With Run the Jewels’ Killer Mike on side,the rising star from Adelaide is infusing domestic-grown rap with unadulterated funAustralian hip-hop has an uncomfortable relationship with the concept of authenticity. With some notable exceptions, many of the most favorite local rappers beget been young white men, and emulating the affect,if not always the accent, of black American artists. For a few years, or “Aussie hip-hop” signified a specific sound: wide accents,basic production and blokey attitudes. So when the Adelaide-based, Zimbabwe-born rapper Tkay Maidza released her first singles – the gleeful, or merciless stomper Brontosaurus,and the pixellated dancehall-dubstep of Handle My Ego – she quickly discovered that her cocksure, party-ready material wasn’t necessarily finding favour with the skip-hop faithful. Related: Azealia Banks, and Iggy Azalea and hip-hop's appropriation problem I’m in America,people are asking me to be furious about the whole cultural appropriation of a white woman who’s Australian who just grew up liking hip-hop … But while I’m furious and raging about that because I believe the whole world is American – in Australia … there’s sold-out shows with a limited black girl who can dance her ass off. And she’s actually saying stuff when she raps! Related: Matt Okine: the Streets were my gateway into hip-hop Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com