“There needs to be another vehicle in the Aboriginal
community to project the dreams and aspirations of Aboriginal people around Australia,”
said the label’s co-founder, Stephen Ridgeway.
“We’re focusing on urban music because at the moment
that market’s untapped.”
The origins of Redfern Records lie on The Block, the
inner-city black ghetto where Stephen and his co-founder, Nikita Ridgeway, grew
up. The grandchildren of acclaimed Bundjalung elder and author Dr Ruby Langford
Ginibi, and cousins of the former Democrats senator Aden Ridgeway, the
brother-sister act were raised to be leaders. For their parents and elders,
country was often the Western musical genre of choice. But young indigenous
artists throughout Australia
are adopting the African-American styles of rap, hip-hop and R&B.
Ridgeway puts it down to their story-telling power and their
common themes.
“Urban Aboriginals and Aboriginals from the bush have
the same settings as Afro-Americans, dealing with drug problems, violence, bad
health, poor living standards, living in ghettos,” he said.
On the airwaves, indigenous hip-hop artists such as Brotha
Black and Radical Son have already garnered a mainstream following, while
non-indigenous performers such as the Herd and Morganics hold regular workshops
for indigenous children in remote communities. One such program produced the
2002 hit song Down
River, by the Wilcannia
Mob.
Established stars such as the Australian Idol runner-up Jessica
Mauboy and Anthony “Choc” Mundine rubbed shoulders at the launch with
what seemed to be half of Redfern and the new guard of Aboriginal musicians,
who go by monikers such as Radical Son, Task and Konect-a-Dot.
Alice Springs R&B performer J-Dash-P, alias Jaii Pryor,
called the indigenous hip-hop phenomenon a sort of “modern-day
corroboree”. “It’s the same thing we were doing thousands of years
ago, but in the modern interpretation … Our stories are passed down, whether
it’s song and dance or storytelling or music and hip-hop.”
Matt Noffs, of the Ted Noffs Foundation, runs a
“Hiphoperations” program that works with indigenous children in the
bush and in south-west Sydney.
Hip-hop changed lives, he said.
“It has changed the way people feel about themselves.
When these young guys and girls, black or white, get up and belt out a rap, you
can be sure they’re feeling empowered and ready to live another day with
strength. That’s the message I get.”
Photo: Bryan O’Brien – Urban voice … artists Lillie
Duxbury, Archie Crawston and Konect-a-Dot with label founder Stephen Ridgeway.