�鶹��ý - Indigenous

Ecuador: Neoliberal reforms face broad opposition

Harvey Goldberg — Thu, 11 Nov 2021 15:15:00 +1100

Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso's neoliberal economic policies and proposals are facing determined opposition from diverse social sectors, Harvey Goldberg reports.

In conversation with Bruce Pascoe: The climate emergency and Indigenous land practice

Peter Boyle — Sat, 14 Nov 2020 09:00:00 +1100

Award-winning author of Dark Emu, Bruce Pascoe, will be the feature speaker at aGreen Left online forum on December 5.

A brief history of fire

Alex Salmon — Wed, 14 Oct 2020 16:30:00 +1100

Alex Salmon reviews a new edition of Stephen J Pyne's book, which examines the history of fire and humanity’s attempts to shape and use it.

Honduras: Threats against Berta Caceres' family mount after dam victory

Fred Fuentes — Fri, 04 Aug 2017 10:00:00 +1000

Relatives of Berta Caceres, the iconic Indigenous environmentalist from Honduras who was killed in March last year, denounced on July 26 a "hate campaign" against them.

The environmental activist's family expressed concern about the "most aggressively executed hate campaign" against them after the Dutch Development Bank, FMO and the Finnish Fund for Industrial Cooperation, Finnfund, decided to pull out from the Agua Zarca dam project on the Gualcarque River that flows through the Indigenous territory of the Lenca people.

10 new political albums to protest President Trump

Mat Ward — Tue, 31 Jan 2017 11:00:00 +1100

Here's this month's political albums round-up. What albums would you suggest? Comment on Twitter or Facebook. Videos not playing? Try a bigger screen.

Hey, New Statesman, here are 10 new political albums

Mat Ward — Tue, 29 Nov 2016 11:00:00 +1100

10 new albums that aren't on Obama's Spotify playlist

Mat Ward — Sun, 28 Aug 2016 10:00:00 +1000

This month, the corporate media swooned as "cool" US president Barack Obama released his Spotify playlist. Here's this month's radical record round-up, featuring 10 albums that thankfully weren't on it, from Black Brazilians to Blackfoot Native Americans. What album, or albums, would you suggest? Comment on Twitter or Facebook. Videos not playing? Try a bigger screen.

Provocalz takes aim with fully-loaded album Only Built For Koori Linx

Mat Ward — Thu, 15 Oct 2015 11:00:00 +1100

Here are 21 of this month's best political albums (plus a few extra - count them). What albums would you suggest? Comment on Twitter, Facebook, or email. Videos not playing? Try a bigger screen.

Rapper Lucky Luke digs up truth in Mount Isa

Mat Ward — Mon, 08 Jun 2015 10:00:00 +1000

The artwork for Lucky Luke's debut album shows him holding Mount Isa's infamous lead smelter like a didgeridoo. It's as if he's taking it back for his people. "The photo, as you say, is almost like I am reclaiming the smelter," says the rapper, who is from the Waanyi, Mitakoodi, Ringa Ringa, Kalkadoon and Warumungu tribal groups.

Rapper Miss Hood speaks out for her sisters

Mat Ward — Sat, 25 Apr 2015 10:00:00 +1000

Hard-hitting rapper Miss Hood comes from a long line of women warriors. Her ancestors, the Kunai and Gunditjmara people of eastern and western Victoria, put female fighters on the frontline. "Both of the tribes were matriarchal, so women were equal to men," says the Melbourne-based emcee. "It wasn't unusual to have women warriors as well as men warriors." Little wonder, then, that her music packs such a powerful feminist punch.

18 questions for radical rapper Intikana

Mat Ward — Thu, 04 Sep 2014 10:00:00 +1000

Bronx-based rapper, producer, film-maker and youth worker Intikana hits out at indigenous injustice, cultural colonisation and international imperialism, among many other topics. �鶹��ý Weekly's Mat Ward put 18 questions to him.

