Diafrix: European Vocation

12 April 2011

by Caitlin Welsh

It’s almost a shame that Melbourne hip hop outfit Diafrix couldn’t wait six months to release their new single Simple Man. All breezy beats and buoyant rhymes, and armed with an unstoppable earworm of a chorus courtesy of neo-soul star Daniel Merriweather, it’s a chilled backyard anthem for a sunny afternoon – so naturally, it’s dropped just as the temperature started to do the same.

But Diafrix have no time to waste, explains Khaled Abdulwahab (AKA Azmarino, one of the band’s two MCs). After a one-off Sydney show with the hyped UK rapper Tinie Tempah, they’ll be supporting R&B superstar Bruno Mars on his first ever Australian tour; after that, they’re off to Europe for two months to tour, record, shop their upcoming album, and play at Glastonbury – as you do. “It’s awesome!” laughs Abdulwahab, as he reels off the list. “Not that we haven’t been going well in Australia, just that Europe’s always been somewhere worth expanding, you know?”

There’s nothing but optimism in his tone, and fair enough. They’re descending upon the region with a strong single in tow, not to mention a guest star with the coveted Mark Ronson stamp of approval. But there was no backroom wheeling and dealing involved in getting Merriweather into the studio. “We actually knew him before he moved to London,” says Abdulwahab. “And when we recorded the track we were saying, ‘How awesome would it be to get Daniel Merriweather on this? His voice is awesome...’ And then literally three days after that, we saw him on the street in Fitzroy. We got him in the studio the next day and it all went down from there.”

The cheery, broad appeal of Simple Man marks a slight shift away from the focus on social and community issues that characterised Diafrix’s first album, Concrete Jungle. Both Abdulwahab and fellow MC Mohamed “Momo” Komba are African immigrants – Momo arrived at three with his parents from the Comoros Islands, and Khaled came from Eritrea at age 18, alone – and their primary motivation, he explains, has always been to inspire and encourage young people from poor, immigrant and refugee backgrounds, which includes running workshops, after-school programs and festivals that encourage involvement in music and cultural pursuits. “Kids rock up and think they can already rap better than me,” Abdulwahab says with a chuckle, “and to have that confidence, to think that we’ve achieved all that stuff and they can achieve greater stuff - it’s just kind of cool.”

So while the new single might be light on social commentary, it fits with Diafrix’ mission statement of encouraging positivity and avoiding violent and criminal images. Abdulwahab explains that part of the appeal of hip-hop to kids in immigrant communities is that it’s an industry full of visible, successful black artists; but acknowledges that the negativity inherent in gangsta rap culture obviously isn’t a helpful influence. “We try to get them listening to positive hip hop, people like Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Common, people who make motivational music that they can connect to.” More than anything, he says, active community involvement is part of hip hop in any community.

As they prepare to represent Australian hip hop overseas, Abdulwahab acknowledges that there are problems with hip hop’s status here, evident in the narrow focus of the most successful hip hop and the lack of acknowledgement by mainstream bodies like ARIA. “People [making hip hop] are trying to find a middle ground between '90s ‘commercial’ hip hop and new, progressive hip hop,” he says, bemoaning the fact that aping commercial American styles often appears the easiest way to get radio play. “Hip hop’s all about the radio, as well, the radio has a really big power.”

But despite his issues with the business and media side of things, Abdulwahab has nothing but love for the scene here, and particularly in his adopted home town of Melbourne. “There’s a beautiful spirit among Australian hip hop, it’s a supportive community. There’s no hate or negativity – everyone’s supportive.”

Simple Man ft. Daniel Merriweather is out now through ILL/UMA