Hilltop Hoods

Hilltop Hoods are an Australian hip hop group that formed in 1994 in Adelaide, South Australia. The group was founded by Suffa (Matthew David Lambert) and Pressure (Daniel Howe Smith), who were joined by DJ Debris (Barry John M. Francis) after fellow founder, DJ Next (Ben John Hare), left in 1999. The group released its first EP, Back Once Again, in 1997, and have subsequently released eight studio albums, two "restrung" remix albums and three EPs.

Hilltop Hoods have experienced national popularity, with six of their eight albums reaching number No. 1 on the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) albums chart:The Hard Road (2006), State of the Art (2009), Drinking from the Sun (2012), Walking Under Stars (2014), Drinking from the Sun, Walking Under Stars Restrung (2016), and The Great Expanse (2019). Three tracks have reached the top 10 on the ARIA Singles Chart —"Chase That Feeling" (2009); "I Love It", featuring Sia (2011); and "Higher", featuring James Chatburn (2015). "Cosby Sweater" (2014) and "1955" (2016) reached the top 5.

Hilltop Hoods have toured both in Australia and overseas, including playing at many music festivals, including Big Day Out, Southbound, Splendour in the Grass, Groovin' The Moo, Falls Festival, and Pyramid Rock Festival.

As of January 2026 the band holds the record for the most recurrent artist in the history of the Triple J Hottest 100, with 27 songs voted into the annual countdowns since their first appearance in 2003. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2006 they won "Best Independent Release" and "Best Urban Album" for The Hard Road. In 2007, they won "Best Urban Album" for their remix album, The Hard Road: Restrung (2007). They won the same category in 2009 for State of the Art and in 2012 for Drinking from the Sun. In 2009, Debris also won "Engineer of the Year" for his work on State of the Art. The band received their seventh ARIA in 2014 when Walking Under Stars won in the Best Urban Album category at the 28th ARIA Awards. In October 2026, a lane in Adelaide city centre waa officially renamed Hilltop Hoods Lane.