Melbourne rapper 360 has already taken aim at “fucking racist c#*ts” Down Under and now he’s declared war on the homophobia in Aussie hip hop.
The MC, real name Matthew Colwell, is gearing up for the release of a new studio album, with the follow-up to his 2011 Falling & Flying LP to feature collaborations with The Presets’ Julian Hamilton, Silverchair frontman Daniel Johns, and another turn with ‘Boys Like You’ singer Gossling.
What the new record won’t feature however is homophobic slurs, with Colwell admitting in an open letter published in News Ltd that though he’s been ignorant of the severity of language he’d previously used casually, he’s using his status to turn the tide of hip hop’s attitudes to homophobia.
“I was so ignorant to just how offensive the word `faggot’ is. Or how offensive it is to say something is ‘gay’ if you don’t like it,” begins the 27-year-old rapper in his open letter.
“I grew up in Ringwood. There is ignorant racism and homophobia everywhere, and I was surrounded by it there. People say those terms all the time and probably think they’re not homophobic or racist, but they are. If you use the term ‘faggot’ you’re holding everything back,” he says.
“It’s about making people understand. I was so blind to the fact, I had no idea how offensive I was being… You tend to think people are good people deep down, when they’re shown they’re being offensive they will stop. I don’t think I’ll change the world but if it affects some people that’s a start.” “People drop homophobic slurs every single day and it’s fuckin hurtful. I didn’t realise that. Now I do…”
360 adds that his new attitudes aren’t ‘copying the trend’ of awareness in popular music (referencing Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ hit ‘Same Love’), but instead about highlighting “modern day segregation and it’s still there,” he explains.
“People drop homophobic slurs every single day and it’s fuckin hurtful. I didn’t realise that. Now that I do, I’ve been made to realise I’m in a position to actually change peoples’ minds,” he adds. “I never thought I’d be someone who could influence young kids and the culture. I have to do it. I want to. I really want everyone to realise that.”
Helping turn 360’s new leaf over was Silverchair frontman Daniel Johns, who co-wrote the track ‘It’s All About To End‘ with the hip hop figurehead for his new album; “I think lyrically it’s the best song on the album. I touch on so many things, from religion to homophobia,” says 360.
“Daniel used to cop it so hard, people abusing him because he wore make-up in Silverchair and has gay friends. He thought it was awesome I’m doing this. His mates that are gay, they would never expect me to say these things. They probably expect me to be a bigot, people who saw my rap battles probably think that because I used that term [but] I didn’t know what I was doing.”
The rapper even talks of going back and editing or removing his “rap battles” that use homophobic language. “I’ve learnt from my mistakes… I’ve evolved more mentally,” adds Colwell. “I’m going to be in a rap battle in August in Canada. I kind of hope the other guy uses that word, because I’ve got a whole rhyme ready… saying someone’s sexuality is wrong is fucked up. It really is. It’s very similar to racism. People can’t choose their sexuality as they can’t choose their race. Equality has to happen.” “Saying someone’s sexuality is wrong is fucked up. It really is. It’s very similar to racism.”
360 tackled the issue of racism for his performance at Brisbane hip hop festival Sprung earlier this year, prefacing new track ‘A Planet No One Knows’ with a sweary speech about bigotry in Australia.
“If you’re someone that believes in ‘Fuck off we’re full’, you’re a fucking dickhead straight up,” Colwell told the Sprung festival audience. “No matter what colour or background we are, there are fuckheads in every single race, generalising everyone is fucking ignorant and uneducated and stupid, yeah? If you’re offended by this then you’re probably fucking racist then you should fuck off.”
The anti-racism track, with rhymes that take aim at racism, will feature on 360’s new album Utopia, due for release in 2014.
“I have put everything into Utopia, my rapping is 10 times better, my lyrics, songwriting, singing, everything,” 360 tweeted in October, with a number of follow-up posts addressing criticisms he’s faced over taking the due time to complete his new album.
“I find it funny when people give criticism to an artist for spending a few years working on a record… banging one out a year isn’t my style… I’d much prefer to spend 3 years making a fucking masterpiece that I feel is timeless music, and I also wanna show how much I have evolved in so many different ways. If ur [sic] expecting Falling & Flying 2, don’t.”
