Drapht

Paul Reid, formerly Paul Gary James Ridge, (born 4 September 1982), better known by the stage name Drapht, is an Australian hip hop artist from Perth. Drapht is a member of the Syllabolix (SBX) crew, a collective that includes fellow Perth-based hip hop artists such as Downsyde.

Biography 1982–2002: Early life Drapht grew up in North Perth, Western Australia, a suburb of Perth. His father, Gary Ridge, a jazz drummer introduced Drapht to music from a very young age—he first experienced hip hop at the age of eight. The name "Drapht" is based on a Western Australian Swan Brewery beer, Swan Draught; the company's logo was written on a watch that his father brought home when Drapht was 13 or 14.

Drapht attended Perth Modern School in Subiaco but was not involved in the school's music program. At school he became friends with Damien Allia (aka DJ Armee) who introduced him to hip hop via gigs at the Hyde Park Hotel. "I was extremely fortunate. Right place, right time. I was right in the middle of it all, I had access to one of the best producers at the time Dazastah, freestyle sessions at Hunter's and constant schooling from the rest of the MC's within the crew. So I was very blessed with it all." — Drapht

This involvement resulted in his first contributions being recorded and included on Hunter and Dazastah's 2000 debut album, Done DL, only months after he had started seriously writing.

His debut album, Pale Rider, was released in October 2003, with all production handled by Dazastah (Downsyde), Fdel and Drapht. Special appearances on the album include: Fdel (Invada Records), Downsyde, MC Layla, Hunter, Selekt, Carlsani and Porsah Lane. "With my first album, around the surrounding time I was fortunate to be hanging out with the Downsyde boys and the rest of SBX who were hugely influential. Essentially I got into music because It really amazed me how Daz [Dazastah] tackled his writing style with his witty punch-lines. Aggression was one thing I wanted to rid myself of though, at that time in my life it was my venting process. An angry teen mad at society, and myself. But we live to grow through that."|Drapht (2008) The songs touch on topics including politics, sex, and addiction to drunken antics. Guest appearances on the album include Pressure (Hilltop Hoods), Downsyde, Layla, Pegz (Obese Records), Clandestien, MJ (Funkola) and Hunter. It was released by Obese Records in both in a CD and a limited 2 LP vinyl format. Two tracks from the album, "Drink Drank Drunk" and "The Music", received airplay on Triple J, mostly on the Super Request program. Who Am I is more an introspective album. "I tried to focus more on my flow and the structure of the tracks but at the end I wasn't really happy with the subject matter of the songs."|Drapht (2008) He also performed a guest verse on the track, "The Blue Blooded", which was included on the Hilltop Hoods' 2006 album, The Hard Road. Killa Kela, and Resin Dogs.

2008–2009: Brothers Grimm Drapht's third album, Brothers Grimm, was released 10 May 2008, with the first song from the album, "Jimmy Recard", receiving significant airplay on Triple J, where it became the second most played song on the station in 2008 "With Brothers Grimm I focused on my song writing and concepts more than any previous album, also working on my pronunciation and delivery. I set out for it to be more of a personal and truthful account with what I stand for moralistically"|Drapht (2008) and No. 10 on the ARIA (Australian Recording Industry Association) Top 40 Urban Album charts.

2010–2015: The Life of Riley In an interview with The Vine in November 2010, Drapht advised that he had not renewed his contract with Obese Records and that he will be releasing his forthcoming album The Life of Riley independently. The first song released from the album is "Rapunzel", for which he describes:

The Life of Riley was released 1 April 2011 and was the first release on Drapht’s own label The Ayems, which is distributed through Sony Music. The album debuted at #1 on the ARIA Album Chart and was the first Australian artist to do so in 2011. The second track to be taken from the album was "Sing It (The Life of Riley)".

2016–present: Seven Mirrors and Arabella Street Drapht released Seven Mirrors in August 2016, which peaked at number 4 on the ARIA Albums Chart.

Arabella Street was released in November 2018.

Touring In March 2009, Drapht undertook a national tour of Australia with fellow Western Australians, Downsyde with a number of the eastern states performances being supported by Pez. Drapht also made appearances at Homebake, Pyramid Rock Festival, Southbound, Open Arms and MS Fest.

Drapht appeared at the 2011 Groovin' the Moo festival and undertook a national tour to promote the album, with support from Mantra and The Tongue.

Drapht was the opening act for American musical duo Twenty One Pilots during the Australia and New Zealand leg of The Bandito Tour in December 2018.

Discography

Albums Year Album details Peak chart positions CertificationsAUS Pale Rider Released: October 2003 Label: Syllabolix (SBX 005) Producer: Dazastah, Fdel, Drapht — Who Am I Released: June 2005 Label: Obese (OBR032CD) Producer: Dazastah, Fdel, Drapht — Brothers Grimm Released: 10 May 2008 Label: Obese (OBR57CD) Producer: Trials, Plutonic Lab, M-Phazes, Simplex 64 ARIA: Gold The Life of Riley Released: 1 April 2011 Label: The Ayems (AYEMS001) Producer: Trials 1 ARIA: Platinum Seven Mirrors Released: 19 August 2016 Label: The Ayems Producer: Dazastah 4 Arabella Street Released: 21 November 2018 Label: The Ayems — Shadows and Shinings Released: 10 September 2021 Label: The Ayems 22 "—" denotes release that did not chart

Extended plays Year EPs details Peak chart positionsAUS A Beautiful Day to Be Lonely Released: 29 August 2025 Label:

Charted singles

Compilation appearances Culture of Kings Volume 3 (2003, Obese) (song: "Misunderstood")

Other appearances

Alongside many other Australian hip hop artists, Drapht appears in the music video for the Hilltop Hoods song, "Rattling the Keys to the Kingdom" (2012).

Awards and nominations AIR Awards The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector. 2008 himself Best New Independent Artis

Best Independent Album Best Independent Hip Hop/Urban Album

APRA Awards The APRA Awards are presented annually from 1982 by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA), "honouring composers and songwriters". Drapht has been nominated for four awards.

ARIA Awards The ARIA Music Awards are presented annually from 1987 by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). In 2011 Drapht won two awards from eight nominations.

J Award The J Awards are an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio station Triple J. They commenced in 2005. 2011 The Life of Riley Australian Album of the Year West Australian Music Industry Awards The West Australian Music Industry Awards (WAMIs) are annual awards presented to the local contemporary music industry, put on annually by the Western Australian Music Industry Association Inc (WAM). Drapht has won two awards.

(wins only) 2009 Drapht Best Urban/Hip Hop Act 2011 Drapht Best Urban/Hip Hop Act