For hip hop fans, that usually means attending an event and seeing a small handful of acts that fit into the genre. But fear not, because this year’s FOMO lineup is monstrous, featuring an impressive list of international hip hop, R&B and house acts. Having just released her fourth album Queen, hip hop royalty Nicki Minaj is set to headline. Alongside her are the likes of producer Mura Masa, Australia’s Anna Lunoe, Scottish artist SOPHIE and Dutch DJ San Holo, as well as singer-songwriter Kali Uchis who released her debut album this year, titled Isolation. Carmouflage Rose, Rae Sremmurd, Lil Pump and Just A Gent are also set to hit the Flemington Racecourse stage on Sunday January 13.
After gaining worldwide acclaim and attention from ‘This Is America’, Childish Gambino is back with a new video for his track ‘Feels Like Summer’. Featuring a generous serving of cameos, the animated clip sees Donald Glover walking through a neighbourhood, surrounded by fellow musicians Rihanna, Azealia Banks, Drake, Future and A$AP Rocky to name a few. Each artist is depicted as part of a different situation unfolding as Glover strolls down the street. Perhaps most notably, Kanye West makes a solo appearance – he’s seen crying in a ‘Make America Great Again’ hat, before being comforted by Michelle Obama. This has been interpreted as a reference to Kanye’s recent controversial tweets in favour of US President Donald Trump. ‘Feels Like Summer’ is the first promotional single from the rapper, actor and comedian’s upcoming fourth studio album, which is rumoured to be his last.
This week’s local artist is not only making waves with powerful hip hop; she also campaigns for LGBTIQ+ inclusivity, women’s rights, and music industry accountability. Hailing from Brisbane, Miss Blanks is a musician, artist, and activist, whose music combines a fiery cocktail of electronica, rap, R&B and trap. Her lyrics are assertive and often tongue-in-cheek, as the artist writes about her experiences in life and her navigation of the mainstream hip hop landscape in Australia, which she considers to be relaxed, white, male-focused and cis-centric. She’s part of a movement which urges people to stand up for diversity and visibility and joins other sexually empowered female rappers like Missy Elliott, Lil Kim and Princes Nokia who are also campaigning for change in the music industry. The music video for Miss Blank’s most recent single, called ‘Good Good D’, was filmed at Brisbane’s only BDSM warehouse space, in an effort to break down the stigmas surrounding BDSM culture as well as female sexual identity.