Read 360’s open letter to News Ltd in full below.
“I was so ignorant to just how offensive the word `faggot’ is. Or how offensive it is to say something is ‘gay’ if you don’t like it. I grew up in Ringwood. There is ignorant racism and homophobia everywhere, and I was surrounded by it there. People say those terms all the time and probably think they’re not homophobic or racist, but they are. If you use the term ‘faggot’ you’re holding everything back. Saying ‘That’s gay’ is offensive. You might not mean it to be offensive, but it is. So is shorting people’s race, like calling Japanese ‘Japs’. It is offensive and it has to stop. If my friends use ‘fag’ I’ll tell them ‘Do you actually know how offensive that word is?’ Because they obviously don’t. It’s about making people understand. I was so blind to the fact, I had no idea how offensive I was being calling people a ‘fag’. Once your eyes are open to it, you should just stop. You tend to think people are good people deep down, when they’re shown they’re being offensive they will stop. I don’t think I’ll change the world but if it affects some people that’s a start.
“Once I had it made clear to me how hurtful saying `fag’ was I thought ‘F— hell, what am I doing?’ It’s the same with racism. A lot of Australian kids are ignorant to the fact that the words they say are offensive. They don’t get it. People drop homophobic slurs every single day and it’s f—ing hurtful. I didn’t realise that. Now that I do, I’ve been made to realise I’m in a position to actually change peoples’ minds. I never thought I’d be someone who could influence young kids and the culture. I have to do it. I want to. I really want everyone to realise that.
“I don’t want people to think I listened to Macklemore’s song (Same Love) and copied the trend. It’s not like that at all. I genuinely want people to realise how f—ed up it is. It’s modern day segregation and it’s still there. It’s everywhere. I really want to change that. I love that Macklemore song though. I could not believe that especially in Australia a song with that message made No.1. I get disappointed by things people say then you see that and it gives you hope. It’s great. I know hip hop people who hate on Macklemore which baffles me. He can rap his arse off, but he’s covering issues that are so good. He’s not doing what everybody else is doing. He’s not rapping about girls and money, he’s actually making a change.
“Daniel (Johns) and I wrote It’s All About to End; I think lyrically it’s the best song on the album. I touch on so many things, from religion to homophobia. Daniel used to cop it so hard, people abusing him because he wore make-up in Silverchair and has gay friends. He thought it was awesome I’m doing this. His mates that are gay, they would never expect me to say these things. They probably expect me to be a bigot, people who saw my rap battles probably think that because I used that term. I didn’t know what I was doing. But I want to stop it. I will never say that word again. If my friends say it, I stop them. If a friend puts it in their rap it can’t be on my song. It’s not just a word. It hurts people.
“I’ve met heaps of my gay fans. Now I want to take those rap battles and edit them or take them down. It’s offensive. But I’ve learnt from my mistakes. If people ask me about now it I’ll say I was ignorant, I’ll be honest. But I understand more, I’ve evolved more mentally. If someone has their eyes opened they should change, it’s as simple as that. I’m going to be in a rap battle in August in Canada. I kind of hope the other guy uses that word, because I’ve got a whole rhyme ready about people who use that word in rap battles. It’s just a cop out, it’s easy to say. It’s not smart. It’s lazy. I want to people to just not do it. Saying someone’s sexuality is wrong is f—ed up. It really is. It’s very similar to racism. People can’t choose their sexuality as they can’t choose their race. Equality has to happen.
“It’s crazy how many young kids have contacted me. I wrote a song about suicide (Closer), and people wrote to me and said that because of that song they didn’t kill themselves and now their life is better. There’s literally been a few hundred, even a thousand people who have said that to me or sent me personal messages about that. That’s when I learnt my words can help people. Why wouldn’t I try and use it to improve things? You can go and reap the rewards of being someone in the spotlight making money and milk it and do the right things that will keep making you money and give you success. I want success, but I’d be so happy at the end of my life if I could look back and see that my songs changed the way a lot of kids think or helped kids. Issues about drug abuse, child abuse, everything. I’m trying to share my own experiences. I let everybody in, say all this sh – about myself and then hopefully it helps people. It’s surreal to have kids look up to me that much. I’m not saying I’m an amazing person, but it does make me grab control of what I’m saying and really try and make a difference.”
