On the Banks is a series of live concerts held on the outdoor Cultural Forecourt by QPAC. From February to March, On the Banks will bring a mix of international and local acts across a range of genres. On Sunday the 1st of March, I was in attendance for a show which featured Miss Kaninna, Oddisee & Good Compny and headlining act De La Soul. Having grown up in Inala with parents, uncles, aunties, and older cousins listening to music like De La Soul, Public Enemy, N.W.A and Tribe Called Quest this was not a performance I had planned on missing and, thankfully, I didn’t. In the search for some De La Soul, however, I found an artist who blew them out of the water. 

Shout-out to De La Soul, Good Company, & Oddisee, their performances were great and there are plenty of people that’ll write home about it. But, as a Blakfulla doing reviews for 4ZZZ, I’m only going to tell you how good Miss Kaninna was; because she was fucking great.  

Miss Kaninna was the opening act in Magandjin for a crowd that identified more with the name Brisbane. If you had the ‘privilege’ of talking with them, they seemed to be largely unaware of her music and what she was about -but as soon as they entered the gate, they quickly found out. To the centre-left of the main stage there was the Aboriginal flag displayed proudly across a table, which from a distance appeared to be standing all on its own. From how that flag presented itself to the audience, they knew that it wasn’t going to be some stock standard musician on stage. This was a Blakfulla with something to say; and speak she did. 

The first track that played was ‘Fuck Donald Trump’ by YG and Nipsey Hussle. A fitting track to begin the evening given the state of the world. Especially on the day that news broke of Israel and the United States’ collective bombing of an all-girls elementary school in Iran. 

It was by the end of this track that Miss Kaninna skipped out onto the stage with red hair and a black shirt with the words ‘we punch cops’ in white print. However, this staunch display of Miss Kaninna's politics was noticeably obscured in the framing of the photos that QPAC published. With a grin and an unshakable confidence, she proceeded to tell us where she stands as a Blakfulla from Tassie. Or as she would say, she began ‘talking her shit’. 

She said proudly that this place was not Brisbane but Meanjin (Magandjin), that she believed in a Free Palestine and repeatedly used the phrases that the Queensland Government would go on to criminalise only a few days later. She reminded this city of the predatory nature of the police towards our people – the oldest, continuous living culture. She then went on to thank De La Soul for offering their platform, as Black American Hip-Hop was the blueprint for the kind of artistic resistance to power that her music represents. As someone who grew to love rap for the very same reason, my appreciation for Miss Kaninna reached new heights at this point and it would only grow throughout her set.

‘Push Up’ was the first track performed and if not for her energy at the start, it would’ve been the track that fully sold me on Miss Kaninna. What I was most impressed by was her ability to cut between the melodic vocals on the chorus and the sharp rap verses on the track, all while dancing. There was a level of body and voice control that I could only admire, like I was watching an athlete playing and excelling in three sports at once. 

Next was ‘Dawg in Me’ which gave a glimpse into the playfulness of Miss Kannina.  She is an artist – staunch and fierce, yes – but not without a sense of humour. The live performance of this track heightened the humour and charisma of the original, forcing me to laugh and jump all at the same time. It was Miss Kaninna the person showing you the dawg in her, so you really had no choice but to bark back. 

The highlight of the set was the final track ‘Pinnacle Bitch’, which played after her newly released single ‘Mob Ties’, her most popular song ‘Blak Britney’, and her unreleased track with Kobie Dee titled ‘Look At Me Now’. Of all the tracks, each powerful in their own right, ‘Pinnacle Bitch’ was the one that hit the hardest. 

As soon as the performance began, you were captive to the rhythm of the bass. It was as if Miss Kaninna herself threw you into the passenger seat of a speeding car that you couldn’t escape from -not that you’d want to anyway. The energy produced by the rhythm and aided by the 808s, which cut the tension in such a way that it forced you to bob your head in agreement. Miss Kaninna gave another great vocal performance, sliding effortlessly on the track whilst asserting her signature edge and authority in the delivery of her lyrics. 

Overall, It was a great performance, which you could tell by the impact it had on the audience. They were laughing, dancing, and generally having a good time in the lead up to De La Soul’s set. But to this Blakfulla in the audience, Miss Kaninna was more than just a lead up to another artist, she was the main attraction. Upon reflection on that bus home back to Inala, I realised why. 

Put simply, there was not another artist that night, regardless of their legendary status, that could speak with the voice that Miss Kaninna brought to Magandjin.  Because it was a Blak voice reminding the people that there are Blakfullas right here right now who aren’t afraid to look at the world in its crooked eye and speak against it with humour, pride, authority and the full breadth of a Blak humanity. 

Shout out to Miss Kaninna for using her voice to let the people know that she is one of them and to On the Banks for letting us know about it.

Words By Kihi-Toka Bond

Images By Visual Poet Society via QPAC