KERSER. DEAD KARNT!

I remember in the mid-2010s, Kerser absolutely dominated the Australian rap scene.

Other Australian rappers like Hilltop Hoods from Adelaide and 3sixty from Melbourne were also big at the time, but they leaned far more mainstream. Their music was politically correct, radio-friendly, and easier to market. That’s not to say they don’t deserve their flowers because let’s be honest, between Kerser and 3sixty’s rap battle, 3sixty won.

But Kerser wasn’t like the other Australian rappers. He was from Campbelltown, and he was an unfiltered and raw adlay in every sense. The way he dressed, the way he talked, the content of his music. It all made mainstream Australian media and radio want nothing to do with him. It came to the point that mainstream media had blacklisted him. Ironically, there was always an argument on whether he was underground or not.

Despite that, Kerser still built a serious cult following, especially within the adlay and eshay community. He had a series of tracks called Deadset, where he would remix popular radio songs with rap. I remember catching the bus to school from Blacktown station and there’d always be some eshay blasting one of his Deadset tracks on their JBL or Beats speaker.

Even though he was a full-blown adlay, you’d never catch Kerser in a pair of Nike Air Max Plus’. He was a die hard Nike Air Max 90 loyalist. His fashion was simple and loud: Nautica, Ralph Lauren, Lacoste, Nike, Adidas, Gucci or Armani. And it had to have a fat logo. He was literally an adlay that made a name for himself. In 2019, Kerser was also offered a sponsorship deal from Nautica.

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