Brown Rich Boys are the latest in a string of exciting artists to emerge from South-East Melbourne, an area that hasn’t always been on the music map in Australia. However, thanks to the likes of Hp Boyz, and now B.R.B, the south-east of Melbourne (an area close to my heart) is set to start getting noticed on a national stage.

B.R.B look set to continue the trend of melodic R&B tinged with hip-hop production that the likes of The Kid Laroi, Day1 and Creed Tha Kid are currently popularising in both Australia and globally. They’ve got lofty ambitions, and they’re not going to hide it.

The video for Guard Down sees the group flexing in an airport hanger, seemingly highlighting the lifestyle they want to live. Even the name points to the shift in hip-hop in Australia that’s currently going on. It’s pretty obvious that despite this being their first recorded track, the group have spent their time since forming in 2018 honing their sound, and Guard Down sounds much more polished than their age, both as musicians and as an outfit, would have you believe.

It’s also a great sign to see Australian artists able to look abroad for their influences, rather than having to rely on what they’ve been exposed to here. B.R.B point to Canadian artists Tory Lanez and 88Glam as influences, proving they’ve got an eye on what’s going on globally. For a country that’s been in the past derided for having a homogenous sound when it comes to our rappers, it’s exciting that artists like B.R.B are able to put forward something refreshingly different, and there’s never been a better time to do so. There’s an Australian, and indeed worldwide, audience looking for a different sound from Down Under, and artists like B.R.B are providing it in spades.

Their debut EP Wake Up! clocks in at just under 10 minutes in length, and it’s merely a teaser of what’s to come from the group. The group says the title reflects what they want Australians to do when they hear their music. “Wake Up! means exactly that. We’re here. We’ve arrived. You can’t ignore it. There’s a new sound sweeping the country. A new wave. And now B.R.B, we’re playing a big part in that!”

B.R.B aren’t going to filter their ambitions to make themselves more palatable to an Australian audience that is in dire need of changing their attitudes towards hip-hop and RnB, and that’s worth applauding. There’s a new wave of hip-hop in Australia propelling Australia’s reputation on a global stage forward, and it’s about time.

You can stream B.R.B’s debut EP Wake Up! below. If you’re looking to see what the future of hip-hop and RnB in Australia will look like, you’ll want to give it a listen.