​DIZZY DOOLAN
Charmaine 'Dizzy' Doolan is a Tjaka laka, Wakka Wakka and Euroman woman.
​
She is one of the leading female voices in Aboriginal hip-hop.
​
​
Interview by Isaac Hogarth, February 26th, 2018.
​
Q.What has hip-hop in general done for you, as an Aboriginal Woman? Has it empowered you and enabled you to spread awareness of issues.
A.Hip-hop has been very therapeutic for me, music in general is very healing for the soul, so having an outlet to express myself has definitely been very empowering. The more you perform the more confident you shall become as an artist. Hip-hop has given me a voice to tell my stories and talk about hard things in a positive way.
Q.What has been your experience with hip-hop and the music industry, as an Aboriginal woman?
A.Hip Hop has been my best friend, without music my hardships in life would have been a lot more difficult to deal with. Music is my healing. I’ve been performing for 13 years in the industry and I’ve experienced some amazing highlights in my career so far, as an aboriginal women in a male dominated world of hip-hop has had its challenges but I’m a very strong black woman.
Q.In terms of talking about current events, emotions, and hardships that face Indigenous people, why is rap particularly effective?
A. Because Rap is raw…..it’s free. R.A.P stands for Rhythm and poetry
Rap is expressive; it’s an effective way to release your thoughts, feelings, and emotions instead of bottling it all up inside which is not good for you.
​
Q.What do you think rap is doing for Indigenous recognition, and in the fight against racism?
A.It’s given us a chance to be heard
It’s given us a chance to represent proudly the oldest living culture in the world
It’s given more and more indigenous people hope and opportunities
It’s spreading love on harsh topics like racism and creating a safer world
Q.Reading online, there seems to be somewhat of a disparity between the Aboriginal youth and older generations about hip-hop. Hip-hop can be seen as promoting sexism, drugs, violence, and breaking the law, and it is especially perceived like this by the older age demographic. What is your opinion on this?
A.Yes Hip Hop somewhat has a rep for being negative, degrading women etc, but on the flip side there is many amazing positive hip hop songs example NAS- “I know I can”, Dear Mumma – Tupac etc. instead of fighting on the streets, you had rap battles, dance battles to stop the violence. You can always take something good out of something bad. All of my songs have positive messages, some songs may come from a dark place but delivered in a positive way. I often have elders coming up to me after my show to let me know they don’t usually like hip-hop but they enjoyed my show, which is always lovely to hear. Also rap is difficult for elderly people to understand because it’s so fast, clarity is the key to engaging the older generation.
​
​
Q.Are there relevant comparisons to be made between the African-American hip-hop movement, and the Australian Indigenous one? Why is it relevant?
A.Hip-hop originated from America, but Australia has definitely adopted the culture of hip-hop. There are many similarities with both cultures on many levels. Young indigenous Australian’s have a strong passion for country music and hip hop music because they can relate and connect to the music and lyrics
​
​
Q.Does hip-hop as a culture and genre resonate particularly well with Aboriginal culture, more so than other genres? Why/why not?What role do you think Indigenous rap plays in the wider Australian music scene?
A.There are 4 original elements of hip hop.
-Break-dancing
-Graffiti
-Rap
-DJing
These 4 elements strongly connect to aboriginal culture
Breaking dancing is the Corroborrie
Graffiti is the oldest aboriginal paintings in the world
Rap is the songman
DJing is the digeridoo player
​
​
Q.What role do you think Indigenous rap plays in the wider Australian music scene?
A. A very important role, you have Aussie hip-hop such as Hilltop Hoods and then you have Indigenous rap such as Last Kinection and people like myself, its vital that the wider Australian music scene acknowledges the movement that is happening.
​
​
Q.Do you think hip-hop is an effective, modernised form of Aboriginal oral traditions?
A. The original elements of hip hop strongly connect to aboriginal culture
​
​
Q.How do you see rappers such as yourself affecting ignorance and stereotypical opinions against Indigenous Australians amongst non-Indigenous Australia?
A.That’s the magical beauty about music, I can talk about issues and experiences that I have faced and pass messages on to non-Indigenous people. Music brings people together, music is healing and music is definitely a way to spread positive messages and vibes to those ignorant and racist people. It’s a lot easier expressing through music then talking about these issues.
​