Sydney isn't necessarily a place you associate with swag. Cricket, yeah. Opera, of course. But swag? Maybe not. Party bass act Hermitude disagree, though. In fact, the Aussie duo have enough swag to bling out a small island nation, as proven by their bossy track "Through the Roof"

Hermitude just kicked off a lengthy US tour that'll prove their swag-tastic swag-osity to American audiences, and in celebration of this, we got the guys to delve deep into their psyches to pick out the hip hop tunes that most inspired their perspective. Both Luke Dubs and El Gusto bring the old school realness, so get your notepads out, kids.

"Classic J.Dilla beat. The hook is crazy good, the beat is amazing and of course the raps are super fluid over the top."

"This is live hip hop at its best! Classic Rhodes, upright bass and drums combo is one of the best hip hop bands ever to do it and Malik B's verse is bad arse."

"This is the first time I heard jazz and hip hop fused together and it turned me into a hip hop fan instantly. The trios voices sound so sweet and jazzy over the top, it's such a perfect blend. And those horns."

"When the bassline drops in this track it just makes your face scrunch up and say "dammmm!" Then of course Roots sits in the pocket on top over such a dope beat. Classic UK production."

"It's hard to pick one Wu joint from the 90s but I just love the story in this track. The intro sets it up perfectly and the beat is so dark and ominous and those drums so crusty. Rza and Gza slaying it."

"I saw the film clip to this song on the tv show Recovery when it first dropped. I went straight out and bought it. Produced by J Dilla, and with commentary about the commercialism of hip hop, this tune became an anthem to me."

"I love this tune, it's so weird. The haunting string lines and pulsating synth that starts the track is just the beginning. Kool Keith's verses are SO random "dr octogon paramedic foetus from the east". I also love the fact that this album was a meeting of 3 really quirky but super talented people, Kool Keith, Dan The Automator and DJ Qbert."

"Classic Busta flows on this track, showing off why he's technically one of the best. Plus this beat just nocks."

"What can I say? One of the best tracks and albums of all time. This was the soundtrack to so many train trips to and from the Blue Mountains to Sydney."

"I had this track on a mixtape that Dubs made for me back in the day. Love the chord progression on this tune, it's in 4/4 but the progression goes in rounds of 3 bars. Something that Qtip has a unique nack for with his productions, and of coarse the fluid flows."

Find Hermitude on Facebook // SoundCloud // Twitter

Check out these tour dates:
11-Mar-2015 U Street Music Hall - Washington DC
12-Mar-2014 Brighton Music Hall - Boston, MA
13-Mar-2015 Webster Hall - New York, NY
14-Mar-2015 BUKU Festival - New Orleans
14-Mar-2015 Joy Theatre - New Orleans (BUKU After-Party)
18-Mar-2015 Austin Party Weekend Presented By IHEARTCOMIX - The Main (Emo's), Austin, TX
19-Mar-2015 Beat Pie Rooftop on 6th - Austin, TX
19-Mar-2015 TBD Austin Presented By Beautiful Buzzz The Brew Exchange, Austin TX
19-Mar-2015 Monster Energy Outbreak House - Antone's on 5th, Austin TX
20-Mar-2015 Avalon - Los Angeles, CA
21-Mar-2015 The Independent - San Francisco, CA
22-Mar-2015 The Observatory - Santa Ana, CA
25-Mar-2015 Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom - Denver, CO
26-Mar-2015 7th Street Entry - Minneapolis, MN
27-Mar-2015 Chop Shop & 1st Ward - Chicago, IL
28-Mar-2015 Studio Bar - Toronto, ON
23-May-2015 Counterpoint Festival - Atlanta, GA
24-May-2015 Lightning In A Bottle Festival - Monterey County CA
6-Jun-2015 Wakarusa Music Festival - Ozark, AR
7-Jun-2015 Governor's Ball Music Festival - New York, NY