“I wrote this album five years ago while I was hospitalised. I was in a dark space and on suicide watch. It was my obituary.”
Ziggy Ramo has weaved together one of the most important collections of meaningful discourse as he assesses and relays the need for real change and reparations for Australia’s historical and current injustices.
Co-produced by his longtime collaborator JCAL from WA, Black Thoughts was released just as the Black Lives Matter protests were rising up the world over and as Australia entered the annual Reconciliation Week. Ziggy Ramo is proof today and everyday that First Nations voices are crucial for healing.
The final track on the record, ‘Final Thoughts’, is an enlightening conversation between Ramo and journalist, radio broadcaster and documentary maker Daniel Browning. The pair delve deep as they challenge what many of us believe we think we know about Australia’s history.
While the LP is 16 tracks of crucial education, this final proffering shows just how important is it to have Ziggy Ramo alive and with us.
Stream the record below, then check out why the staff here at Tone Deaf love it so much.
Check out Ziggy Ramo’s LP Black Thoughts below:
In a time when racism is rife and the Black Lives Matter movement is as angry and motivated as ever, Ziggy Ramo’s Black Thoughts is the album the world needs. With lyrics that attack the nation’s status quo of racial inequality, it’s a collection of tracks that we can only begin to hope will one day become irrelevant.
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Written years earlier while Ramo was in a “dark space”, Black Thoughts was intended as his own “obituary”, but shines as one of the most vital releases to come out of the Australian music scene in years.
– Brittany Jenke
A long time coming, but more relevant than ever, Ziggy Ramo’s Black Thoughts might have been written five years ago, but it serves as a reminder that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Created as a document of his thoughts on race relations in Australia, the album sees Ramo raging against racism through his powerful lyrics, serving as a call for all Australians to take note and listen to the atrocities going on in their own backyard.
It might be difficult listening for those who see themselves reflected in these tracks, but its importance cannot be understated as an educational tool from one of Australia’s most noteworthy artists.
– Tyler Jenke
