Grace Shaw, a.k.a. Mallrat, is in the middle of a sold-out Australian tour, only to continue her sprint straight into VANFEST in May. At twenty years old, she’s taken the Australian hip-hop scene by storm, garnering international fans such as Chloë Grace Moretz, Brooklyn Beckham, Lorde and Zane Lowe. We managed to steal a few minutes of her precious time to chat about her tour, her influences and the festival circuit.
Hey Mallrat, where are you right now?
Right now I’m at a cafe in Melbourne having coffee and taking a quick break from making beats.
What’s been a highlight moment on your Australian tour thus far?
All of the shows have been great! Especially the first Brisbane show that sold out, playing to a hometown crowd is always special.
You’ve called yourself the “Hannah Montana of the rap-game” – tell me about that! Do you find you live a double life? What’s the Miley Stewart side of you like?
It’s a title that doesn’t really apply anymore, but it was true when I was in high school. I didn’t tell people that I was making music and after school I would catch the train to the studio.
You launched your career after being inspired by an Allday concert. How does it feel to be in the position to do the same to a member of your audience?
It’s really cool! I think it’s important to see somebody similar to you doing what you aspire to in order to feel like it’s possible. So hopefully a lot of young people (girls in particular) are leaving shows feeling motivated and inspired.
You’ve played almost every major Australian music festival in existence and will be hitting up VANFEST in May – what makes your festival sets different to your headlining shows?
All killer no filler. And more OTT festival outfits.
Who are you most excited for on the VANFEST line-up?
Eves Karydas and Willaris. K because they’re my friends from Queensland, and Ruel because I’ve never seen him play before! I’m a big Skegss fan so I’ll try catch them too.
Best of luck with the rest of your Australian tour!
Thank you!
Mallrat will play VANFEST in Forbes, NSW over May 10-11. For more information and tickets, head HERE.
