{"id":863578,"date":"2026-08-21T20:40:34","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T20:40:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/863578\/"},"modified":"2026-08-21T20:40:34","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T20:40:34","slug":"sidney-phillips-new-album-this-australian-trans-adlay-rapper-is-one-of-a-kind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/863578\/","title":{"rendered":"Sidney Phillips new album: This Australian \u2018trans adlay\u2019 rapper is one of a kind"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Robert<\/p>\n

August 21, 2026 \u2014 3:00pm<\/p>\n

Save<\/p>\n

You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n

Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n

AAA<\/p>\n

We must start at the \u201cc—.\u201d The c-word is, after all, the title of the remarkable new album from local \u201ctrans adlay\u201d rapper Sidney Phillips.<\/p>\n

For Phillips, the word \u2013 a staple in \u201cadlay\u201d and \u201ceshay\u201d culture, and especially in \u201clad rap\u201d or \u201cgutter rap\u201d, where everyone is either a \u201csick c—\u201d or a \u201cdumb c—\u201d \u2013 is appropriately loaded.<\/p>\n

\"ProlificProlific underground hip-hop star Sidney Phillips steps further into the spotlight with her remarkable new album.George Ian Hewitt<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s definitely provocative,\u201d Phillips admits, a mischievous smile peering behind her shaggy bangs. \u201cIt\u2019s a big word but it\u2019s emblematic of Australian culture, whether you love it or hate it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, a music journalist<\/a> counted the number of \u201cc—s\u201d Phillips uttered on her 2024 album, Penance; it was 88. I haven\u2019t put in such journalistic rigour yet, but surely stamping it across the top of the new project trumps any number.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a cool word,\u201d says Phillips. \u201cI like it because it can be positive or negative. I can relate to it as a rapper, as an Australian, and also because it\u2019s been used by the LGBT community that I\u2019m also a part of, where things are \u2018c—y\u2019 and stuff like that. I like the multiple meanings.\u201d<\/p>\n

At 23, Phillips is the shining light of Australian underground hip-hop. A prolific artist, C— is her sixth album in about five years \u2013 following her breakout and bona fide classic, 2023\u2019s I\u2019m So Tired of Being Staunchly, and a never-ending stream of singles and collaborations with her wider crew stealthyn00b.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Pairing the crispest of trends in internet rap with Gen-Z references (\u201cc— I\u2019m Effy, c— I\u2019m Cassie\u201d), unique Australianisms \u2013 her viral freestyle<\/a> on Triple J\u2019s Bars included nods to Webjet and The Big Lez Show, for example \u2013 and her slurry melodic delivery, she\u2019s become an iconoclast to a generation of very online locals, earning acclaim at home and overseas. Does she recognise her impact?<\/p>\n

\u201cUm, yes,\u201d Phillips says with a droll laugh. \u201cI don\u2019t like to make a thing of it because I don\u2019t want people to think I\u2019m up myself. But at the same time, I get scared that if I don\u2019t talk about it then people won\u2019t realise it\u2019s the truth, you know?<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Sydney-based<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cDoing adlay rap over PluggnB and digicore beats, with the Aussie accent and talking about Aussie culture? Ain\u2019t nobody was doing that before me. All of a sudden, there\u2019s so many kids doing it. It\u2019s fresh. I\u2019m not saying they copied me or that I invented it, but can I say I popularised it? Maybe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Phillips has also helped steer Australian hip-hop \u2013 which, especially in its connection to lad culture and eshay culture, is traditionally quite masculine (and often toxically so) \u2013 to a more inclusive bent.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that\u2019s a generational thing and it\u2019s online culture,\u201d says Phillips of the new open-mindedness in hip-hop. She\u2019s part of a generation of rap fans who grew up with forward-thinking influences throughout the 2010s, including Young Thug, who famously wore a ruffled dress on his Jeffery album cover; the \u201cbased God\u201d Lil B, who rapped about being a \u201cpretty boy\u201d in skinny jeans; and Lil Uzi Vert, a non-binary alien who cites Paramore\u2019s Hayley Williams as a prime influence.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I loved about it is the attitude, doing what you want and other people can f— off,\u201d says Phillips. \u201cSo while there has been a rise of right-wing ideology in the youth, I think in the past 20 years there\u2019s also been a rise in acceptance of LGBT stuff, in hip-hop specifically.\u201d<\/p>\n

