The Pop Culture Inspiring Barkaa in her Downtime
The rapper and National Indigenous Music Awards artist of the year has a new EP, Big Tidda. Here’s how she spends her downtime. As told to Natalie Reilly
My favourite movie is...
Mulan. I always seem to come back to it as it shows how women can fight for their people and their rights. It really represents women’s empowerment, family and beauty for me.
The last TV show I watched was…
Baby Reindeer. It had me on the edge of my seat at times and, at other times, left me filled with frustration. Donny’s [Richard Gadd’s] low self-esteem meant he put himself in really wild situations and when he could’ve left his situation with Martha [Jessica Gunning], he went back into it.
A book that means a lot to me…
Blood on the Wattle by Bruce Elder informs readers about the true history of Aboriginal people in this country. It’s not one to take lightly; it’s heavy. But it’s the truth and it’s powerful.
My favourite podcast is…
Frontier War Stories, hosted by Boe Spearim. The episodes about the histories of First Nations people in Australia are painful and sad. But it’s so informative, so factual and so needed. Especially when a lot of our history has been swept under the rug.
The song I’m most into is…
Hellrazor by the late Tupac Shakur. I’ve grown up on his music and it’s always resonated with me, in part because I’m a Blak First Nations woman in this country.
My social media follows include…
Trading Blak on Instagram. It’s an incredible page that highlights amazing Blak businesses and helps you purchase authentic First Nations creations. They call out people who appropriate our art and who don’t commission Mob for what they’re worth.
