UPDATE 13/09/16: Triple j have announced that they will not be changing the date of the Hottest 100.
ORIGINAL STORY: Aussie hip hop duo A. B. Original (aka Briggs and fellow rapper-producer Trials) have weighed in on the debate surrounding possibly changing the date of triple j‘s Hottest 100 so that it no longer takes place on Australia Day.
Last month we saw a petition launched to move the date, and more recently a Melbourne man announced a competition in the hope of getting someone to convince triple j to change the date.
Speaking with Music Feeds at BIGSOUND 2016 in Brisbane today, Briggs responded to questions about the movement to change the date of the Hottest 100.
“That’s definitely a conversation worth having… with triple j as well,” he said.
“It’d be an obvious salute for us if they did move it. That’s solidarity right there, for something that would be right… would be the right thing to do. That’s a conversation that we should all be having with why we are celebrating that day.
“Changing the day is just a symptom of what racism is in Australia, and Australia’s attitude towards its Indigenous people. We can address the symptoms every day of the week, but until we change the idea and the attitudes of what’s this perceived ‘Australian way’, then we’re not going to be moving a whole lot forward.”
When asked about how they see which way public opinion is swaying on the issue, Briggs said, “It’s hard to tell when you’re in the middle. When you’re in the war, when you’re in the middle of it all, things are coming at you from both sides, so it’s hard to see where the shift is happening.
“All we’re doing is being in the middle… and we’re just pushing forward. In the most simple terms, we’re just trying to be the artists that we wish we had when we were coming up.”
“We were planning for that,” said Trials. “Not to be the ones that make the change but to be the ones who inspire someone else to make the change.”
“This isn’t about just opening a door, this is about kicking the fucking door off its hinges so it can’t ever close again,” said Briggs.
Triple j has declined to comment on the petition to change the date of the Hottest 100.
Listen: A.B. Original – ‘2 Black 2 Strong’
