Yuin rapper Nooky returns this week with a powerful new single in ‘Run Dingo’. Alongside the launch of the single and clip, he’s also announced a new First Nations, community-based empowerment platform called We Are Warriors.
The single was purposefully released by Nooky to mark January 26th, or Invasion Day, and features rapper and producer I.AmSolo.
“[The idea] came about last Invasion Day when I was sitting at home with my daughter. I was thinking about the prejudice and racism I experienced as a child growing up here in Australia and how my daughter was inevitably going to experience those things too,” he said in an official press statement.
“Invasion Day is a draining day for us and I started laying down how I was feeling sitting there with my daughter reflecting on my childhood.”
In the clip, Nooky is first shown putting his daughter to bed, expressing his worry for the future she may face in a society that remains racist to First Nations people. He’s seen throughout the clip writing at a desk, in chains, and in a noose.
Clips of I.AmSolo, who produced the track and sung the chorus, are interwoven throughout.
Nooky’s We Are Warriors platform aims to empower and uplift First Nations young people by showcasing a number of strong and successful role models.
“After experiencing racism as a kid, my Mum spoke to me three of the most powerful words I have ever heard – We Are Warriors,” said Nooky.
“This journey has led me to launch a platform to highlight prolific Indigenous excellence across music, fashion, sports and everything in between; a celebration of Blak excellence to empower young people in our community.
“We deserve to be recognised, we deserve to be heard and we deserve to be celebrated. As people. As role models. As warriors.”
The platform was launched alongside a range of interviews with six Indigenous figures, namely rappers Nooky, Barkaa and Kobie Dee, model Charlee Fraser, drag queen Felicia Foxx and actor Luke Currie-Richardson, AKA Bala Luke.
Watch the ‘Run Dingo’ clip below.
