Dem Mob Makes Their Mark
Ahead of their WOMADelaide gig, Dem Mob chats to The Note about rapping in Pitjantjatjara, making an impact with their music and inspiring the next generation.
Image via @DEMMOBadl (Facebook)
Music has always been a vehicle for change. From Youth Yindi’s ‘Treaty’ to A.B Original and Dan Sultan’s ‘January 26’, lyrics have called out oppression, marginalisation and racism against First Nations people.
Dem Mob, a young rap group from the APY Lands, are following in the footsteps of Indigenous artists using music to deliver powerful messages. Fronted by Elisha Umuhuri (22) and Jontae Lawrie (20), the group has been marking their mark in the music industry since bursting onto the scene in 2020. In three short years, they’ve been nominated for three SA Music Awards, opened for artists like Electric Fields and have rapped at events like Treaty. Now, they’re performing a major set at this year’s WOMADelaide.
The Note is chatting with Elisha ahead of WOMAD, a gig they’ve been preparing for since they started performing at the festival’s Northern Sound System (NSS) portable stage in 2020. He says landing a spot on the lineup still feels pretty surreal.
“It’s sick we get an hour to showcase who we are and what our music represents,” he says. “The last few years, we’ve been building ourselves, the group and our music. It’s led us to landing this set.” Elisha is from Indulkana, one of the tiny communities in the remote APY Lands in the north of the state. “The audience at WOMAD is more than our whole APY population – which is crazy!”
The NSS partnered with WOMAD to develop a training academy for emerging First Nations and multicultural artists. Dem Mob was part of the pioneer program alongside rising musicians like Marlon x Rulla and Elsy Wameyo.
“We want to use our set to show the struggles that Aboriginal people face, what we go through, what we’ve been through, and how it’s made us who we are,” Elisha says.
Sometimes during the performance it’s hard for the band not to be caught up in the gravity of what’s being said. He says performing ‘Still No Justice’ moves the group – particularly in the closing verse when they chant the song’s title as a police siren wails in the background. Dem Mob sang it live at the 2022 SA Music Awards and asked the audience to raise their fist in a sign of solidarity with the track’s message.
“That [last] part always hits us because that song started from a small idea, and it’s so powerful. When it educates people and changes [them] for the better, it’s really emotional.”
Dem Mob were also the first rappers to perform and record in Pitjantjatjara, mixing the Indigenous language in verses about resilience in their break-out track, ‘Kalala Kutjupa’.
“Anybody can relate to our songs – not just our people. That’s the beauty of being able to rap bilingually. [It] gets our message to a broader audience. Music is a powerful weapon.”
Elisha says their new single, released on March 11, will be the best example of how Dem Mob’s wordplay works when matching and mixing Pitjantjatjara and English. “It’s getting easier. And the easier it gets, the more fun it is. Now it’s like, oh no, we have too many good ideas!” he laughs.
In turn, Dem Mob’s music, lyricism and attitude have meant Elisha and Jontae have become leaders to younger people in their community. Before moving to Adelaide earlier this year, the duo and friend/group member Matt Gully ran a bilingual rap pedagogy program for people living in the APY Lands.
“We had professors come and analyse how the program would improve engagement, attendance, our language, well-being and mental health. That’s our future pathway – not just doing music with DemMob, but being in schools, delivering our program engaging students.
“Our traditional music is the last link we have to our culture. It’s the only thing that hasn’t been taken away from us. As long as we have those songlines and Dreamtime stories with the next generation, our culture will still be strong.”
