Gamit ang kanyang musika, isinusulong ng hiphop rapper na si Rhyan Clapham na mas kilala sa pangalan na Dobby ang mga usapin na mahalaga para sa katulad niyang mga Aborihinal ng Australia.
“Through my music, I’m talking about cultural significance as well as issues of over irrigation and how we’ve been misusing this river system," lahad ng Filipino-Aboriginal rapper na si Dobby.
Highlight
- May dalang lakas ang musika na maaaring magamit sa pagbabahagi ng mga kwento.
- Para sa Filipino-Aboriginal rapper na si Dobby, musika ang kanyang paraan para ilahad ang mga isyu na patuloy na bumabalot at nakaka-apekto sa tulad niyang mga katutubo.
- Musika rin ang paraan niya para kumonekta sa mga tao at manawagan ng pagkilos.
Pinagmulang katutubo at Pilipino
Malalim ang ugnayan ng singer-composer na si Dobby sa mga katutubo ng Australia.
Ipinanganak sa Wollongong, NSW si Rhyan Clapham. Ang kanyang ama ay isang katutubo, mula sa Brewarrina sa lupain ng Ngemba at mula sa angkan ng Murrawarri Republic sa Weilmoringle, NSW.
Ang kanyang ina naman ay mula sa Tacloban sa Pilipinas at dumating sa Australia noong taong 1985.
"My grandmother is born and raised from a place called Brewarrina, in North-West New South Wales, and her great-grandfather was born under the birthing tree on the Colga river, an hour north of Brewarrina," kwento ni hip hop rapper.
Sa kabila ng pinagmulang katutubo, marami pa rin siyang dapat na matutunan sa kanyang kultura at mga kwento ng mga ito.
"There is so much for me to learn and this is a great way for me to be reconnected and to learn my language. It’s a beautiful thing to be able to engage hip hop in this way."
Filipino Aboriginal musician, Hiphop rapper, drummer and composer Rhyan Clapham also known as Dobby. Source: Vyva Entertainment
Kultura at Musika
Humugot ng inspirasyon mula sa tatlong ilog na magkakaugnay at nakapalibot sa katutubong lugar na pinagmulan ng kanyang pamilya, binuo ni Dobby ang kanyang "Warrangu River Story" album.
“I started performing this music since 2019 but since then and also throughout Covid, I’ve been finalising and perfecting this project that I have been working on for about 4 years now and it’s called “Warrangu” River Story."
"Warrangu is Ngemba languangue for river. It means any river, water source, any creek, just the river."
"This story that I made is an 8-track album about the rivers that run through Brewarrina which is the Barwon and Culgoa rivers," salaysay ng 26-anyos na rapper.
Ibinahagi din niya ang kultural na kahalagahan ng iba't ibang mga ilog na ito na tampok sa kanyang musika.
"There’s so much cultural history, the stories, the language, the significance of these rivers that kind of make up the boundaries of our different territories whether it Ngemba country or Murwarri country, Wailwan, Kamilaroi, Barkindji."
Sa pamamagitan ng kanyang "Warrangu River Story" album, nabigyang-pansin niya ang labis na irigasyon at maling paggamit ng mga tubig mula sa mga ilog na nabanggit.
"Over irrigation in general that led to the massive destruction of the Murray-Darling River Basin which led to a million fish that died in Menindee among others."
Rapper Dobby: 'Hip hop be something that can be a bridging step for people to use to speak up and say something or advocate for Aboriginal issues next time' Source: Cole Bennets & Luke Currie-Richardson
Lakas ng musika
Bilang nakakabatang henerasyon ng mga taong Aborihinal, ginagamit ni Rhyan Clapham ang kanyang musika, partikular ang hip hop para maipaabot ang mahahalagang mensahe sa mga kabataan.
"The power of music, in my case hip hop in particular, can really help towards bridging and taking action for reconciliation to truly happen".
"It is really a great platform not just for music, but for education as well as political. It can call for policy changes."
Hip hop be something that can be a bridging step for people to use to speak up and say something or advocate for Aboriginal issues next time.
Musika ang gamit ni Dobby para maikalat ang kwento ng kanyang mga tao.
"People connects to stories more than anything. And if it means for people to really connect with, say my story and in order for them to listen to that they can be more compassionate about Indigenous people’s issues as a whole, then that’s the best outcome."
Kasalukuyang lumilibot ngayon si Dobby kasama ng iba pang Aboriginal artists at isang kapwa Pilipino.
"Krystel Diola is a multi-talented instrumentalist who play everything under the sun. Absolutely a constant inspiration to me."
"We’ve been on tour, her being the DJ, as well as Emmanuel, an amazing Armenian-Syrian pianist, and Yuwalaaraay-Murrawarri singer-songwriter-guitarist Kelsey Iris and talented-storyteller Luke Currie-Richardson."
Hangad nilang maibahagi ang kanyang musika at ang mga kwento na nakapaloob dito.
“We’ve just come off from the 2nd leg of our ‘Warrangu River Story’ tour. We started off in Walgett, into Lighting Ridge as well as into Brewarrina were my family are from."
"We also did our tour in Bathurst, Lithgow and Wellington in NSW."
Sa mga susunod na araw, nakatakda din silang magpunta sa Weilmoringle, hilaga ng Bruie, hanggang sa Dubbo, Orange at Wagga Wagga at iba pang kalapit na lugar hanggang sa Brisbane.
"Because of Covid, it’s another reason why it’s a great time for us to tour regional and to come to smaller communities to be able to bring music to them," aniya.
BASAHIN DIN/PAKINGGAN
