STREAM: Mau Power - "Island Home"

Torres Strait Islander hip-hop artist, Mau Power, reworks an Australian classic into an uplifting homage to his Indigenous homeland.

Mau Power is a force to be reckoned with. As a community leader, a hip-hop workshop facilitator with Desert Pea Media and UNICEF, and an ambassador for Indigenous hip-hop coming from the Torres Straits, he speaks to the synergies between Indigenous and hip-hop cultures with ease and confidence. Power's new album, The Show Will Go On, chronicles his autobiographical journey through experiences of incarceration, transformation and personal growth into fatherhood.

The lead single from his album, "Island Home", reworks the Warumpi Band hit from 1988 and samples Christine Anu's pop classic into an impassioned hip-hop tribute to his roots, homeland, people and relations. "Coming from the Islands", Power says, "I want to share our beautiful culture and proud history with the world. Yes I am Australian, but the Torres Straits are my heart, my soul, my love and the inspiration for much of my music."

The closing lyrics of "Island Home" distill the essence of Mau Power's music into a call for action and regeneration: "Unite the music / heart and mind reconnect / ancestors take me on that quest".

STREAM: Mau Power - "Island Home"

And keep an eye out for Mau Power's forthcoming single and video, "Freedom" featuring the legendary Aboriginal Australian artist Archie Roach.