Overachieving with Rapper, Boxer, Actor and Youth Mentor Kobie Dee

July 13th 2018

  • Kobie Dee :: Interview with Lucy Smith on Mornings

Our current Independent Artist of the Week Kobie Dee joined Lucy Smith for a chat on Thursday Mornings. Extremely invested in giving back to his community, he uses music as a platform to shed light on struggle, and for his voice to be heard.

Sydney’s Kobie Dee is an esteemed boxer, dancer and actor, as well as a mentor for NSW highschools’ Just Reinvest program. Having also been a creator of music from a young age, the Gamilaroi man releases rap music to address daily issues surrounding his community, as well as educating through storytelling for generations to come.

Resonating with the style and words of chief lyricists Tupac and Eazy E, Kobie Dee put pen to paper at the ripe age of 9, and released his first track at 14. Being a young Aboriginal man, songwriting invoked a drive to address themes of police brutality, racism, a strong presence of substance abuse in his community and youth struggles,

“The best way for my voice to be heard is through rap. There’s not enough people standing up for our issues… The spiritual side is always there as well. I try and get real deep with it.”

Alongside his many artistic endeavours, Kobie Dee has been heavily involved with youth community services throughout his life. Finding refuge and comfort in such programs, he now sits on the other end of the table as a mentor. As he does with his music, as a mentor he hopes to ignite positive change and reinforcement in young peoples’ lives,

“We as humans should always be helping the people that are less fortunate.”

Performing at the Lansdowne this Sunday to close NAIDOC Week with a block party, Kobie Dee touched on the importance of the, ‘Because Of Her, We Can!’ theme for 2018,

“In our communities and a lot of places everywhere, it’s just the mum or strong women in the house; it’s good to give them credit. It’s good to show our appreciation.”

 

WHAT: NAIDOC Week Block Party feat. Kobie Dee, Nooky, Rebecca Hatch, Mi-Kaisha, Dobby, Lilla Lowanna, Muggera Dancers + more
WHERE: Landsdowne Hotel, Chippendale
WHEN: Sunday, 15th July @ 5pm
HOW MUCH: $10 via the Lansdowne’s website
Listen back to the full show with Lucy Smith here.

Contributor

Read more from Hannah Galvin

What Song Was That?

Latest in Interviews

Independent Artist of the Week: total tommy

You’re driving home, it’s midnight. You’ve got your headphones in, and a warm jacket zipped to the top. It’s raining, and the raindrops are falling dramatically and frankly quite elegantly down the window. Who are you listening to?

Independent Artist of the Week: Chonzu

Our Independent Artist of the Week Chonzu's latest mixtape is a guided tour through a alterterranean sonic landscape. He joined Ify on Up For It to tell us all about it.

Independent Artist of the Week: JUPiTA

"I feel like I’m constantly evolving… as an artist, there’s a lot of different skins you need to shed."

You might also like

Independent Artist Of The Week: Kobie Dee

Maroubra rapper Kobie Dee proudly reps the Lexo area, and we're proud to rep him as our Indie Artist of the Week.

Handbag and Chill with Rebecca Hatch

Next Big Thing SMAC Award nominee Rebecca Hatch stops by to talk NAIDOC Block Party, the importance of community and still needing a lift from mum.

DRMNGNOW on Indigenous Lands and the need for anthems

DRMNGNOW is a multi-disciplinary Yorta Yorta artist based in Naarm (Melbourne). He dropped by the station to talk about his latest single, 'Indigenous Land'.