Bliss N Eso celebrate #1 with quiet drinks and "bum tattoo"

11 August 2010

by Jason Treuen

Bliss N Eso had big plans to celebrate their newly #1 album Running On Air until “responsibility” and an early flight to Perth the next day got in the way.

“We got the news on Friday night whilst we were rehearsing,” MC Esoterik (aka Max MacKinnon) tells TMN. “The first thought was to make a massive bonfire and let off fireworks in Campbelltown near my house but then the realisation of the tour starting kicked in.”

The chart-topping trio (MacKinnon, Jonathan 'Bliss' Notley,  and Tarik ‘DJ Izm’ Ejjamai) settled for some “quiet drinks” and were up early for a flight to Perth to kickstart their biggest tour to date, although they did get a shout out from the cabin crew.

“We told all our crew on the plane ride on the way over to Perth, and even managed to get a shout out from the Qantas cabin crew over the PA on the plane. The Perth crowd really rocked out and I’m sure we will be celebrating with our fans at each of the shows in the coming weeks.”

Somewhere in there they’ll also have to squeeze in a trip to the local tattoo parlour.

“My girlfriend actually said if it went #1 she would get “Big Macca” tattooed on her bum cheek, she’s actually on her way to the local tattoo parlor now!”

It’s a dangerous wager given how close the boys have gotten before - their previous album Flying Colours debuted at #10 in 2008. This time around, Bliss and his cohorts were adamant not to set their expectations and targets too high, but they are delighted with the achievement.

“We were certainly feeling the buzz from the fans prior to the albums release. They’ve been going hard on the internet and the response was huge but to take out the number #1 position is a feeling that’s really hard to describe.”

According to Mackinnon, it also proves that Australian hip hop is “no longer the little art form that everyone has bagged for years.”

“Scoring the #1 is indicative that hip hop has carved its own market in Australia,” he says. “Achievements such as this should serve to remind all those artists out there to stick to their guns and keep making music and breaking down the barriers.”