Rapper Briggs takes his homeland to the nation

Mat Ward — Sat, 29 Nov 2014 11:00:00 +1100

Briggs is 598 kilometres from his hometown of Shepparton - and he's missing his bed. "When I'm at home I don't have people ringing me up telling me I've got to get out of the house," says the rapper, sitting on his hotel room's balcony in Sydney.

Plenty of meat in Bunz's raps

Mat Ward — Mon, 16 Jun 2014 10:00:00 +1000

When Glen Anderson was playing sport with his schoolfriends, he was suddenly surrounded by police who ordered him to lay flat on the ground.

Jimblah grasps Australia's burning issues

Mat Ward — Mon, 09 Dec 2013 11:00:00 +1100

Most people fear fire, but Jimblah embraces it. The element flares up again and again in the rapper's searingly original work - from his first album, Face The Fire, to the one that just rose from its ashes, Phoenix.

Alcohol from Vegemite? Don't let the facts ruin a good story

Viv Miley — Fri, 21 Aug 2015 10:00:00 +1000

Did you hear the one about how Vegemite was going to be banned in some alcohol-free remote communities because it was being used to make homebrew? This wasn’t satire, this was a widely reported story in the mainstream press. It ticked all the right boxes for successful click bait, but there was just one problem: it was bullshit. The source for these claims? The Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Nigel Scullion.

Ten new political albums worth a listen - April 2015

Mat Ward — Sat, 25 Apr 2015 10:00:00 +1000

Here's this month's radical record round-up, including a response to the "Reclaim Australia" rallies. What album, or albums, would you suggest? Comment below, on Twitter or Facebook.

1. SUPER BEST FRIENDS - STATUS UPDATES

Renegades of Munk put the fun into funk

Mat Ward — Fri, 17 Oct 2014 11:00:00 +1100

Renegades Of Munk Renegades Of Munk Released September 2014 Impossible Odds Records www.renegadesofmunk.com Mark Munk Ross says he has learnt to make his music more appealing by injecting a big dose of humour into his hard-hitting songs. "I try to make them humorous, which then makes it accessible to fans that might not be that political," says the man better known as Munkimuk, the "Grandfather of Indigenous hip-hop". "But they are still digesting it, whether they know it or not," he says. "Smart game plan I think."

Summer reading: recommended books of 2013

Mat Ward — Sun, 01 Dec 2013 11:00:00 +1100

�鶹��ý Weekly is taking a break for the summer from December 11 to January 22. To fill the void, it asked staff, contributors and others to recommend their favourite books of the year. Rachel Evans �鶹��ý Weekly writer, activist, organiser How to Make Trouble and Influence People By Iain McIntyre http://goo.gl/l7GOfx

Rapper Eskatology makes a name for himself

Mat Ward — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 10:00:00 +1000

What's in a name? Everything, for Aboriginal rapper Eskatology. His music has his name written all over it. Eskatology, also known as 26-year-old South Australian Jonathan Stier, first came across the term "eschatology" through studying religion. "Religion does play a part in my life, and I was doing a bit of religious studying and came across this word and it intrigued me," he tells �鶹��ý Weekly.

Provocalz, a provocative vocalist

Mat Ward — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 11:00:00 +1100

"Every time you see in the media someone's been killed by police it always just happens to be an Aboriginal," says radical rapper Provocalz. It's 9.30 on a Saturday morning and the south-west Sydney spitter is telling �鶹��ý why he made his hard-hitting horrorcore track, "Cop Shot".

Yung Warriors stand and deliver

Mat Ward — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 10:00:00 +1000

Standing Strong Yung Warriors Payback Records Released April 2012 http://www.yungwarriors.com.au "We wanted to do everything on this album," Tjimba Possum-Burns tells �鶹��ý Weekly. He is talking about Standing Strong, the aptly-titled second album by Yung Warriors. On the record, the Aboriginal hip hop crew he fronts with his cousin, Danny "D-Boy" Ramzan, take listeners on a journey from hard-hitting politics to straight-up party tracks.

Rapper goes from petty crime to stealing the show

Mat Ward — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 11:00:00 +1100

When George Sambo was about seven years old, he used a wad of crooked cash to shout all his mates sausage rolls. The Queensland schoolboy couldn't have known then that those fatty rolls would set him rolling on a path to making phat rolling beats. But that's what happened.

