if i remember correctly, the story goes something like this – last year, fbi presenter levins shoots chris lemon red and diplo an mp3 from 2002, wilcannia mob‘s ‘downriver’. the track was unique back in the day as being the first example of indigenous, aboriginal hip hop crossing over into the mainstream australian music industry. sadly, it still stands as one of the only examples.
the mob themselves were all in their early teens, and when you mix their unpretentious and honest flow with a deep, looping digeridoo, you’re hitting audio gold. it was no wonder that diplo added it to his ‘mad decent radio’ tour cd and, more recently, recut the track as the bed for ‘mango pickle down river’, a track from the forthcoming m.i.a. album ‘kala’.
fair play to diplo, he’s weathered jealous gripes from folks citing alleged ‘cultural theft’ and he recently headed off into the australian outback under his own steam, trailing levins and nina with him, with the aim of recording new work with young mcs from indigenous communities. the result is heaps decent – “an australian mad decent” – and one new track thus far, ‘smash a kangaroo’, streaming on their murdochspace and available to buy on itunes. the plan is to develop this initiative into a fully fledged label, working with underprivileged musicians initially in sydney and presumably worldwide thereafter. as they say, get familiar and support the cause.