Diafrix Essentials

It’s a long way from Africa to Melbourne, but that’s the trip that rappers Momo (from Comoros Islands) and Azmarino (from Eritrea) have taken. The duo met in 2001 attending an Australian hip-hop clinic before making their recorded debut as Diafrix five years later, combining dancehall-inspired swagger with whip-smart lyrics detailing their experiences as Black men in a white society. The title track of their first album, Concrete Jungle, directly addresses Australia’s ongoing refugee crisis, while 2012’s “I’m a Dreamer”—featuring 360—finds hopefulness from within. The latter came from the duo’s pop-friendly second album, Pocket Full of Dreams, which also boasted guest spots from Stan Walker and Daniel Merriweather and a soon-to-be ARIA winner in producer Styalz Fuego. Both halves of Diafrix now work behind the scenes in music rather than in front of the mic, but the honest, engaging messages of their lyrics haven’t been forgotten.