Australian rapper Drapht has said that he stands with Briggs, Trials and Dan Sultan in their calling to change the date of Australia Day due to its immense insensitivity to Aboriginal Australia.
Speaking to the Australian Associated Press, the rapper, whose fifth full length album Seven Mirrors was released this August, also called on the Australian music industry to show its support for Indigenous Australia—in other words, display a bit of basic human decency.
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He also noted that he doesn’t feel comfortable rapping about Aboriginal issues, saying “I say this to Trials and Briggs constantly. I support them 100 per cent but I am the privileged white man that they’re talking about, so it’s hard for me to be able to jump on my pedestal and share their message.”
Briggs and Trials’ rap collaboration A.B. Original released their single “January 26” featuring Dan Sultan early in September, highlighting the issue of Australia Day and its offensiveness, and reminding Australia that it could literally be held on any other day.
A week after its release, Triple J responded to calls for a change of date for the Hottest 100, which currently falls on Australia Day. The radio station said that the date was “under review” but would remain on January 26 for 2017.