If a pretty, recurring piano melody in a coupla Marshmallow tracks (2009 and 80,000 Storeys) sounds familiar, that'll be because DOBBY carried it across from his previous WARRANGU; River Story set as a bridge between the two worlds.
Even though Rhyan Clapham, the Filipino-Muruwari drapper (drummer/rapper) known as DOBBY, created his two latest records concurrently, they’re otherwise diametrically opposed.
The story of Marshmallow takes DOBBY back in time to right some wrongs.
“My rapping cleared the room at the disco at my school/ Played it off like I was cool, but I really wasn’t.”
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Over Good For Nothing’s minimal, skittish beat – featuring nursery-rhymy glockenspiel hook and percussive panting – DOBBY recalls the cumulative racist bullying that made him feel worthless.
Lessons finds DOBBY trading lines with Rhyan, giving his younger self a snapshot of 2025. This starts positively enough (“Donald Glover is The Lion King”) before spiralling into a grim list of systemic inequities that remain unaddressed (eg. “Still yelling out, ‘Treaty!'”).
Listen out for an actual sample of 12-year-old DOBBY spitting rhymes in ≠ (Free Your Mind) – cuteness overload.
Released to commemorate 20 years since she passed, lead single Fight (Kim’s Song) immortalises DOBBY’s late Taekwondo teacher, who coined his stage name.
Marshmallow’s closer, 80,000 Storeys (feat. Beckah Amani – one to watch), speaks to our shared history on this land, challenges the linear notion of time and issues an important reminder: “Don’t forget who you are.”
These stories, which speak to the narratives of Australian identity, have never been more needed than right this minute.
Label: ABC Music
Release: 31 July
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