A.B. Original haven’t waited till January 26th to drop their second single, titled exactly that, and considering their first single was one of our favourites of 2016 so far, we are beyond fucking stoked that it’s the case.
Continuing their important work at the forefront of politically charged, socially conscious hip-hop in Australia, the duo, comprised of Briggs and Trials (NIMA and ARIA award winners respectively), have just dropped the follow up single to 2 Black 2 Strong, which was released earlier this year. January 26 is an in your face reminder of the history which that date truly holds in Australia, expressing “the annual frustration many Indigenous Australians feel from the farce of a holiday.”
Before we continue, hats must go off to Briggs and Trials for staring down the barrel of the kind of stupidly ignorant shitstorm of a reaction a song with this message is bound to generate from right-wing dickheads, reaching into their large sack of fucks to give and finding it stone cold empty.
Opening with the unmistakably powerful vocal stylings of one of the finest crooners this country has ever produced in, Dan Sultan, the hook repeated throughout the song ensures the powerful message only gets stronger as the track progresses. The take away being that it is disgusting that ‘Australia Day’ is still considered a cause for celebration when it holds a such a significant and horrific history. A history that that cannot continue to go ignored or swept aside for the sake of pacifying the sensitivities of white Australia, hellbent on preserving an assumed right to spend the day getting drunk and messy in a twisted celebration of colonialism and genocide (“that’s that land-taking, flag-waving attitude”).
You can listen to the song here to catch all of the choice lines, including “you’re watching the telly for The Bachelor but wouldn’t read a book about a fuck load of massacres”, “I turn the other cheek I get a knife in my back/I tell them it hurts they say I overreact/so fuck that” and “white Oz still got a black history/but that shirt will get your banned from Parliament” over some of the finest, funkiest beats we’ve heard in a while.
Their debut album, titled Reclaim Australia will be released later this year via Hilltop Hoods’ label Golden Era Records and Briggs’ new Indigenous hip-hop label Bad Apples Music. The duo will also be making a special keynote appearance at BIGSOUND in September before heading to Melbourne on for a Rolling Stone Australia; Live Lounge showcase at The Workers Club.