Produced by Suffa
  3. *Vocals by Pressure, Suffa
  4. *Scratches by DJ Debris
  5. "Clown Prince" - 3:52
  6. *Produced by Debris
  7. *Verse 1: Suffa
  8. *Verse 2: Pressure & ct
  9. *Verse 3: Suffa & Pressure
  10. *Scratches by DJ Debris
  11. *Contains samples of "Laying Pipe" by Pornosonic; "Excursions" by A Tribe Called Quest; "Things Done Changed" by Notorious B.I.G.
  12. "The Hard Road" - 4:06
  13. *Produced by Suffa
  14. *Vocals by Suffa, Pressure
  15. *Verse 3: Suffa
  16. *Scratches by DJ Debris
  17. *Contains samples of "Out in the Woods" by Leon Russell
  18. "Stopping All Stations" - 3:52
  19. *Produced by Suffa
  20. *Vocals by Pressure
  21. *Scratches by DJ Debris
  22. *Contains samples of "Ego Trippin' " by De La Soul; "1-800 Suicide" by Gravediggaz
  23. "Conversations from a Speakeasy" featuring Omni - 3:28
  24. *
  25. *Produced by Suffa
  26. *Verse 1: Pressure
  27. *Verse 2: Omni
  28. *Verse 3: Suffa
  29. *Scratches by DJ Debris
  30. *Contains samples of "You Gots to Chill" by EPMD
  31. "What a Great Intro" - 0:24
  32. "What a Great Night DNR" - 3:06
  33. *Produced & performed by Suffa
  34. *Scratches by DJ Debris
  35. *Contains samples of "For Pete's Sake" by Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth
  36. "City of Light" - 3:40
  37. *Produced by Suffa
  38. *Verse 1: Suffa
  39. *Verse 2: Pressure
  40. *Scratches by DJ Debris
  41. *Bass guitar by Chris Lambert
  42. *Electric guitar by Nick Lambert
  43. "Obese Lowlifes" featuring Mystro and Braintax - 2:24
  44. *
  45. *Produced by Suffa
  46. *Verse 1: Mystro
  47. *Verse 2: Pressure
  48. *Verse 3: Braintax
  49. *Verse 4: Suffa
  50. *Scratches by DJ Debris
  51. *Contains samples of "These Walls Don't Lie" by Promoe
  52. "Circuit Breaker" 3:29
  53. *
  54. *Produced by Trials
  55. *Verse 1: Suffa
  56. *Verse 2: Pressure
  57. *Scratches by DJ Debris
  58. *Contains samples of "Professor Booty" by Beastie Boys; "Buddy" by De La Soul
  59. "Breathe" - 3:15
  60. *Produced by Suffa
  61. *Performed by Pressure
  62. *Scratches by DJ Debris
  63. *Bass Guitar by Chris Lambert
  64. *Trumpet by Phil Ingram
  65. *Contains samples of "Unbelievable" by Notorious B.I.G.
  66. "The Blue Blooded" featuring Blue Blooded Allstars - 4:47
  67. *
  68. *Produced by Suffa
  69. *Introduction: Trials
  70. *Verse 1: Suffa
  71. *Verse 2: Mortar
  72. *Verse 3: Trials and Sesta
  73. *Verse 4: Hau
  74. *Verse 5: Drapht
  75. *Verse 6: Vents
  76. *Verse 7: Muphin and Pegz
  77. *Verse 8: Robby Balboa
  78. *Verse 9: Honz
  79. *Verse 10: Pressure
  80. "Monsters Ball" - 4:19
  81. *
  82. *Produced by Simplex
  83. *Verse 1: Suffa
  84. *Verse 2: Pressure
  85. "An Audience with the Devil" - 4:06
  86. *
  87. *Produced by Trials
  88. *Performed by Suffa
  89. *Contains samples from an episode of Millennium titled "Somehow, Satan Got Behind Me"
  90. "The Captured Vibe" featuring DJ Reflux - 2:12
  91. *
  92. *Produced by Suffa
  93. *Scratches by DJ Reflux
  94. "I Can't Take It"
  95. *
  96. *Produced by Trials
  97. *Verse 1: Suffa
  98. *Verse 2: Pressure

    Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications