WAM Song Of The Year: Beni Bjah

Indigenous Western Australians are more likely to go to jail than they are to go to university, a distressing fact shared by local rapper Ben Hasler (Beni Bjah) in his acceptance speech for the WAM Song of the Year Grand Prize, during last weekend’s WAM Song of the Year Awards in Fremantle. Christina Balico reports.

A rapper in the local scene for the last 13 years, Hasler released the double SOTY award-winning (it also won the award for Outstanding Indigenous Song of the Year) track on Survival Day (January 26) this year. 

Survivor is uncomfortably confronting, and reminds us all of the discrimination and challenges faced by Indigenous Australians. It also highlights the importance of continuing to work together in order to reconcile and reduce racial inequality and disadvantage.

'Now I ain’t pushing no blame/ I ain’t silly/ but what’s happened in the past/ it’s time for recognition and to work together/ they’d rather compensate us, than give us recognition/ in other words they’d rather buy you out of your tradition'.

While confronting, the song is also uplifting, reminding us all how powerful it can be to stand up against such hatred and ignorance. Hasler recognises the power in music in being able to provide an outlet for expressing what it is like to deal with such disadvantage, explaining that the song is (mainly on social media) on a daily basis and not being able to really fight back or say what was really on my mind.”

Systemic racism, racial division and the importance of reconciliation is a central theme to Hasler’s music. Understanding the powerful role music can play in being able to highlight such discrimination, Hasler chose to have the track open with an excerpt of Lang Hancock’s ‘final solution’ a shocking piece of audio from 1984 in which Hancock puts forward...

“The ones that are no good to themselves, and can’t accept things, the half-castes - and this is where most of the trouble comes - I would dope the water up so that they would become sterilised, and they would breed themselves out and that would solve the problem.”

It makes for very difficult listening, as Hasler explains, “I only heard the sample myself a few years back and the ‘shock value’ hits you hard... I don’t know if many people know that Lang Hancock is actually Gina Rinehart’s father and she is Australia’s, if not the world’s, richest woman solely on the fact her father stole land for mining.”

Equally as powerful is the film clip, which all at once highlights historical and present-day struggles faced by Indigenous Australians, but also challenges racial stereotypes. Explaining how the clip came to be, he says, “I really wanted a positive message to go with the song so when I met with Dave Vincent Smith, who is an amazing Perth film and video director I showed him the song and he came up the script and the rest was history.”

Not only does Hasler address such issues in his music, but he is also working toward qualifications in order to begin working more formally with the youth. His commitment to raising issues of discrimination, disadvantage, and helping others permeates all that he does, and his passion is palpable. Profits made from the sale of the single and his album, are to be donated to Indigenous education programs. As he says “it’s been a whirlwind since I dropped the film clip. My wife and kids want see how far we can take this with raising as much money as possible.”

Originally published in X-Press Magazine