Phillips was 11 when she started questioning her own gender identity. \u201cI\u2019d kind of had a misunderstanding about it and I got it explained to me: if you could choose one or the other [gender] to be born as, or neither, and it\u2019s not the one you were born as, then you\u2019re probably trans. I was like, damn, that\u2019s interesting because if I could choose I\u2019d probably want to be a girl. So what does that mean for me?\u201d Phillips recalls.<\/p>\n

\u201cSocialising with my mates at high school, there were times I\u2019d get really upset, just thinking, \u2018Man, I like my mates and I want my mates to like me, but I feel like if they really knew this about me, they\u2019d think I\u2019m weird and they wouldn\u2019t want to be friends any more.\u2019 It\u2019s an isolating experience, feeling like you can\u2019t really be your true self.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Her affinity with lad culture compounded the confusion. \u201cWhen you\u2019re an adlay, it\u2019s because you\u2019re kind of pushed to the edges of society. And I identified with that, with feeling like the system doesn\u2019t care about me, that you\u2019ve gotta sort out shit your own way, \u2018f— the police\u2019 and all that. Plus I loved Nike TNs, I loved rap music, I was already wearing Ralph Lauren. Like, it all made sense to me,\u201d Phillips laughs.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut then it can be very homophobic and toxic because it\u2019s such a macho thing. But even when I was a teenager, 14 or 15, there was this chick I knew who was a lesbian, full butch, and she dressed like an adlay and was just totally accepted as one of the lads. I always thought that was interesting because growing up, I\u2019d known adlays that were terrible people, really rude and who would just mess with people for no reason.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, for a bit, I was really confused. I was like, \u2018Man, lads are all really mean and shit,\u2019 but then I also have some really nice lad mates. So I realised it\u2019s not being a lad that\u2019s a problem, you know? It\u2019s just whether you\u2019re a good person or a bad person. So I was like, I\u2019m just gonna take the parts I like about being a lad and I don\u2019t have to be misogynistic or homophobic.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the same with rap music. I\u2019ve always loved rap music and some of it is really misogynistic and homophobic, but I just think we don\u2019t have to keep that going into the new music. You take the bits that you love about it, and forget all the rest.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\u201cDoing\u201cDoing adlay rap over internet beats, with the Aussie accent and talking about Aussie culture? Ain\u2019t nobody was doing that before me,\u201d says Sidney Phillips.George Ian Hewitt<\/p>\n

Phillips\u2019 friends were not immediately accepting of her trans identity. She came out after finishing year 12, thinking she could avoid bullying once school was over. \u201cI\u2019ve had mates hit me up since, like \u2018What the f—, c—?\u2019 and bully me and unfollow me, but it is what it is,\u201d says Phillips.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was just sick of it, and it was probably being just out of high school and rebellious where I was like, \u2018Man, I don\u2019t give a f— any more, either they\u2019re with me or against me!\u2019 Now I\u2019m a bit more shy with it, but I look back at myself and I\u2019m proud that I was so brazen. I was just like, f— all these c—s if they don\u2019t want to stay mates with me after coming out. And I found new mates that liked me for who I am, and that\u2019s what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Phillips is speaking from her bare-boned spare bedroom in Melbourne, where she moved to just over a year-and-a-half ago after moving out of her childhood home in Morayfield in the suburbs north of Brisbane. She\u2019s got her tools of the trade with her \u2013 a laptop, a microphone and FL Studio \u2013 and a Queenslander\u2019s work ethic.<\/p>\n

