Arnhem Land MC Baker Boy or as he’s known up north, The Fresh Prince has been absolutely shredding 2017. You may have heard his debut single, Cloud 9 doing the rounds earlier this year. You may have even been lucky enough to catch his enigmatic, crowded showcase at Big Sound. If not, don’t consider yourself behind the eight ball, in fact, consider yourself right alongside it cause Baker Boy is 20 years young and today’s Freshy, Marryuna is only his second release to date! Now, I remember hearing Cloud 9 for the first time a couple of months ago and thinking is this guy rapping so fast I cant understand what he’s saying or is there another language at play here. Turns out the latter is correct and both Cloud 9 and today’s Juice are bilingually delivered in english and Yolngu Matha – a language that represents his Arnhem Land families.
Now, if anecdotal, periphrastic hip-hop isn’t really your steez, and you prefer an MC to burn a bush rather than beat around it I suggest you crank this one. Similar to Cloud 9, Marryuna is direct, danceable and an earnest declaration of pride in colour, country and creed. A short-lived gravely intro courtesy of a distorted didgeridoo preludes Baker Boy’s vocals that burst onto the track boasting his speed as an MC. Accompanied with some basic drum programming and an assorted collection of earthy samples recorded in the region he grew up in Milingimbi, Marryuna places a pretty large focus on what is being said; and whilst I don’t understand what is rapped in Yolngu Matha the few words sung and spat in english deliver a strong concise message to those pursuing a career in hip-hop. It’s only fitting the Fresh Prince man the bar and to serve to you Juice heads a refreshing beverage like Marryuna. Enjoy.
Baker Boy is one of many emerging indigenous artists in Aus hip hop and with the rate in which this guy is churning out tracks I’m sure it won’t be long before more of BB’s tracks are spilling into your playlist.