Tom Thum aka Tommy Ill Figga

Tom Thum (AKA Tommy Illfigga)

Tom Thum lives and breathes hip-hop culture and is THE consummate B-Boy. Not content with mastering one of the five elements of hip-hop, Tom has opted for four (Beatboxing, Emcee, Writer, B-boy), and shows no sign of slowing down any time soon.

Having been an active member of the Brisbane hip-hop community since early 2000, Tom Thum certainly has his roots firmly planted and has etched himself to be one of Australia’s most prolific beat boxers. He has competed in, and won many prestigious national & international competitions for both Beatboxing & Break dancing, with a recent highlight being crowned (along side Joel Turner) the duos beatboxing world champion in Germany, 2005. Following on from this, Tom secured a second place victory at the recent “Scribble Jam”, America’s (if not the worlds) most prestigious hip-hop competition.

Tom is constantly touring and performing at many of Australia’s most high profile music festivals such as Big Day Out (2001-2006), Livid Festival, The Byron Bay Blues & Roots Festival, Fremantle Blues Festival, Melbourne Music Bowl, Woodford Folk Festival and The Triple Z Hip Hop Festival. Tom has also performed alongside many local groups such as Butterfingers, The Serenity, The Coalition, Bliss & Esso as well as many international acts including Redman & Method Man (USA), Cypress Hill (USA), Rahzel (USA), Mystro (UK), Ugly Duckling (USA), Grandmaster Flash (USA) & DJ Qbert (USA).

Tom has been fortunate enough to collaborate with Butterfingers on numerous occasions, and has also laid tracks with one of the forefathers of Australian hip hop “Def Wish”, from one of Australia’s most influential and energetic live acts, Def Wish Cast.

When not performing, Tom is an extremely active community arts worker, and has facilitated numerous hip hop workshops in diverse communities ranging from all the way down south to Launceston, then back up north to Mornington Island, out west to Charleville and numerous other areas around the country. He is also in the process of developing a hip hop workshop database with MC Eloquence (The Winnie Coopers) and Bboy C-Rad called the “Elements Collective”, a workshop booking agency targeting rural and remote communities across Australia.

Tom (as Tommy Illfigga) has just dropped his debut release “The Unfiltered EP”, which features flawless lyrics covering a broad spectrum of life from copping a beat down to stealing other peoples music. It also features solid production from Sammsonite of “The Optimen” fame, as well as many well-respected guest artists from some of Brisbane’s finest. He is also a member of an ancient Shaolin Cult that is sworn to secrecy, and can say no more (or has he already said to much?)

So next time you need your daily serving of the finest aussie hip hop, make sure it's infiltered