Baro

Faced with racism at an assortment of schools, he responded with violence, which led to suspension and harsh discipline. However, after picking up a Guitar Hero microphone at age 12, Baro’s gone on to tour Australia with fellow Melburnian rapper Allday, make the finals of triple j Unearthed High 2014, and he’s now gearing up to perform at Splendour In The Grass. To boot, his debut EP 17/18 has just hit stores.

Things are looking up for Baro, but he doesn’t forget the hardships of his youth. “Kids would say shit to me and I didn’t want to dob, so I’d try to deal with it then and there,” he says. Along with his erratic behaviour, by the time he hit high school, Baro was already obsessed with music, which teachers felt was to the detriment of his studies. “They didn’t like my character,” he says. “I didn’t like taking shit, so if someone said something to me and I didn’t like it, I’d get into a fight. The school encouraged me to leave. Then I went to St. Francis. That school was sick, but I kind of fucked up a little. So I got kicked out of there, too.”

When he was much younger, Baro watched Channel Ten’s Video Hits religiously at a time when Eminem’s ‘Lose Yourself’ clip was played incessantly. This sparked some rap aspirations, but he hadn’t yet dabbled with the craft. Things changed at 12, when his mediocre Guitar Hero abilities encouraged him to grab the mic, plug it into his computer and begin rapping over Drake beats. Two years later, he forked out $100 to upgrade his mic. He kept writing rhymes until, at 16, Allday’s manager contacted him on Facebook and proceeded to negotiate a deal with the fledgling rapper. He subsequently joined Allday on a sold-out Australian tour in late 2014. “That was one of the best experiences of my life,” Baro says.

While Baro had already done plenty of shows around Melbourne, this tour was the first time he’d ventured interstate. “It was dope,” he laughs. “I had so much fun. Some of my friends came. It was definitely really fucking cool. I was 17 at the time, touring. And my DJ is my best friend.”

The first leg of the Allday tour was particularly liberating, given the majority of punters didn’t yet know who he was. “I figured for the first couple of shows I didn’t really need to be anything onstage,” he explains. “You got to be whoever you are.”

Baro also entered the studio with Allday, which was the first time he’d been involved in a proper recording session. “It was one of the only times I’ve been to a studio,” he says.

Baro doesn’t have a go-to songwriting method, but he prefers to rap about topics he sees every day. “It’s whatever springs to my mind. If I hear a beat, I’ll get a vibe off it. I don’t really have set topics, just loose concepts. I care about vocabulary, though. I hate using the same words over and over.”

Looking forward, Baro plans to begin a DIY artists’ collective in Australia. He sees no point in keeping his ambitions modest. “We are already delving into fashion and videos,” he says. “We’re not just rappers. I feel like a lot of people aren’t really who they can be, and can be much more. I watched an interview the other week and someone said, ‘Everybody has the capacity to be a genius in something.’”