Inkabee has made his triple j Like A Version debut, covering the Black Eyed Peas‘ 2003 hit “Where Is the Love?” — becoming one of the youngest artists to ever perform in the studio.
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The Noongar Wongi rapper from Boorloo (Perth), still a teenager, delivered a full-band take on the 2003 conscious hip-hop classic, leaning into its themes of global division and compassion with a confidence that belied his age.
For Inkabee, the song selection was instinctive. “Me and my mum were driving in the car and we already had our Like A Version song picked out,” he said. “But we were just listening to songs and ‘Where Is The Love?’ came on. We were listening and I just thought it’s the most perfect song for how the world is right now.”
That kind of instinct has been there from the start. Inkabee released his debut track “Beat the Odds” in December 2022 alongside his father, rapper and activist Flewnt, at just 11 years old. That debut attracted national press and radio attention and earned two West Australian Music Award nominations.
The pair’s subsequent collaboration, “We Dat Good”, went viral after a live triple j Bars of Steel performance racked up more than 10 million views online, introducing Inkabee to a far wider audience.
Inkabee has since accumulated the kind of resume that would turn heads at any age. At SXSW Sydney in 2023, Chance the Rapper introduced him on stage and called him “the future of Australian hip-hop.”
He has performed the Indigenous round of the AFL at Perth’s Optus Stadium in front of 60,000 people, played Vivid Sydney at the Sydney Opera House, and showcased at SXSW Texas. He was also named the triple j Unearthed High Indigenous Initiative winner, a program whose alumni include Genesis Owusu, The Kid LAROI and Hockey Dad.