It’s here that Australia’s most successful hip-hop act is finalising their new single.
The question I’ve asked J Emz - does OneFour have gang links? - has long stalked the group.
To fans, the rappers are pioneers: five Sāmoan-Australians from one of Sydney’s poorest postcodes who have used their explosive sound to give voice to millions of marginalised young people.
But to police, OneFour is a threat to community safety, to be managed and contained.
For years, they have blocked the group from performing at home by arguing their music incites violence - triggering a complex debate about art and censorship.
This is really not world news worthy mate.
But have you considered those drill rap teens need to get off our lawn?
Divided Australia? Fuck i doubt that very fucken much…
Equally divided in to those that don’t give a fuck, and those that couldn’t give a fuck.
Yep 100%
This is the best summary I could come up with:
They are the undisputed faces of Australian drill music - a subversive style of hip-hop that tells unfiltered stories of crime, poverty and social dislocation by people who have lived it.
Their songs have accrued more than 150 million streams and focus on their experiences growing up in Mount Druitt, a Sydney suburb which has long been the subject of stories about struggle and unemployment, not art.
A years-long campaign to block OneFour from performing has followed, leading to the cancellation of a national tour, repeated raids on the artists’ homes, and pressure on streaming services to shun their tracks.
More recently, the UK’s Metropolitan Police has blamed London’s drill scene for fuelling gang crime, and requested the removal of hundreds of music videos from social media.
Director Gabriel Gasparinatos says OneFour’s raw talent first drew him in, but it was police efforts to “shut them down” and the competing narratives about what the group represented that kept his camera rolling.
There’s also a stigma around a place like Mount Druitt - maybe people wanted to avoid promoting that version of this country, but it’s a far more accurate depiction of Australia today than the surfy, sun-kissed lifestyle we market."
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