ABC radio station Triple J under fire for promoting Alameddine rapper Ali ‘Ay Huncho’ Younes
Ali “Ay Huncho” Younes last week released two songs about Sydney’s gang scene — one of which was promoted by the ABC station.
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Taxpayer-funded ABC radio station Triple J has been promoting the music of a hip hop rapper who is also an alleged high-ranking member of the Alameddine crime clan.
Ali “Ay Huncho” Younes last week released two songs “Putrid Sh**” and “Most Wanted”, both of which are littered with references to crime and Sydney’s gang scene.
The songs came one month after Younes was released on bail as he awaits a potential trial over a number of charges, the most serious of them being participating in a criminal group – the Alameddine organised crime network.
Seven men have been shot dead since 2020 in incidents police believe are linked to a gang war between the Alameddine and Hamzy clans.
NSW Police have previously warned Younes’ music and promises of a lavish lifestyle are being used by the gang to lure young men into a life of crime.
But despite this, the ABC’s youth radio station featured the track Most Wanted on its Thursday night Hip Hop show.
The song was then also promoted in an Instagram story on the show’s page, which was later re-posted by Younes himself.
It comes despite the notoriously woke station previously banning musicians including the high-profile Australian indie band Sticky Fingers over allegations of racism and abuse, as well as moving its famous Hottest 100 countdown from its once traditional Australia Day slot.
Victims advocate Howard Brown said many families were feeling the impact of gang music-related violence.
“For any platform, be it the ABC or otherwise, to be supporting someone (like Younes) – there has to be an ethical standard that Triple J are just not reaching,” Mr Brown said.
“They are giving it airtime knowing how egregious the material in the song is.
“I’m dealing with a case at the minute of a young 17-year-old who was stabbed to death out at Blacktown and that was all over rap music.
“This is the type of thing that Triple J are basically promoting – you’re promoting violence.”
The Daily Telegraph put questions to the ABC about the call to promote the music of an alleged member of Sydney’s underworld at a time when tensions between the Alameddines and the rival Hamzy clan remain high.
The ABC had not responded to the questions by the time of publishing.
A common trend of the shootings has been the use of balaclava-clad gunmen, who flee the scene in speedy high-performance cars that are later burnt out.
Last year, Younes released another song accompanied by a music video that detailed the steps required for a gang hit – including the need for a gun, balaclava and a jerry can.
NSW Police believe the issue is so important that two of the state’s most senior officers are currently in the United States learning from their counterparts about the role of rap music in influencing gang behaviour.
Detective Superintendents Jason Weinstein and Grant Taylor are in charge of the Raptor and Criminal Groups Squads respectively, the two squads charged with stopping the Alameddine and Hamzy feud.
“Disruption of the recruitment of young people into a life of serious violent crime is a priority for the Raptor Squad,” Det Supt Weinstein said.
So far NSW Police have charged more than a dozen people over the murders or failed plots to kill.
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