\u201cWriting and recording brings me joy, so I do it whenever I can. I wish I could make 10 songs every day, but the creative juices don\u2019t flow that hard every day. Sometimes I\u2019ll do three songs in a day or five songs in a week, and then sometimes it might be two weeks where I don\u2019t write because I\u2019ve got stuff on or I don\u2019t have anything to write about and I need to live some more life. But I\u2019m lucky I\u2019ve been able to get inspired semi-frequently over the past five years.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Despite its charged title, C— might be Phillips\u2019 most tender work yet. Downbeat and cohesive and built with her producer Rapallo with a palette of autotuned vocals, minimal drums and woozy synths \u2013 Phillips calls it \u201csad robot music\u201d \u2013 it was inspired by Swedish rapper Bladee, Kanye West\u2019s 808s & Heartbreaks, and Phillips\u2019 struggles with \u201cmental stuff\u201d.<\/p>\n

HaHaHa might be the saddest party anthem you\u2019ll ever hear, a celebration song where Phillips raps about her off-kilter relationship with substances, a recurring refrain across her work. Where\u2019s she at with her battle with the \u201cdevil on my shoulder\u201d, as she puts it in the song?<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m doing well. I still smoke weed, I still like a beer, but I don\u2019t partake in pills any more. It\u2019s just no good and I don\u2019t want to promote that. It\u2019s not a good lifestyle to have. I had my fun, but I would never encourage anybody to do that, and I don\u2019t do it any more. No, no, no.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Adam<\/a><\/p>\n

Listening to the music, it doesn\u2019t sound fun, I tell her. Phillips laughs. \u201cThat\u2019s the message I\u2019m trying to portray. As much as I like my fun drug music, I just can\u2019t with good conscience make it any more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mums might be the album\u2019s most heartfelt moment, Phillips\u2019 addition to a hip-hop canon that includes 2Pac\u2019s Dear Mama and Lil B\u2019s Best Mom Ever, where she recalls after-school runs with her mum to Gloria Jeans for TimTam Chillers. \u201cTimTam Chillers! I forgot I mentioned that. That\u2019s OG as. I don\u2019t even know if they still exist. Do they still do TimTam Chillers?\u201d asks Phillips.<\/p>\n

I had to Google it to see if it\u2019s still around. Surprisingly, it\u2019s still on the menu. Even more surprisingly, Gloria Jeans still has stores. The reference speaks to Phillips\u2019 world-building appeal, as does the vulnerability on display in the song. Phillips\u2019 mum is a language teacher in Japanese and German; her dad has worked in construction his whole life. Their record collection \u2013 from Duran Duran to Whitney Houston, pub rock to Tammy Wynette \u2013 informed Phillips\u2019 eclectic music taste.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were sitting in the studio trying to think what should the next song be about, and my mate was like, \u2018You should do a tribute song to your mum.\u2019 I was like, oh yeah, that\u2019s nice. But just doing it to Mum felt weird, so I had to chuck Dad in there too, even though the song\u2019s called Mums.\u201d<\/p>\n

Has she played it for them? \u201cNot yet. The thing with my parents is they don\u2019t like music with swear words,\u201d Phillips laughs, suddenly aware of the task at hand. \u201cI might have to cover up the album name, but I definitely plan on playing it for them. I\u2019m aiming for some tears.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sidney Phillips\u2019 new album C— is out now. She will perform at Brisbane\u2019s The Triffid on November 26, Melbourne\u2019s Prince Bandroom on November 27, and Sydney\u2019s Manning Bar on November 29.<\/p>\n

Want more music stories and reviews?Save<\/p>\n

You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n

Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n

\"RobertRobert Moran<\/a> is Spectrum deputy editor at The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"August 21, 2026 \u2014 3:00pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":863579,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[64,63,134],"class_list":["post-863578","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/863578","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=863578"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/863578\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/863579"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=863578"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=863578"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=863578"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}