Fledgling West Australian producer and rapper Arno Faraji has been crowned the 2017 winner of triple j's annual Unearthed High competition, which celebrates a decade of supporting the nation's finest school-aged artists this year.
Faraji — who only started experimenting with beat-making and rapping last year — has become the first hip hop artist in the competition's history to claim the grand prize, which will see the young muso flown to triple j's studios to record, mix or master his music and have it played on both Unearthed and the primary station.
The teenage talent earned the Unearthed High prize for his remarkably polished tune Destiny's, which music director Dave Ruby Howe says is immediate in conveying that "it's not your ordinary hip hop track".
"Yeah, Arno's raps crackle with intelligence and electrifying attitude but it's the self-produced futuristic house beat that elevates the track to another level," he said in a statement. "Damn, if it doesn't just creep down from your ears and propel your feet to dance.
"In Arno Faraji, we've discovered an extraordinary teenager who's only just beginning to tap the potential of his talent."
Faraji now joins the likes of previous winners Gretta Ray, Japanese Wallpaper, Asta and Mosquito Coast, among others, in the hallowed ranks of precocious performers who've been elevated to new heights through their victories in the competition.
Have a listen to Destiny's below, and stay tuned for whatever undoubtedly big things are in store from the Perth-based prodigy in the future.
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