Love him or hate him, you have to respect the grind. Controversial Campbeltown rapper Kerser has managed to make it in the volatile Australian music industry without the help of triple j (where he’s repeatedly blacklisted himself) and with barely a mention on commercial radio.

It was around this time last year that he was in contention for the top spot on the ARIA Albums chart but was rather misfortunately pitted against Justin Bieber and One Direction, though he still managed to sell a considerable amount of albums. Using his social media savvy, Kerser’s Next Step still hit the top five of the ARIA Albums Chart and the top of the ARIA Australian Artist Albums Chart.

This time around, the outspoken emcee, who’s built an impressive career thanks to social media and a lot of hustle, was battling thrash metal legends Metallica for the top spot on the ARIA Albums chart. He was in with a real chance, but ultimately Lars and the boys came out on top, though Kerser still managed to obtain a very respectable Number 4 spot and a Number 1 on the Australian Artist Albums chart.

In fact, speaking recently to FasterLouder, Kerser said the one thing he would like to be remembered for is making it without support from our national youth broadcaster or commercial outlets. “I want to be remembered for that,” he said. “It wasn’t heard of making it without triple j support and getting plastered on Channel V, and I wanna be remembered for giving other rappers a platform to make it.”

That’s a pretty interesting, albeit important, legacy. Of course, as we’ve previously mentioned, Kerser’s not the only Australian artist to make it without support from triple j, there’s also hard-working Aussie rockers like Airbourne, though the Cambeltown emcee is certainly one of the most well-known and outspoken.

“That’s what I want to be remembered by when I leave the game,” Kerser recently told Tone Deaf, echoing similar sentiments. “I proved there was a way to make it even if you’re shunned by the industry. If everyone wants you to fail in the industry. I proved there’s still a way to make it.” Now that’s something all Australian musos ought to be inspired by.

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