Sitting down with your peers to write and produce a meaningful song about your culture can be a daunting task for any age group, but a class of indigenous boys here at Balga Senior High School have taken it all in their strides.

The class of Year 7 & 8 boys, along with their teacher Nik Culum and AIEO Reuben Yorkshire, have spent the past few months brainstorming ideas, writing lyrics, composing and recording a truly inspiring song.

Through the outstanding New Noise Program provided by WAM, the students got to be mentored by local indigenous rapper Josh “Flewnt” Eggington. Flewnt brought knowledge of culture and real-world performing to the group, sharing stories of his journey to where he is today. He was a perfect fit for the group and helped bring out the best in the students.

On Wednesday, 4th August, we had a film crew from WAM on campus to interview the students and record the benefits of having Flewnt mentor them through the New Noise Program. It was a great experience for the boys, and they got to perform the song live for the first time.

Nik Culum, head of music, was so impressed with how the final track turned out that he, along with the students, submitted the song to Triple J Unearthed. In the short time the track has been online, it has already received some high praise reviews from Triple J staff. The students penned the group name “Proud Noongar Boys”, and the track is called “Flip the Shame”.

Below you can listen to the track and view some images of the boys writing Flip The Shame and performing the song for WAM film crew.