Liberals or Labor is no choice, says Provocalz

Mat Ward — Wed, 04 Sep 2013 10:00:00 +1000

Verbal Reality Volume 2 Provocalz Coming October 2013 www.provocalz.bigcartel.com Rapper Provocalz has dedicated a song to Australia's Liberal and Labor parties on his new album - but it won't be music to their ears. On his track "Liberals or Labor", the Indigenous emcee suggests the two big parties are so contemptuous of voters that some, like him, might consider swapping their ballots for bullets: Liberals or Labor, they both leave us to rot So it's criminal behaviour, politicians get shot Pop pop pop pop! It's that real hip-hop, hip-hop

Rapper slams the Native Title Act as a 'white bible'

Mat Ward — Fri, 03 May 2013 10:00:00 +1000

Deep Thought EP Caper April 5, 2013 www.caper.net.au Rapper Caper slams the Native Title Act as a "white bible" on his latest release. The Narungga emcee, who has worked as a Native Title field officer in South Australia for the past 10 years, raps on his track "The Writing's On The Wall": A lot of misconceptions about us owning land We don’t own any, man I work for Native Title The government is a rival Assholes with a white bible

Campbell’s cuts make for razor-sharp rap

Mat Ward — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 10:00:00 +1000

The Campaign Kings Konekted Class A Records April 19, 2013 www.classarecords.com Kings Konekted have just released some of the choicest cuts in Australian hip-hop - and they were inspired by some of the whackest cuts in Australian politics. The Brisbane b-boys' new EP The Campaign paints a pretty gritty picture of life under cost-cutting Queensland Premier Campbell Newman.

Remote rapper looks on the bright side of strife

Mat Ward — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 10:00:00 +1000

The Bryte Side Of Life Bryte Too Solid / MGM April 5, 2013 www.brytemc.com Bryte's new album, The Bryte Side Of Life, may urge his listeners to think positive, but it's not all sweetness and light. The Aboriginal rapper has lost none of the political bite that snarled from his award-winning first album, Full Stop, four years ago. The Perth-based performing poet kicks off his latest long-player with "World On Strike", a rallying call for global industrial action.

Aboriginal rappers reach out to Idle No More with free mixtape

Mat Ward — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 11:00:00 +1100

Idle No More (Invasion Day) The Mixtape Featuring K-Otic 1, Darah, Felon, Mr Forge, Toombs, Provocalz, Teila, Unda Dwella, Lorna Munro, Kaiyu, Boe Knows, Big Luke, Dubbzone www.datpiff.com

Livewire rapper to celebrate Aboriginal survival

Mat Ward — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 11:00:00 +1100

Yabun Festival Featuring Dizzy Doolan Saturday January 26, Sydney When rapper Dizzy Doolan is asked whether her song "Women's Business" is inspired by the Aboriginal concept of secret women's business, she replies simply: "I was inspired to write 'Women's Business' purely because I was sick of seeing men disrespect women. I wanted to inspire women to be strong and to have a voice and be heard."

Femcee Kayemtee raps for queer rights

Mat Ward — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 11:00:00 +1100

Forever Kayemtee Impossible Odds Records 2012 www.impossibleoddsrecords.com Jimmy Barnes is probably the most heterosexual man in Australia - but he has now inspired probably the best homosexual rap tune to come out of the country. The Cold Chisel frontman is famous for allegedly bedding more than 1000 women early on in his career. But Indigenous femcee Kayemtee has taken his band's highest-charting song, "Forever Now", and given it a radical twist.

Heavyweight hip-hopper builds a fine body of work

Mat Ward — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 11:00:00 +1100

Eklectic Methodz Jpoint Northern Orphanz Recordings www.northernorphanz.webs.com Rapper JPoint is building up a strong body of work - and not just in the music world. The Indigenous emcee runs his own record label, produces music for other artists and has a string of releases under his belt. But he is also competing above the belt - by entering his first body-building contest. For JPoint, it's been a transformation.