Being indigenous and independent in Australia can be seen as a double bind, having to overcome histories of prejudice, and still find a way to make a living in a community that’s also historically difficult. In New South Wales, however, being indie in the music industry also carries a certain street cred that’s absolutely essential in hiphop. And while many people are aware of Australia’s fantastic reputation for hiphop, it doesn’t carry far beyond itself, and that’s something that should change in the lifetimes of certain young artists who deserve a large audience.
Yung Nooky is one rapper who’s been getting a bit of airplay, as well as some attention thanks to the help of Heaps Decent . This is an organization that’s devoted to helping emerging indigenous artists, and many of their initiatives have strong possibilities for the future of hiphop. This is a perfect medium, as it typically attracts the underprivileged, where the voices can express certain sides of reality that are simply not accessible to others. In the world of music, listeners like to hear artists who are telling the truth from the inside, and that’s certain in hiphop as well as anywhere else.
There are other groups and other rappers, notably D.M.W., who are finding audiences in their own styles of hiphop that speak to an indigenous world view. This is vital music, and the sounds are evocative of the rhythms of the old and new school, and combined with another template that is wholly local. It’s certainly worth listening to when visiting, to venture out of the New SouthWales hotels and hear what’s thumping up the block, and it’s also worth downloading, paying the fee, of course, and sharing. The hiphop community works by an underground network, and indie music also works by this kind of word of mouth. Australia continues to make huge leaps in world music, whether the rest of the world knows it or not, and once in awhile it’s necessary to wake up and start paying attention.
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