REASON

Transitions

Having decided to hang up the microphone, Australian hip hop pioneer Reason, aka Jason Shulman, is farewelling Perth punters at Easter Launch this Sunday. He speaks with JOSHUA HAYES about the next phase of his life.

Although Jason Shulman is retiring from recording and performing, he will remain a presence in the Australian hip hop scene as a show promoter, workshop facilitator and mentor to upcoming artists. He made the decision to retire 18 months ago after thinking about it for some time.

“I just realised that I’m not in a position where I want to continue to forge on in my writing and creating of the music itself,” he says. “I personally don’t want to be a 40-year-old-plus MC trying to rap like a 22 year old.”

He started working on his farewell album, Window Of Time, after making the decision. It was released last November and features collaborations with Bias B, Hunter and Hau, as well as production by Suffa and Simplex.

Knowing that the album would be his last, he was able to savour the experience of recording it. “When I recorded my last verse for that album, I happened to be at DJ Debris’ house in Adelaide, and I went in the studio and had four bars to go, and I looked at him and said ‘Debris, I’m now about to do the last four bars, ever, on a Reason album’,” Shulman recalls. “I actually sat down and absorbed the vibes in his studio, and went for it; went for gold. It was quite a poignant moment.”

Shulman’s show at Easter Launch this weekend – where he’ll share the stage with two other veterans, Mass MC and The Master – will double as a farewell gig and WA launch for Window Of Time. “I’d certainly say without hesitation that it’ll be all heart and passion,” he says of the gig. “[People say] I may not be your most talented lyricist, as such but no one’s ever questioned my heart for the game.”

Over his two-decade-plus career, Shulman earned a reputation as an artist always willing to help up-and-coming artists. It’s something mirrored in his life outside music, working as a high school teacher and running hip hop workshops for youth organisations. This work brought him into contact with recently deceased footballer Jim Stynes, who involved Shulman in his Reach Foundation.

“Jim was the catalyst to pull me out of my day job and take a punt [as the] Education Consultant at the Reach Foundation, and it’s one of the greatest decisions, professionally and personally, I ever made,” Shulman says.

“Throughout this week it’s certainly been quite challenging, but I must say that now it’s a good time to move forward and embrace the good times ahead. It’s what Jim would have wanted.”

Moving on is a bit of a theme in Shulman’s life at the moment, as he leaves rapping behind (not before one final show in Perth, of course) and enters the next phase of his life. “I’m doing my masters at Melbourne Uni, I’m in a leadership position at [the] school [I teach at], I’ve got two kids, a lovely wife,” he says. “My transition from the stage to behind the scenes is a natural progression.”