New wave of hip hop artists have unique take on life in west of Sydney

WHILE politicians bicker about who serves Western Sydney best, a vibrant grassroots voice is emerging from its up-and-coming music scene.

Gang of Youths are one of the great recent musical success stories out of Sydney’s west.

PEOPLE who grow up in postcodes like “the two-one-seven-oh” never forget where they came from.

They’re the boys riding around with their “cuzo” and six other mates in “a five ­seater, no rego”. “Criers and fighters” but never “fakers or frauds”. Some may have to scrounge for their “meals from the trash” but that’s only because the “whole institution is rigged”. And “madness is not civilised”.

While our politicians bicker about who serves Western Sydney best, an incredibly powerful grassroots voice is emerging from its up-and-coming music scene. The Coalition and Labor would serve themselves well to listen.

“I grew up in the inner west of Sydney and I didn’t have a lot money,” Gang of Youths frontman David Le’aupepe told the audience when he won one of his many gongs at last year’s ARIA music awards.

“My parents spent the last $200 they had on a guitar, and that guitar changed my f...ing life. Go and pick up an instrument, go and get a laptop and a download software, because the world needs good artists who have something to say.”

Dave Le'aupepe of Gang Of Youths performs during Splendour in the Grass in Byron Bay.

One of Le’aupepe’s main points was about how easy it is to stereotype someone from the city’s west.

“We’re Pacific Islanders and we’re very proud of heritage,” the rock singer said.

“You know, we’re not just beautiful on the footy field.”

Gang of Youths may be the headline act of the emerging music scene, but in areas like Blacktown and Liverpool it’s clear hip hop is king.

Rich “Kwame” Amevor, who proudly rhymes “Imma local — you can hear it though my vocal”, is winning over fans with his hit summer anthem “WOW”.

Rapper Kwame: “For me, the main thing is that I can inspire someone who’s been sitting in the shadows.” Picture: Justin Lloyd

The Glenwood artist just crossed one million plays on Spotify.

“For me, the main thing is that I can inspire someone who’s been sitting in the shadows … (to think) if he can do it, I can do it,” he said.

However, the hip-hop sensation, who recently supported electronic music duo Peking Duk, said the growing music renaissance in Western Sydney needed better ­venues.

“Something that I’d love to create would be a warehouse where people can start production classes,” he said.

James Iheakanwa, aka rapper B Wise, is heading for Splendour in the Grass. Picture: Justin Lloyd

Tim Levinson, managing director of Elefant Traks, the label that manages rising western Sydney stars B-Wise and L-FRESH the Lion said you can’t take the geography out of a good rap.

“There is a huge amount of hip hop culture that exists in Western Sydney and it is the chosen way of communicating for a lot people,” he said.

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“We are storytellers and to think that all the storytellers exist in the city is bizarre.”

James Iheakanwa, or “B Wise”, is on the bill for this year’s upcoming Splendour in the Grass 2018. His new track Feel Something is filmed in Liverpool.

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“A lot of people responded to that because they had never seen our area of Livo in a high budget video before,” he said.

“There’s a whole community of people who are so in love with music. They kind of just get forgotten about.”

Blacktown artist Elijah Keepa, or “Elijah Yo”, started rapping through his community’s Hillsong Church. He can be heard at venues such as the Blacktown Arts Centre, the Rooty Hill RSL and Alfred Park.

“Everything that I go through in my life, I speak about in my music,” he said.

“There’s so much talent out in Western Sydney that hasn’t been shown to the rest of Sydney or Australia.”