Dobby (musician)

Rhyan Clapham, known by his stage name Dobby (stylised as DOBBY), is a Filipino-Aboriginal Australian musician. He describes himself as a "drapper", a contraction of rapper and drummer,^[1] although he also plays other instruments and is also a composer. Dobby is also a workshop facilitator and speaker.^[2] In 2018, he spoke at Vivid Ideas at Sydney's Vivid festival,^[3] and in 2019 at the JLF Adelaide (Jaipur Literature Festival in Adelaide, South Australia).^[2] He is known for his Warrangu: River Story for which he won an ARIA Music Award.

Rhyan Clapham was born in Wollongong. In 1985, his mother had emigrated from Tacloban in the Philippines, while his father is from Brewarrina, New South Wales, Australia.^[4] His father's mother was a Muruwari woman from Ngemba country in Brewarrina.^[5] He is a member of the Murrawarri Republic in Brewarrina.^[6]

Clapham studied classical piano in primary school from the age of seven, achieving AMEB Grade 6 in piano, and Grade 2 Musicianship. He then went on to study jazz drumming in high school, from age 14.^[6] He began listening to rappers like Outkast, Eminem, and 50 Cent, before turning to "more nuanced sounds of the culture", such as Lauryn Hill, Common, The Pharcyde, J Dilla, and MF DOOM.^[3] Clapham acquired the nickname Dobby in primary school.^[7]

He earned a Bachelor of Music degree at UNSW,^[8] specialising in percussion and piano.^[3] In 2015 he completed honours in Indigenous Studies, also at UNSW, focusing on Aboriginal hip hop music.^[3][8]

Clapham describes himself as a "drapper", a contraction of the words rapper and drummer.^[3] He also plays piano.^[2]

In 2017 Clapham was awarded the Peter Sculthorpe Fellowship, an award for emerging composers and performers worth A$30,000.^[9][6][10] He used the award to develop his musicianship, and, in particular, to further his work on the stories of the Brewarrina Ngunnhu (Ngemba for "fish traps").^[3]

In 2018, he released his debut self-titled EP.^[2] In October of that year, he appeared in Adelaide as part of the OzAsia Festival, headlining a show at Nexus Arts, supported by DyspOra and ELSY.^[11]

In April 2019, Dobby performed at the Boomerang Festival, a section of Bluesfest at Byron Bay dedicated to Indigenous performance, art and culture.^[12]

In October 2019 he performed OzAsia in Adelaide..^[13] The online magazine Clothesline gave the performance five stars.^[14] Also in 2019, he released a cover version of "We Have Survived" by Aboriginal band No Fixed Address.^[15]

His 2020 single "I Can't Breathe", featuring BARKAA, became an anthem for the Black Lives Matter movement in Australia, and has been incorporated into some school curricula.^[8][16] The song references a number of issues specific to Indigenous Australians, such as the forced removal of children from families in the past, the high levels of Indigenous Australian incarceration, Aboriginal deaths in custody.^[17] "I Can't Breathe" won Best Video at the FBi SMAC Awards in 2020.^[18] Dobby performed alongside BARKAA at the Sydney New Year's Eve celebrations in 2021/22.^[19]

In June 2022, DOBBY presented Warrangu: River Story at the Art Gallery of New South Wales in partnership with Vivid Sydney.^[8] The project is an eight-track video which tells a story about the use and misuse of the land and rivers around the river system around Brewarrina.^[4]

In November 2022, he collaborated with other First Nations artists Emma Donovan, Emily Wurramara, Drmngnow, and Optamus to create a song in memory of Cassius Turvey, a Noongar-Yamatji boy who had died at the age of 15 the result of an assault by a random attacker when walking home from school in Perth, Western Australia. The song, titled "Forever 15",^[20] was played at Turvey's funeral on 18 November 2022^[21] and was released three days later on 21 November 2022.^[20][22]

In May 2023, Dobby released the single "Walk Away"" which critiques the constant dismissal and erasure of Australia's indigenous history and colonialism.^[23]

In December 2023, Dobby released "Dirrpi Yuin Patjulinya", the lead single from his debut album, Warrangu: River Story. This was followed in January 2024 with "Ancestor". Warrangu: River Story was released on 14 June 2024.^[24] At the 2024 ARIA Music Awards, the album won ARIA Award for Best World Music Album.^[25]

In 2024, Dobby was narrator for Baleen Moondjan, a work commissioned by the Adelaide Festival, created by former Bangarra Dance Theatre artistic director Stephen Page, performed on the beach at Glenelg. With music composed by Steve Francis, the performance combined contemporary dance, storytelling, and songs in English, Jandai, and Gumbaynggirr/Yaegl languages.^[26][27][28]

DOBBY raps with a band called Jackie Brown Jr.^[3] The five members of the indie rock and soul band^[29] met while studying music in 2013. In October 2018 they released their debut EP Over-Abroad, and toured the country during the following two months. The band members are:^[30]

• Madeleine Mallis (of Good Pash) – lead vocalist and saxophonist
• Rhyan Clapham (DOBBY) – drummer, MC
• Michael J Brady – guitarist and keyboard player
• Gideon Traurig – bass
• Hilary Geddes (of The Buoys) – guitar

DOBBY believes that hip hop music is a powerful educational tool:^[3]

Hip hop is a conduit to your story, and your own expression of self. No one can take that story away from you, especially when you shout those words out over a beat that leaves people dancing all night. Your entire story in 16 bars, 32 bars, it reaches their ears... In Australia, we use hip hop to educate, express, and bring people together. For our mob in particular, we use it to also empower and strengthen, and speak truths about injustices.

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual ceremony presented by Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), which recognise excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of the music of Australia. They commenced in 1987.

The Australian Music Prize (the AMP) is an annual award of $50,000 given to an Australian band or solo artist in recognition of the merit of an album released during the year of award. They commenced in 2005.

The J Awards are an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio station Triple J. They commenced in 2005.

The National Indigenous Music Awards recognise excellence, innovation and leadership among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander musicians from throughout Australia. They commenced in 2004. The National Indigenous Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises the achievements of Indigenous Australians in music.

The National Live Music Awards (NLMAs) commenced in 2016 to recognize contributions to the live music industry in Australia.

• Official website
• Clapham, Rhyan and Kelly, Benjamin (2019) "“I Got the Mics On, My People Speak”: On the Rise of Aboriginal Australian Hip Hop," Journal of Hip Hop Studies: Vol. 6: Iss. 2, Article 18.