It’s been a big month for the Australian music industry with one of the biggest events of the year, SXSW Sydney, taking place last week.
One of the standout artists in the inaugural SXSW Sydney program was Chicago’s Chance the Rapper, who came to Australia to celebrate the 50th anniversary of hip hop.
While in the country, footage surfaced of Chance hyped up during a rapper’s set at the 3% Our People gig on Sunday, and people loved seeing it. Chance even introduced the rapper in question, Inkabee, who’s not yet even a teenager.
But how did the 11-year-old sensation get here?
The Perth-based Noongar Wongi rapper may still be in primary school but he’s got quite the resume already. Inkabee was named as the triple j Unearthed High Indigenous Initiative Champion last month.
So far, he’s got three songs under his name, with December’s “Beat the Odds”, May’s “Saved by the Bell”, and “We Dat Good” arriving in June.
Recently, Inkabee and his dad, Flewnt, appeared on triple J’s Bars of Steel (watch below); their performance even had Nooky’s head knocking, so it’s not like Chance was just being nice by introducing him.
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Inkabee can really rap and his talent has been well and truly noticed. He’s far from a child prodigy at this stage, and has been recognised as one of the faces of the future generation of rappers coming out of Australia by various programs such as the APRA AMCOS Songmakers program, as well as being recognised by his school and peers.
For Inkabee, being introduced by Chance the Rapper at SXSW Sydney is a moment that he’ll remember for the rest of his life, and for the rest of the children, teens, and upcoming artists watching around the country, it’s a moment of motivation.
Chance sat down for an interview with Rolling Stone AU/NZ Editor-in-Chief Poppy Reid at SXSW Sydney last week, discussing the fleeting nature of relationships, Chicago’s vibrant music scene, his thoughts on Australia’s recent dismissal of our First Nations peoples, and so much more.
