Dem Mob

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Dem Mob is an Aboriginal hip hop group from the APY lands in northern South Australia, the first to rap in the Pitjantjatjara language.[1]

Starting out as a duo comprising Jontae Lawrie and Elisha Umuhuri, the young rappers, were partially inspired by Baker Boy, with their collaboration was instigated as part of a school project at Ernabella Anangu school.[2] In a region dominated by reggae music, they wanted to inspire the local youth with something different. The pair was brought by to WOMADelaide in March 2020 to be recorded while performing live in front of an audience[3][4] for the first time.[5] Later that year they were joined by Nason Lawrie. All three are from Pukatja (although Jontae lived in Ceduna as a young child[6]) and have since released several music videos and performed live at festivals in Adelaide and Alice Springs. They rap in English and Pitjantjatjara languages,[2] and have family ties to members of No Fixed Address, Yothu Yindi and Coloured Stone.[5]

In January 2021, the band, along with nine other groups and solo artists, were selected to participate in a year-long program of music workshops and other activities, in the WOMADelaide X NSS Academy. The development program leads to several of the artists at WOMADelaide 2021 and 2022.[1]

In April/May 2021, Dem Mob performed at the Wide Open Space festival in Alice Springs.[5]

In July 2021, Dem Mob were scheduled to perform at Tandanya as part of the festival, at an event called Kinara (meaning "moon" in the Pintupi language);[7][8] however, the state's first 7-day lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic took place from 21 to 27 July, and most of the Illuminate Adelaide events had to be cancelled or postponed.[9]

They have performed at Tandanya for the Treaty Festival (part of NAIDOC Week in November 2020[10]), at the Art Gallery of South Australia in its "First Fridays" series, and have supported J-MILLA and Electric Fields.[5]

In August 2021 the band released "Still No Justice", which talks about the Black Lives Matter movement, Aboriginal deaths in custody and racism in Australia, and urges Aboriginal youth growing up in Alice Springs to turn away from crime, as they grow up to be the new community elders.[6]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "WOMADelaide & Northern Sound System Announce New Artist Development Program". WOMADelaide . 28 January 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  2. ^ a b Jonscher, Samantha (12 December 2020). "How rappers Dem Mob riff on BLM, their dreaming, and life on APY Lands". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  3. ^ "Northern Sound System bringing excited youth and APY Lands rappers to Womadelaide". ABC Radio Adelaide. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 5 March 2020. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  4. ^ Skujins, Angela (1 February 2021). "The WOMADelaide x NSS Academy is fostering diverse voices in SA". CityMag. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d "Dem Mob". Wide Open Space Festival. 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  6. ^ a b Jonscher, Samantha (28 August 2021). "APY Land rappers Dem Mob take on racism in new song to inspire future elders". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  7. ^ "Illuminate Adelaide announce full moon sensory art experience, KINARA". Glam Adelaide. 8 June 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  8. ^ "HTRK, DJ Plead, Soju Gang, DEM MOB, Electric Fields, MY DISCO, The Yorke Band, MoZzi, Gabriella Smart and Aviva Endean join The Avalanches in Illuminate Adelaide's music program". Medianet. 8 June 2021. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  9. ^ Keen, Suzie (20 July 2021). "Lockdown a major blow for Adelaide's winter festivals". InDaily. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  10. ^ "Looking forward to NAIDOC Week: things to do". ArtsHub Australia. 6 November 2020. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
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