Mat Ward

Funkoars super-producer Trials instils Black pride

Below Average The Funkoars www.thefunkoars.com Half-way through The Funkoars' set at The Basement in Sydney, the band suddenly announce that they are going to bring a "very special guest" on stage. Their fans, who were already acting like a bunch of unhinged lunatics, start roaring like they've been freed from the asylum. Who could it be? Perhaps their label mate from Golden Era Records, Aboriginal hip-hop heavyweight Briggs? Maybe their label bosses, Australia's most popular hip-hop act, the Hilltop Hoods?

Ten new political albums worth a listen: June 2015

Here's this month's radical record round-up, from queer house to riotous ska. What album, or albums, would you suggest? Comment below, on Twitter or Facebook.

1. RUPAUL - REALNESS

Rapper Lucky Luke digs up truth in Mount Isa

Whichway Lucky Luke Released March 24, 2015 www.facebook.com/currymurri13 The artwork for Lucky Luke's debut album shows him holding Mount Isa's infamous lead smelter like a didgeridoo. It's as if he's taking it back for his people. "The photo, as you say, is almost like I am reclaiming the smelter," says the rapper, who is from the Waanyi, Mitakoodi, Ringa Ringa, Kalkadoon and Warumungu tribal groups.

Ten new political albums worth a listen - May 2015

Here's this month's radical record round-up, with an emphasis on International Workers' Day, May 1. What album, or albums, would you suggest? Comment below, on Twitter or Facebook.

1. MARCEL CARTIER - UNITED STATES OF HYPOCRISY

US rapper Marcel Cartier marks 40th anniversary of Vietnam War with 'Guns Of Viet Minh'

To mark the 40th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War on April 30, US rapper Marcel Cartier released the track "The Guns Of The Viet Minh".

Ten new political albums worth a listen - April 2015

Here's this month's radical record round-up, including a response to the "Reclaim Australia" rallies. What album, or albums, would you suggest? Comment below, on Twitter or Facebook.

1. SUPER BEST FRIENDS - STATUS UPDATES

Rapper Miss Hood speaks out for her sisters

It's Fatal Miss Hood Payback Records Out now www.facebook.com/misshoodoffical Hard-hitting rapper Miss Hood comes from a long line of women warriors. Her ancestors, the Kunai and Gunditjmara people of eastern and western Victoria, put female fighters on the frontline. "Both of the tribes were matriarchal, so women were equal to men," says the Melbourne-based emcee. "It wasn't unusual to have women warriors as well as men warriors." Little wonder, then, that her music packs such a powerful feminist punch.

10 new political albums worth a listen - March 2015

Here's this month's radical record round-up, with an emphasis on International Women's Day. What album, or albums, would you suggest? Comment below, on Twitter or Facebook.

1. VARIOUS ARTISTS - THE F SPOT FEMMES FATALES

Rapper Felon makes arresting hip-hop

Only Built For Koori Linx Provocalz Featuring Felon and 18 other Indigenous emcees Mastered by Felon Coming soon www.facebook.com/Felon167Inc The mainstream media are swarming all over the Redfern Aboriginal Tent Embassy and Felon Mason is stripped to the waist.

Anthropologist Gabriella Coleman tells how Anonymous changed from arseholes to activists

Hacker, Hoaxer, Whistleblower, Spy: The Many Faces of Anonymous Gabriella Coleman 464 pages Published November 2014 Verso www.versobooks.com In the early days of hacker collective Anonymous, political activism seemed to be the last thing on its members' minds. Seeking only laughs, usually at the expense of others, members would dismiss anyone they disapproved of as "fags". They held particular disdain for anyone hinting at political activism, who they slammed as "moralfags".

10 new political albums worth a listen: February 2015

Here's this month's radical record round-up, from songs for warriors to chants for socialists. What album, or albums, would you suggest? Comment below, on Twitter or Facebook.

1. WAR ON WOMEN - WAR ON WOMEN

Parents Lady Lash and Provocalz rap about new stolen generation

Stolen Provocalz & Lady Lash Released Invasion Day, January 26, 2015 $5 all funds go to the Smith Street Working Party www.provocalz.bandcamp.com Lady Lash says it was her own family's trauma that inspired her to record "Stolen", a song about Indigenous children being taken from their parents. "My grandmother, she went through a lot of the stuff where she was hidden," says the mother-of-three, who recorded the song in collaboration with a fellow Aboriginal rapper and parent, Provocalz.

Ten new political albums worth a listen - January 2015

Here's this month's radical record round-up, from Japanese robotics to Italian hardcore. What album, or albums, would you suggest? Comment below, on Twitter or Facebook.

1. DAVID ROVICS - MEANWHILE IN AFGHANISTAN

Robert McChesney blows roof off the 21st century

Blowing The Roof Off The Twenty-First Century: Media, Politics, and the Struggle for Post-Capitalist Democracy Robert W McChesney Monthly Review Press 272 pages Published November 2014 www.blowingtheroofoff.com The work of renowned media critic Robert McChesney “has been of extraordinary importance”, says the “world's top public intellectual”, Noam Chomsky. Green Left Weekly's Mat Ward spoke to McChesney about his new book, Blowing The Roof Off The Twenty-First Century. * * *

52 left-leaning albums from 2014

This year seemed to have more than the usual quota of politically potent albums. Here, in no particular order, are 52 from 2014 - one for every week of the year. What album, or albums, would you suggest? Comment below, on Twitter or Facebook. * * * 1. BRISBANE BLACKS - INVASION DAY MIXTAPE

Rapper Briggs takes his homeland to the nation

Sheplife Briggs Golden Era Records Released August 2014 Now touring www.iambriggs.com Briggs is 598 kilometres from his hometown of Shepparton - and he's missing his bed. "When I'm at home I don't have people ringing me up telling me I've got to get out of the house," says the rapper, sitting on his hotel room's balcony in Sydney.

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