Hot Nerds 09 | DOBBY - Country, Connection, Activism, ARIAs, Academia, Lessons, Love & Lost Language - Video

Welcome to another episode of Hot Nerds! ????

Our guest today is ARIA-award winning musician, rapper, academic and activist DOBBY aka Rhyan Clapham. His roots are proudly Filipino and Murrawarri; his performances are global, his stories are local yet universal. His latest album, Warrangu; River Story, took home the 2024 ARIA Award for Best World Music Album, and was also nominated for the 2024 Australian Music Prize.

We discussed some deep topics that were quite personal, as well as confronting broader social and racial issues. The stories told through his music are stories we all need to engage with for a meaningful and sustainable future.

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Follow DOBBY:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dobbyau/?hl=en
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/dobbyau

Kieran Hennessy:
Writing/Books/Links: https://linktr.ee/kjhennessy.x
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/kjhennessy.x/
LinkedIn:https://au.linkedin.com/in/kieran-hennessy-369435144

Chapters
- Introducing DOBBY (00:00:00)
- Acknowledging Country (00:01:36 )
- What’s changed? (00:08:29)
- White Australia in 2025 (00:09:49)
- Dobby’s next album (00:12:53)
- Post-referendum and racism (00:16:16)
- The Making of Warrangu; River Story (00:24:11)
- Lessons in interconnection (00:36:27)
- The Murrawarri Republic (00:44:25)
- ‘Forever 15’ and the power of collaboration (00:49:00)
- Parallels with the Middle East (00:55:40)
- Love, travel and academia (01:02:38)
- Final thoughts with DOBBY (01:12:00)