Gold Voice is a no-holds-barred hip-hop outfit that hails from Bali and has been making noise on the Indonesian scene. Their recent video My Homies – which hones in on the corruption and injustices of government politics – has gained more than 100,000 views. Here we check in with Tyo a.k.a Big T Black, on what the crew is all about. Words: Ka Mau. Images: Anthony Dodds.
Who are the members of GoldVoice?
Me, Tyo . . . Big T Black, Dwik NK13, Oddy, Wira, Rovy, and DJ Juix Cobra.
How did you guys come together?
We came together in 2009 when we would rap at NK13 parties. We called ourselves Black Masker Crew back then. We met Dwik there and he had good rhymes, so we started hanging out and talking about things – life, politics and stuff. Then we decided to make a new crew together, with a new mission, so we changed our name to GoldVoice. DJ Juix Cobra joined us too. We all have different personalities, but our mission is the same. Hip-hop music is the minority music in Indonesia, but we want to make it bigger. We believe it can be big here.
What do you guys rap about?
Our lyrics speak about what goes on in our lives and in our country. Indonesia has a lot of issues to speak about – social issues, political issues, cool shit, stupid shit . . . we talk about whatever we feel.
Who are your influences?
Wu Tang Clan, Onyx, Jedi Mind Tricks, Immortal Technique, Army of the Pharaohs.
Why did you all choose hip-hop culture as your expression rather than rock or reggae?
Because hip-hop culture is what is in our hearts, it’s what has given us inspiration and let our imagination grow.
What projects do you have?
Our main project is just that the community knows what we are talking about with hip-hop music and can hear it all as a part music in Indonesia, Asia and the world.
You guys recently went on tour in Java, how was that?
It was a great experience. We got a great response and much respect in Java. They appreciated that we were very different from a lot of the rappers there, so we were able to be influential to them.
There are many young rappers in Bali now. What advice do you have for them?
We have a lot of respect for the younger rappers. We enjoy seeing them perform and get more involved with rapping. It’s good and interesting because hip-hop in Bali has been growing for a long time (mostly with b-boys), but just now there are many rappers. It’s good that people like Ka Mau from USA and Jack from England moved here and help the scene . . . and all friends from everywhere who come to Bali and support hip-hop. My advice to the young rappers is to keep progressing with your lyrics and creativity. Be smart when you make your raps and your songs.
Peace from GoldVoice.
