Briggs Announces ‘Always Was’ EP, Drops New Single With Thelma Plum

Aussie hip hop maestro Briggs will release his new EP, Always Was, later this month, today unveiling a new single and an accompanying music video.

Go To War is the second single from the upcoming EP, due for release August 21 via Island Records, and features Thelma Plum.

“After every avenue is exhausted and every word has been said, every bridge has been crossed or burnt, Go To War is about ‘having it up to here’ and asking yourself, ‘is this where you want to be?’” Briggs said.  

“l wrote this in the booth, with producer Jayteehazard, over one day in the studio. I’d imagined Thelma being on the song when I was cooking it up, and we threw some ideas back and forth and knocked it out over another day. 

“The song is about fearlessness. When you get pushed too far and you’re backed into a corner and there’s very little recourse”.

Co-directed by Tristan Edouard and Selina Miles, its accompanying music video, which you can check out below, features Thelma Plum, Bad Apples Crew, and Muggera Dancers.

On the clip, Briggs noted: “It talks to the idea of the ‘palatable black’ and the way Australia looks fondly at having dot paintings in their house, and ochre’d Aboriginal people dancing and practicing traditions but looks down their nose at Blackfullas in the street because they don’t fit their absurd notion of a ‘True Aboriginal’. 

“You can’t reduce someone’s identity and connection to culture because they’re not wearing the suit you associate them with.”

To celebrate the release of Always Was, Briggs will perform a special live-streamed set with his band on August 20 as part of Inside Sets.

Briggs

Thelma Plum