Paperboys - Biography

Its been four long years since Paperboys gave out their last album, but now the waiting is definitely over! The 30th of August will be remembered as THE day of joy in the history of Norwegian music. A day when Norwegian hip hop finally found out where David bought his beer, and the day an Oslo deal finally was guaranteed to stick! The Oslo Agreement is the fourth album from the guys in Paperboys, and is all worth the wait - and then some. As a recently expanded trio, Paperboys has really used their time well. The newcomer Anders Møllers studio at Rodeløkka in Oslo has functioned as a lab where no musical experiment hasn’t been tried out, and the place where Paperboys truly has recreated.

On the Oslo Agreement we find traces of everything from Dr. John to garage rock. From club music to afro beat. From gospel to house. The album itself has its own genre, and the band proves an unique will and ability to follow their own artistic views. In other words, they have found their way home. After forming the band in the late 90s, Paperboys has been the leading hip hop band for almost a decade. With around 100.000 albums sold, three Spellman’s awards and 12 VG- chart hits, there is few that can compare to them in both recognition and popularity. Their debut album No Cure For Life from 2002 sold in great numbers and got them the Spellman’s award in the category Best Hip Hop. The group consisted at the time of Øyvind Vinni Sauvik and Jarle J.J Hollerud, that had met each other as teenagers in Tanzania. J.J left the group after the first album, and was replaced with Ole Aleksander Pope Dawg Halstensgård from Geilo.

Their massive hit Barcelona ( in co-operation with MadCon) made Paperboys the talk of the town the summer of 2002, and sold to gold! But the year after they were already out with their next album and a lot of hit- singles. The album The Great Escape was produced by Collen & Webb and Tommy Tee, and included well know hits as What You Need , On The Low (that both sold to gold ) and Hey Man a song that won the Alarm award in 2004 for Best Video. At the same time Paperboys became a more and more attractive band, and did big festival gigs at both Øya- and the Quart festival. They had become Norways biggest hip hop group, and enjoyed every second of it. In 2005 they gave out their third album, When Worlds Collide, and once again the critics and audience was ecstatic over Paperboys unique ability to combine musical fairytales with catchy hit singles. Wiggle It and Keep It Cool were both repeatedly on the VG-chart in Norway, and once again the group received the Spellman’s award. The album was completely produced by Øyvind and Sander themselves. That was why it was so surprising that Paperboys gave out the best-of album the year after - So Far So Good Songs and Singles , and then loudly announced that this was it. No more Paperboys.

A big cloud darkened the Norwegian hip hop scene along with Paperboys notification of reassignment. As one of the few hip hop groups with an international edge , it was big shoes to fill for others to come. The best-of album from 2006 sold great, and had an additional DVD with all their videos. They proved here as well that they always were a step ahead of themselves - and others - all through the millennium.

Their final tour around Norway was a huge success, but Paperboys felt it was time to leave it at this. It was new times.. But no rule without exception. A summer with some time off was all it took. The guys began to experiment musically together with former Euroboy and Anal Babes Anders Møller. Without any plans or release dates to keep up with, a sum of closer to 40 new song was slowly emerging in the Crystal Canyon Studio. Many big artists such as Aslak Dørum from DumDum Boys, Tom Hell, Sigmund Groven, Tshawe Baqwa, Håkon Gebbhart, Sivert Høyem and Øystein Sunde dropped by the studio and left their musical imprint on the songs.The Oslo Agreement has in many ways become a tribute to the music that has always roamed the capital. Then there was the super hit of the summer 2009. The single Lonesome Traveller is their biggest commercial success ever, and has by now sold to the incredible number of 45 000 copies (4,5 X platinum! ) With great help from both Øystein Sunde on banjo and Sigmund Groven on the harmonica, this song hit the grand slam of the era! They topped the VG-chart for the first time, with good help from Øyvinds participation in the great TV success Det Store Korslaget.

Paperboys is a group that after their resurrection has reached the heights of all time, including the sales lists. The Oslo Agreement is becoming nothing less than a masterpiece that most artist will fail to top. A creative explosion that will capture listeners of all ages with all types of musical preferences. The Oslo Agreement has burst through all musical limits and goes way beyond the boundaries of traditional hip hop and/or pop music. Paperboys show an amazing skill to combine musical creativity with commercial success like no one else, and has shown with this album that they’re home. They are definitely home.