Sydney hip hop label/ collective Big Village are currently on tour with co-founders Rapaport and P.Smurf joined by the label’s most prominent signees Mathas and Omar Musa.
The quartet have also produced a new single, 'Be Ready', that confronts the current racism and free speech debate in Australia.
The track tackles parts of Australian culture that still have deep-seeded racist attitudes that need to be discussed and changed.
Rapaport has penned an open letter for scenestr discussing the tracks origins and the quest to discuss further the racism that exists in Australia.
"After bringing together all the practical elements of the ‘Big Vacation Tour’, I started to speak to everyone about a collaborative song to mark the experience.
"We bounced beats back and forth for a few months until we found something that we were all really keen on, which was an experience in itself.
"We eventually decided on a heavy sounding, synth-infused beat from Perth-based producer The Boost Hero Man (of The Community Records).
"The single 'Be Ready' came about from conversations we were all having around racism and free speech in Australia.
"In particular, how the opinions from people like Yassmin Abdel-Magied, Briggs and many other diverse voices are shut down by mainstream media and the general public on social media. This is unfortunately something that we see on a weekly and daily basis these days.
"We wanted to shine a light on the fact that part of mainstream Australian culture still has deep-seeded racist attitudes that need to be discussed and changed.
"We need to address these issues and highlight the injustices, especially when people are just voicing their own opinions or personal views."
- Rapaport
"We bounced beats back and forth for a few months until we found something that we were all really keen on, which was an experience in itself.
"We eventually decided on a heavy sounding, synth-infused beat from Perth-based producer The Boost Hero Man (of The Community Records).
"The single 'Be Ready' came about from conversations we were all having around racism and free speech in Australia.
"In particular, how the opinions from people like Yassmin Abdel-Magied, Briggs and many other diverse voices are shut down by mainstream media and the general public on social media. This is unfortunately something that we see on a weekly and daily basis these days.
"We wanted to shine a light on the fact that part of mainstream Australian culture still has deep-seeded racist attitudes that need to be discussed and changed.
"We need to address these issues and highlight the injustices, especially when people are just voicing their own opinions or personal views."
- Rapaport
The Big Vacation Tour Dates
Sat 7 Oct - The Flamin Galah (Brisbane)Thu 12 Oct - Prince Of Wales (Bunbury)
Fri 13 Oct - Mojos Bar (Fremantle)
Sat 14 Oct - Settlers Tavern (Margaret River)
Sun 15 Oct - Big Village Community Block Party @ Rosemount Hotel (Perth)
Fri 20 Oct - Transit Bar (Canberra)
Sat 21 Oct - Big Village Block Party @ Oxford Art Factory (Sydney)
1-3 Dec - Big Village Allstars @ Subsonic Festival (Hunter Valley)
