Melbourne Rapper Little Jase was charged with trafficking a large commercial quantity of drugs, firearms and dealing with proceeds of crime following a major investigation between Australian Federal Police and Drug Task Force in late October 2020.
The raid which took place in a short term rental apartment in St Kilda saw detectives from the drug task force seize several firearms, cash and drugs. The incident has put a roadblock on the Scottish-Filipino’s rapper’s plans to relaunch his music career. However, despite the setback, Little Jase has recently been seen back in the studio according to his instagram page showing his fans, he’s determined to move past this incident and to continue creating new music.
Little Jase’s underbelly affiliation and difficult upbringing
Little Jase, also known as Jasen Keane, grew up in commission housing in the inner city suburbs of Prahran and St Kilda where drugs, violence and crime were reoccurring themes in his upbringing. Jase’s late father, Roger ‘Jock’ Keane, was considered to be an underworld figure who worked closely with some of Melbourne’s notorious gangland criminals, including Charlie Hegyaljie, also known as Mad Charlie. Charlie was known to run in the same circle as Mark ‘Chopper’ Read. In September 1998, after being released from jail Charlie was murdered outside his Caulfield home with what detectives believed was an orchestrated killing.
Little Jase was only 13 at the time when this incident occurred. However, no stranger to the underworld, Little Jase soon found himself involved in his own string of criminal activities. Little Jase experienced several run-ins with the law before he reached his teens, including being raided by Detectives from Melbourne’s Criminal Investigation Unit in 2001. He was also charged for an attempted murder case over an event which took place in late 2000. These charges were eventually dropped.
Little Jase and his inspiration to live a better life
There is no denying Little Jase’s environment played a pivotal role to the rocky upbringing he experienced. Determined to create a better life for himself, Little Jase turned to his love for hip-hop to break free from the life he has always known. He would listen to albums such as Jay-Z’s ‘Reasonable Doubt’ and relate to the lyrics in Jay-Z’s raps, which felt reminiscent of his own life. Little Jase drew from his own life experiences and spent his time and energy writing raps and performing wherever he got the chance to. He had a clear vision in his head. One day he would perform in large arenas full of people and spit raps about his troubled life and the dreams he hoped to achieve.
Little Jase’s music history and his passion to perform across the globe
What started out as a dream quickly became a reality for Little Jase when his rap career took off in his early 20’s.
In 2013, Little Jase performed at the Araneta Dreams Show in Manila, Philippines in front of over 5,000 fans. His dreams were well and truly coming true. Little Jase also traveled to Los Angeles in 2017, to compete in the LA Rap Contest hosted by Sellassie, where he was judged by hip-hop legends like Aceyalone, an original member of the Freestyle Fellowship. The contest saw Little Jase take first place by beating several LA native rappers including YouTube freestyle sensation Harry Mack.
In 2019, Little Jase was the opening act for TYGA’s Melbourne concert which was held at Margaret Court Arena. Jase rocked the crowd with some of his original tracks in front of over 7,000 people.
Little Jase’s role in pioneering hip-hop in Melbourne, Australia
Little Jase is a resident of Australia’s well loved cultural city of Melbourne. Through his understanding of what life can be like without the silver spoon at your table, Little Jase spent his spare time mentoring underprivileged youths interested in hip-hop music. Over the last two decades, Little Jase’s influence and music has been a catalyst for hip-hop in Australia, pushing it to new heights. Considered one of Australia’s hip-hop OG’s, Little Jase’s leadership in the hip-hop music scene has created a platform for other people in similar circumstances, to find a positive and creative outlet, for the frustration and challenges they might be facing.
In the early 2000’s, Little Jase helped establish the ‘Burn City Crew’ which included Jase and three other Filipino rappers M.E.C, Callie Castro & Yung Philly. Little Jase also launched his own independent record label BAKESHOP Music Group where he set up an office and studio in South Melbourne. Several hip-hop artists previously recorded tracks in the studio including 360 and Lloyd.
Little Jase also released several mixtapes of his own including the ‘First Slice’ (2012) and the ‘Second Slice’ (2018).
Little Jase still focused on international rap career
There is no denying Little Jase’s talent, Complex AU compared his single “Barz & Facts” to hip-hop legend NAS’s “Ether” arguably, one of the best diss tracks in history.
Despite the looming drug, gun and trafficking charges against Little Jase, he has shown resilience and commitment in his recent Instagram content which focuses on the development of new music.
Last year Little Jase rebranded BAKESHOP to No Plan B, an ode to his career in hip-hop and his mission to reinvent himself and usher in a new sound.
