Hot off the back of his campaign to let Black students wear their natural hair to school, Aussie rapper/saxophonist/bad bitch JamarzOnMarz has dropped a new single triumphing queer love over institutionalised discrimination in the classroom.
The track “Tomorrow” fuses hip-hop, Afrobeat, jazz (JamarzOnMarz plays his own sax on the track) and South African electronic genre gqom, but most importantly, it just fkn slaps.
Set in a private school, the music video is a vision of Black students overcoming racist hair and grooming policies like the ones he experienced growing up.
It also features a bit of a romantic fling with his actual (straight) schoolmate who happens to be dressed as… a tradie. We’d expect nothing less from the dramatisation of a gay romantic fantasy.
“Growing up in an overwhelmingly white regional town, I didn’t have many peers who looked like me or who were openly queer,” the 22-year-old rapper – who is also one of our 27 Pedestrians – said.
“I rectified that through the casting, and lived my grammar school fantasy – being out and proud, surrounded by diverse and accepting peers, and embracing individuality.”
The track is also a huge middle finger to the criminalisation of homosexuality, particularly in Kenya.
That’s because JamarzOnMarz, who is of Kenyan and Sri Lankan heritage, spits fire about same-sex love in Swahili at the beginning of the track.
Ultimately, the video highlights the shit that so many Black students in Australia have had to go through when it comes to rigid, racist dress codes.
At one point, the principal even drags JamarzOnMarz to his office and attempts to shave his head with clippers.
When he himself was in school, the rapper always kept his hair as short as possible – completely different to how it is now – to abide by these same dress codes.
“Fingers crossed this video can influence at least one Australian independent school to stop discriminating against Black students with Afro-textured hair and protective styles,” he said.
So far, JamarzOnMarz’ activism to reform private school dress codes has been met with what are essentially non-answers from the NSW Education Minister and Attorney-General.
However, state Labor MP Rose Jackson did bring up the petition in parliament, which now has over 23,000 signatures.
If you haven’t already, you can sign the petition here.
