​JIMBLAH
Aboriginal Rapper from Broome. Jimblah is a Larrakia man.​
Jimblah (James Alberts) is one of Australia's leading voices in hip-hop. He is played regularly on popular radio station 'Triple J' and has been featured on their 'Like a Version' segment. Jimblah has released two full-length albums, both of which are authentic and purposeful, speaking on the issues his people face.
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Interview by Isaac Hogarth, February 21st, 2018.
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Q.What has hip-hop in general done for you, as an Aboriginal man?
A. Hip Hop has birthed me. I grew up without a sense of identity, Hip Hop provided myself with a space to explore who I am on my own terms.
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Q.In terms of talking about current events, emotions, and hardships that face Indigenous people, why is rap particularly effective?
A.In First Nation Lore, we have what is called a song-line. Why hip-hop is so relatable is not only because of the plight we face against colonialism but also the ability to pass on the song-line.
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Q.What do you think rap is doing for Indigenous recognition, and in the fight against racism?
A.Hip-hop is empowering our communities and creating a powerful dialogue to bring about change and a greater understanding and awareness of the reality we face.
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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.Hip-hop is the most powerful culture in the world right now. It has always been a tool to empower, but there are systems in place whom use it to dis-empower. It is not Hip-hop that promotes the aforementioned, it is people and corporations manipulating what gets pushed to the forefront of the wider communities view. It all comes down to a lack of understanding. When people really learn what hip-hop is about they begin to understand why the mainstream portrays it in such a light.
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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.The Black struggle, the Black diaspora, Black empowerment, Black wealth, Black knowledge etc.
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Q.Does hip-hop as a culture and genre resonate particularly well with Aboriginal culture, more so than other genres? ?
A.Hip-hop resonates profoundly with our culture, as previously mentioned - song-lines. Creating awareness to our plight, not to just the wider community, but to ourselves as well so that we may have a deeper understanding as to the reality we face and how we can over come it.
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Q.What role do you think Indigenous rap plays in the wider Australian music scene?
A.The same role it played when it was birthed in America.
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Q.Do you think hip-hop is an effective, modernised form of Aboriginal oral traditions?
A.It can be seen as a new medium to explore our own traditional roots, and it’s the language of today. Language plays a vital role in culture, so when you think about how many dialects have been lost to colonialism, hip-hop can provide a voice and language that goes above and beyond English, something to call our own.
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Q.How do you see rappers such as yourself affecting ignorance and stereotypical opinions against Indigenous Australians amongst non-Indigenous Australia?
A.By being the truth, the light and by playing our part within the community.
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Q.Can you tell me about one or more songs off your album ‘Phoenix’? Which one do you think is the most relevant to empowerment and combating racism?
A.Maybe “Brotherman” - it creates a safe place for the listener to take on board a deeper understanding. So problems are simply due to misunderstanding. We have so many talking on the reality of what First Nations people face yet have no clue as what that is, they are simply mirroring what they have been taught in school, what they see in the media and political circles. Once you gain a deeper understanding to our reality there is only room in your heart left for love and compassion, not hate nor ignorance.