Tommy Gunn and 99HURTS on the Power of Brotherhood

Musicians often say their closest collaborators are like siblings to them. In the case of Tommy Gunn and 99HURTS, it’s the truth. The siblings are one of Australia’s hottest rapper/producer pairs, with Tommy’s hypnotic, melodic rap cadence blending well with 99 HURTS' ability to infuse every beat with enough oomph to shatter a subwoofer. The pair are currently in the States, but Complex Australia stole a bit of their time to chat about their music and their recent JD Sports x ASICS campaign.

When talking to Tommy and 99HURTS, it’s easy to see that they’re comfortable with the roles they play within their dynamic. Tommy’s the animated showman, while 99HURTS chimes in with insights into the pair’s relationship in and out of the booth. Bouncing off each other with ease, there’s an obvious mutual appreciation for their respective talents, as well as a sense of gratitude. As the pair point out, both rappers and producers are constantly searching for like-minded creatives to work with. For the duo, their perfect collaborator grew up under the same roof as them.

I'm curious: which one of you first got into making music? Were you doing it at the same time, or did one of you inspire the other?

Tommy Gunn: I started rapping with the boys first. I mean, me and the boys would just freestyle raps, and I would rap to Kelvin [99HURTS] and stuff. And, you know, I'd be like “Kelvin, listen to this.”

99HURTS: I'd get annoyed! I didn't even really like rap like that back in the day.

TG: And then he started making beats.

99: Yeah, my friend got me into FL Studio. I just started making beats, and he already had bars. So we were like, “Let's just buy a mic and start recording. See where it goes.”

Looking back at those early days to now, how do you both feel you’ve grown as musicians?

99: Still feels like early days.

TG: This still feels like hella early days, but I mean, like this whole journey, even though we're nowhere near where we want to be...I feel like as human beings, we've grown more than as artists, because as artists and musicians, it kind of feels like the same shit. Like this whole time we’ve had the same drive, the same work ethic, the same discipline. Yeah, nothing's really changed on the music side.

99: I’d say our music is better.

TG: Yeah, our music is better. But I feel like, if you ask about growth as people and as brothers, that's what's grown the most.

99: I think our artistry side grows as we grow as people.

You've got to live life to grow as artists, right?

99: Exactly. Tommy actually taught me a lot about that, because I've always been quite introverted. I just stay inside, play games. And if I'm not making beats, I'm on a League of Legends game, you know what I mean. He definitely helped me see a bigger side of being a human, alongside being an artist or being a producer.

How do you guys manage being brothers and working together professionally?

99: It's definitely interesting. There’s a lot that we’re juggling—we're trying to grow into artists, as well as adults, you know?

TG: I think the biggest thing is that we obviously go through what we go through as brothers. But if you want to be brothers in this game, you have to put that shit aside, you know? It's constantly like, “Okay, are we being brothers or being adults right now? And are we being professionals? Are we about business right now?” We're juggling between being family, being business, being adults, being musicians. It’s not easy, but we make it work.

Do you ever get sick of each other?

99: Yeah of course, 100 percent.

TG: Well, yeah, but, like...

99: —people get sick of their own girlfriends. You know what I mean?

TG: Our heart is in this shit deep down. We're sick of each other, but at the end of the day—like I always tell Kelvin—it's a blessing to be doing this shit. I'd rather get sick of him than anyone else.

Do you feel from the start your sounds naturally complemented each other, or do you feel like you've kind of grown into artists who work well alongside each other?

99: It's a combination.

TG: Yeah, it's both. Because, like, we grew up hella different, like we've been hella different people. I grew up outside of the house, doing whatever. He's always been a gamer.

99: Yeah, we're different people, too.

TG: And the music we listen to. I've was into pop and R&B before rap. But I'm also really big into rap.

99HURTS: I was a jazz musician before I was fully into R&B and hip-hop and stuff. And he listens to heaps of old-school rap.

TG: And old school R&B. Through disagreements, through fights, through whatever, we came together with a sound, and now we're just growing. These days, I feel like we're merging together and going in the same direction, and also developing a new sound.

We've spoken a little bit about how you guys work well together. But what do you think each other's biggest strength is as a musician?

99: I think Tommy's biggest strength is definitely writing songs that resonate, that stick. Writing not just a song that sounds good, but a song that means something as well. He can turn his own experience into something that the listener can take in.

TG: I think for Kelvin, it would be that he has a really good ear. His musical side of things. His ears are just incredible. Throughout the years, we've been able to work together to develop a new sound. If you tell normal producers [your ideas], they can’t always bring it to life. But we have that brother chemistry. I'll yap random terms to him, and he'll be able to translate it.

You've also done things with other artists—Kelvin, you’ve produced for ONEFOUR, and Tommy, you’ve also linked up with other artists. When you're working individually, do you miss each other a little bit?

TG: It's a balance. I'm spoiled, having Kelvin, and I'm very aware of that. I know how it is for normal artists. You have to reach out to producers, you have to buy beats, you have to do this, do that. You don't find great producers that you can properly hang in there with because if you don't have a brother like this, you have to run to 10 different producers and shit will take time.

At the same time, I love it in a way, working in times when Kelvin’s not available. I'm like “Okay, I love this, because this puts me under pressure.” I love working under pressure. When I make music overseas, when I make music with other people, it puts me in a whole different mode. Personally, I know I need both.

99: I was just telling Tommy the other day how much I've learned working with ONEFOUR as well. Just as an example, they obviously give me different perspectives to bring back into our own sound. Having to work with four or five people on one track, that taught me how to structure songs in a more creative way, because you're working with so many verses and hooks in the same song. And I've been able to take that back into my own production work on that with Tommy.

I was curious, how did you both react when you first got hit up about collaborating with JD Sports?

TG: I didn't think it was going to be what it was! I didn’t think it was going to be a whole campaign around us, I thought it was gonna be a bunch of different artists and we would take photos. But I'm grateful because JD dedicated the whole campaign to our story. I did not think it was gonna be like that. I only found out that a couple of weeks before the shoot. I started reading the whole script and I'm like, “Damn, they’re doing a whole movie on us. And I have to do all these things!” So yeah, definitely very grateful.

You fly back from the States in a couple of weeks. What are you hoping 2025 brings you both?

TG: These couple weeks here in America, it's a big turning point for us. A lot of crazy things. We’re meeting crazy people and we're constantly having new avenues put in front of us. It's exciting. Next year we're gonna focus a lot on Asia. And we've got some festivals coming.

99: In 2025, we're gonna keep pioneering this thing. Especially for Australia, a lot of people are going to see us do things for the first time for the country, or not even for the country, but for our own people too.

Finally, if you had to describe each other using three words, what would they be?

TG: Compassionate, talented, patient.

99: Passionate, go-getter, caring.

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