L-Fresh The Lion

One such artist was Sukhdeep Singh, better known as L-Fresh The Lion. Singh is a Bankstown-raised and Melbourne-based MC who has earned a considerable national profile and cult international acclaim over the last few years for his fearless, intelligent takedowns of stereotypes and systemic racism. For Singh, appearing on 7.30 was a great chance to present himself to an audience that more than likely would have never come across him otherwise.

“It’s been a great way to engage in a mature conversation about politics and race in Australia,” he says. “Sometimes, when people haven’t heard of me before, they don’t necessarily listen to hip hop. As much as that’s a part of me, I think putting yourself forward in a conversation is really important. These issues I discuss, they’re human issues. A discussion is a great way to build an introduction. 7.30 worked really well on both sides of things – it served as an introduction to my music to people who hadn’t heard it, and it served as an introduction to my perspective and my politics to people who might only know the music.”

Of course, for every contemporary and fan who will sing Singh’s praises, the Sikh rapper has also had to deal with more than his fair share of online abusers and comment-section trolls. He remains incredibly calm when discussing the topic of his detractors, but there is an obvious weariness and exhaustion that says more than anger ever could.

“We live in a society with a real diversity of opinion,” he says, stopping short of calling out racism as just that. “It’s interesting when you’re discussing something like the issues of racism with other people. For me, it’s something that I have experienced my entire life. It’s one of those things where people can respond by either listening to what it is that I have to say, or by talking over me, making their mind up about me before I’ve even said a word. Some folk just have that immediate agenda. That’s when you get people responding in a really harsh way. I don’t come from a place of anger or hatred – I come from a place of genuine love for community and for the country that I was born and raised in.”

Singh is currently on tour in support of ‘Get Mine’, a new single from L-Fresh The Lion’s as-yet-untitled third studio album, slated for release in 2016. “I don’t want to give too much away just yet,” he says about the follow-up to his exceptional 2014 album, One. “I can say, though, that I’m extremely excited about what I’ve been working on and have a great confidence in these new songs.”

As far as ‘Get Mine’ goes, however, it’s more than enough to tide listeners over until the next record comes into play. Featuring the vocals of The Bombay Royale frontwoman Parvyn Kaur Singh (no relation), the song is a magnifying glass on the way people of colour and ethnic minorities are treated within Australia, with deep introspect complementing the call-to-arms message of the song’s wider thematic construct.

“The song specifically deals with race, and the video deals with the way that political language is used,” explains Singh. “We’re living in very challenging times – there is a lot going on with the immediate community. We’re in an age where ideas and issues are so easy to access, and yet they’re so often ignored. If there’s something I want to get across with this song, it’s about starting to think more deeply – not just what we’re involved with, but about ourselves and how we respond to things. Let’s talk about how we fit into the grand scheme of things and what roles we each play as individuals. It begins with me – first and foremost, these songs are reminders to myself, as I know I’m far from perfect.”

The tour has brought L-Fresh to several capital cities across the country, as well as a handful of regional areas including Wagga Wagga, Queenscliff and Toowoomba. Although there is unquestionably a stigma attached to regional and remote parts of Australia as being narrow-minded and rife with the ‘go back where you came from’ mentality, Singh maintains that he does not change who he is, or what he and his crew do onstage, to compromise or to tone down. It doesn’t matter if it’s the big smoke or the outback – what you see is invariably what you get as far as L-Fresh The Lion is concerned.

“We go wherever people want us,” says Singh. “When they invite us to be a part of their community, it’s something that we are happy to oblige with. Regardless of where we perform, we’re always going in with the mentality that we will never have this exact moment repeated. Who knows when or if we’ll be back? We just try and bring what we know – positive vibes, a lot of smiles and a lot of energy.”