Nick Bryant-Smith

Briggs and Trials are two long-time friends and rappers of Indigenous heritage – both with successful solo careers – who’ve been steadily rocking the foundations of Australia’s hip hop scene with political releases like ‘January 26’ and ‘2 Black 2 Strong’. Their debut album is just as provocative, playfully named Reclaim Australia. Friend and fan Nick Bryant-Smith, aka Solo from hip hop outfit Horrorshow, sits down for a drink with A.B. Original.   Solo: I love the album title. I chuckled so hard to myself when I read it. Have you had any response from the turkeys behind [political party] Reclaim Australia?Trials: They followed us on Twitter and that was the end of it.Briggs: They ‘unfollowed’ us. I think they were like “Oh, they’re black. They’ve got a better claim than us!”  There’s a real West Coast vibe to Reclaim Australia…Briggs: Everything we did with this record is a throwback to the things that embodied our love for music, from our logo looking like the Gravediggaz to the cover looking like Death Row stuff and that West Coast sound. That’s the music we grew up on. That’s what sparked our love for rap music. It’s been labelled a political record by the media. What do you think of that?Trials: It’s weird because it’s us standing up and being fucking proud of ourselves and proud of our communities.Briggs: It’s really grassroots politics at its most organic, for sure. What we’re talking about is the stuff that affects us directly. Growing up, I was terrified of police be

Briggs and Trials are two long-time friends and rappers of Indigenous heritage – both with successful solo careers – who’ve been steadily rocking the foundations of Australia’s hip hop scene with political releases like ‘January 26’ and ‘2 Black 2 Strong’. Their debut album is just as provocative, playfully named Reclaim Australia. Friend and fan Nick Bryant-Smith, aka Solo from hip hop outfit Horrorshow, sits down for a drink with A.B. Original.   Solo: I love the album title. I chuckled so hard to myself when I read it. Have you had any response from the turkeys behind [political party] Reclaim Australia?Trials: They followed us on Twitter and that was the end of it.Briggs: They ‘unfollowed’ us. I think they were like “Oh, they’re black. They’ve got a better claim than us!”  There’s a real West Coast vibe to Reclaim Australia…Briggs: Everything we did with this record is a throwback to the things that embodied our love for music, from our logo looking like the Gravediggaz to the cover looking like Death Row stuff and that West Coast sound. That’s the music we grew up on. That’s what sparked our love for rap music. It’s been labelled a political record by the media. What do you think of that?Trials: It’s weird because it’s us standing up and being fucking proud of ourselves and proud of our communities.Briggs: It’s really grassroots politics at its most organic, for sure. What we’re talking about is the stuff that affects us directly. Growing up, I was terrified of police be