[Dr]illing in the name of: the criminalisation of Sydney drill group ONEFOUR

ABSTRACT

The criminalisation of hip-hop artists is not new. The focus of attention for police has tended to be on artists of colour (in particular) who include descriptions of violence in their lyrics. The sprawling multicultural western suburbs of Sydney Australia have become a fertile breeding-ground for a wave of drill rap artists, some of whom explore violent themes. This dynamic scene was kicked off by Pacifica group ONEFOUR. Popular internationally, ONEFOUR have been subject to prolonged police and media attention resulting in cancelled tours and untested allegations of criminality. This article uses a framework of musicriminology to explore the aesthetic and cultural elements of ONEFOUR's influence and infamy. It also places Australian drill music in its socio-historical and post-colonial context to explain why it has attracted censure. We suggest that ONEFOUR's brand of Australian drill represents a Western Sydney ‘other’; a population both under-represented (in terms a cultural voice) and over-represented (in the criminal justice system) (Ahmad, 2013). The dark aesthetic, unnerving sonics and bleak lyrics of some drill exposes the underbelly of post-colonial neo-liberalism and groups economically excluded and socially marginalised. It tells stories abhorrent to moral gate-keepers and creating an atmosphere of geo-spatialised and sonically-informed danger.

KEYWORDS:

• Crime and music
• criminalisation
• drill music
• hip-hop
• music and culture

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 Established in 2009, Strike Force Raptor is a proactive police operation targeting outlaw motorcycle gangs and related drug trafficking. It is known for its aggressive, invasive tactics, drawing social license from a public fear and distaste for Bikie gangs. Having severely curtailed these Bikie gangs, Raptor is now using its broadened police powers to investigate people without known gang ties.

2 The authors have viewed such correspondence from NSW and Victoria Police.

3 Specifically, 93X makes consorting a crime through the following:

1. A person (other than a person under the age of 14 years) who--

   1. habitually consorts with convicted offenders, and

   2. consorts with those convicted offenders after having been given an official warning in relation to each of those convicted offenders, is guilty of an offence. : Maximum penalty--Imprisonment for 3 years, or a fine of 150 penalty units, or both.

2. A person does not “habitually consort” with convicted offenders unless--

   1. the person consorts with at least 2 convicted offenders (whether on the same or separate occasions), and

   2. the person consorts with each convicted offender on at least 2 occasions.

3. An “official warning” is a warning given by a police officer (orally or in writing) to the effect that--

   1. a certain person is a convicted offender, and

   2. habitually consorting with convicted offenders is an offence.

4. An official warning ceases to have effect for the purposes of subsection (1)--

   1. if the warning is given to a person under the age of 18 years--6 months after the warning is given, or

   2. in any other case--2 years after the warning is given.

4 A Firearm Prohibition Order (FPO) under the Firearms Act 1996 (NSW) prohibits a person from acquiring, possessing or using a firearm, firearm parts or ammunition, in the interests of the public. A police officer of any rank and NSW Firearms Registry staff can nominate a subject for an FPO, which is made by the Commissioner of New South Wales Police. Once a person is subject to an FPO the search powers the police may use are extensive. Under section 74A:

1. The powers of a police officer under this section may be exercised as reasonably required for the purposes of determining whether a person who is subject to a firearms prohibition order has committed an offence under section 74 (1), (2) or (3).

2. A police officer may—

   1. detain a person who is subject to a firearms prohibition order, or

   2. enter any premises occupied by or under the control or management of such a person, or

   3. stop and detain any vehicle, vessel or aircraft occupied by or under the control or management of such a person, and conduct a search of the person, or of the premises, vehicle, vessel or aircraft, for any firearms, firearm parts or ammunition.

3. In this section, premises includes any place, whether built on or not.