Briggs and trials have preceded their set at this weekend’s Now & Forever festival with the release of a new A.B. Original single, the referendum anthem ‘Yes’. The track – which features DJ Total Eclipse and vocalist MARLON (of MARLON X RULLA) – is the Indigenous hip hop duo’s first release since 2022’s standalone single ‘King Billy Cokebottle.’
“The No vote mean no hope and complacence,” raps trials, a Ngarrindjeri man and member of Adelaide hip hop crew Funkoars. “Yes vote echo through whole generations.” In the second verse, Briggs, a Yorta Yorta man and influential political commentator, offers many similar endorsements. “Bout time they listened to my people,” he raps. “A voice in the house in the hope that I could own one.”
A.B. Original – ‘Yes’
MARLON handles the song’s refrain, which goes, “That’s why I’m writing a Yes vote / Anything less is signed with a death note.” The song ends with an explicit call to arms: “No voice no choice / That’s why we say Yes.”
A.B. Original will perform at the inaugural Now & Forever festival in Briggs’ hometown of Shepparton this Friday, 6th October. The lineup also includes First Nations musicians Mo’Ju, Emma Donovan, BARKAA and Baker Boy, as well as Hilltop Hoods, Paul Kelly and Jimmy Barnes.
Briggs recently spoke to The Guardian about the Voice referendum, which is happening on Saturday, 14th October. He’s been a prominent supporter of the Yes vote in recent months, while also encouraging people to put even the smallest bit of effort into learning what the referendum is about.
“I don’t believe the majority of Australians are debating the ins and outs of the sanctity of the constitution they haven’t read, or the parliament either, as much as they are deciding whether or not they value Aboriginal people,” he told The Guardian.
“So I feel like my position is not so much about what we manage to gain from yes as much as it is [about] what we could possibly lose from no.” Some perfectly reasonable and easy to understand information about the Voice can be found right here.
Further Reading
Christina Aguilera Headlines Program for Victoria’s ALWAYS LIVE 2023
All of the Events Happening as Part of The Eighty-Six’s Super Saturday
