Layla

Layla – solo female artist and member of Syllaboliks (SBX) Crew from Perth, released her debut Influential album in 2005 on Obese Records which inspired many more female emcees.

Layla – ‘Maverick’
Dazza at it again on the boards with those blasting drums that became a staple in the early 2000s for our whole scene. Layla was one of the first MCs in heard in Australia that REEEEEALLY showed you what delivery was on the mic AND on the stage. One of the best rappers in Australia by a long stretch. – Funkoars

Appeared on Culture of Kings Vol. 2 Released in 2002

Layla’s debut album Heretik was one of the most anticipated Australian hip hop albums of 2005. A diminutive, dark featured femcee in her early twenties, Layla has a strongly assertive, abrasive way of expressing herself which commands attention, and she is not averse to streams of expletives. This is shown to good example in the invective track ‘The fuss about sluts’, which deals with the fractious issue of women in hip hop and their assumed sexual availability by most
male “playas”, but is also about the legions of Britney Spears “wannabes” in the music industry who exploit their sexuality as an instrument of trade. The first thing about Heretik that strikes the listener is Layla’s broad Australian accent, followed by the anger which surfaces in many of her lyrics, often expressing the turmoil and torment of a difficult adolescence. Another striking feature of Heretik is Layla’s and DJ Dazahstah’s use of samples from other Australian hip hop artists such as The Hilltop Hoods, Bias B, Lyrical Commission and Mass MC, which pay homage to the efforts of Layla’s peers
and predecessors in the local hip hop scene. While Heretik contained enough energy and promise to install Layla as a potentially major new figure on the Australian hip hop scene, its widespread use of expletives prevented the album from gaining the airplay and recognition that it deserved. – Tony Mitchell