It’s been quite the year for J-MILLA.
Already one of the most promising hip hop artists in Australia (he was included in Tone Deaf‘s Get to Know series in 2020), the NT-born rapper cemented his growing reputation in 2023 with stellar performances at BIGSOUND, where he prominently featured on triple J Unearthed’s Blak Out Stage, and a historic set in Wadeye as part of TikTok’s first-ever dedicated livestream event from a remote Indigenous community.
J-MILLA also released the authentic anthem “On My Soul” earlier this year, a dynamic track that showcased a deeper side to the artist’s lyrics, and he followed that up last month with “Gammon”, sounding as confident and impish as ever.
But for those who don’t know, what does that title mean? J-MILLA revealed all – with hilarious examples – to Tone Deaf.
“I would use it in two main ways: the first way would be as if you’re coming across as joking around. You’re kind of telling a lie or you’re just mucking around with somebody,” he told us.
“For example, you could be like, ‘Hey bro, did you know that the sky is green and the grass is blue?” And he’d be like, ‘What?!’ And you’d be like, ‘Nah, gammon! I’m only mucking around.’
“Or you could use, ‘Bro, I’ve been running lately, I’m feeling quite fit, feeling like I’m faster than Usain Bolt,’ and he’d be like, ‘Nah, gammon!’ So that’s the way I would use it if I was playing around or mucking around with someone.”
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J-MILLA also said that “gammon” could be used “if you don’t like something or you don’t like what someone stands for.”
“For example, you could be like, ‘Oi bro, did you go to McDonald’s and try their new burger?’ And he’d be like, ‘Yeah, but it was gammon! It didn’t even have sauce in it!’
“Or you could say, ‘Bro, did you hear that new J-MILLA song?’ And he’d be like, ‘Yeah, but it was gammon!'” he added self-deprecatingly. “So you’re kind of throwing dirt on something, you’re just talking back down on somebody.”
J-MILLA’s big year isn’t over just yet. Following the release of “Gammon”, he’s set to make his much-anticipated return to Wadeye for Yidiyi Day, the first festival of its kind to be held in the community, with Radical Son, Kootsie Don and more featuring alongside J-MILLA.
J-MILLA’s “Gammon” is out now.
