With the release of Baker Boy's new album 'DJANDJAY' fast approaching, the multi-award winning Yolŋu superstar has now unveiled his brand-new single titled 'THICK SKIN'.
From his highly anticipated second LP out on Friday, October 10 via Island Records/Universal Music, the new track is a defiant anthem of survival and solidarity.
THICK SKIN features a powerhouse Blak choir that includes Thelma Plum, Emma Donovan, Kee'ahn, and Jada Weazel. Born from the pain and frustration after the 2023 Indigenous Voice Referendum, the track confronts the ongoing presence of racism in Australia.
"It wasn't anger at the result as much, I think it was the way mob became a topic of conversation and motos like 'if you don't know, vote no' encouraging ignorance. It highlighted the everyday experience of being Yolŋu, being Indigenous in this country and that hit me hard," said Baker Boy.
The talented musician boldly leans into punk for the first time, while still rapping in his first language Yolŋu Matha.
"I had been wanting to explore the punk sound for a while and this felt like the perfect track for me to let loose in that space. It's not natural for me to express anger through my music, I have this reputation for positivity, but I think the punk inspired production allowed me to really say what I wanted to say," he said.
"It has let me express these feelings, express the anger, the chaos and frustration in a way that's new and experimental for me but also in a way that was really authentic, it just came out of me."
Baker Boy channels those feelings into vivid declarations of pride through powerful bars that mirror the colours and symbolism of the Aboriginal flag: "My pigment is my pride...red dirt, gold chains, Blak knight, thick skin".
The official video for THICK SKIN features strobe-heavy visuals, building to an unexpected, gospel-like moment of release. The final minute of the video is a powerful moment when the choir comes together, delivering with unflinching honesty and solidarity: "I won't be broken, you can't tear my thick skin, we'll always sing our song."
Directed by Aurie Indianna and Jordan Ruyi Blanch, the video is the fourth in a five-part visual series filmed within the historic Werribee Mansion. Once a grand symbol of colonial wealth and power built on dispossession, the mansion now becomes Baker Boy's stage for reclamation, its walls reverberating with voices and stories they were never built to hold.
As seen in the previously released videos for 'PEACEKEEPER' and 'FREAK OUT feat. Briggs and Haiku Hands', and 'LIGHTNING' feat REDD, each video occupies a different space within the mansion, progressively reclaiming and recontextualizing the colonial estate. Together, they channel the album's emotional, thematic, and sonic range.
Following the acclaim of his 5 x ARIA Award-winning debut album 'Gela', including Album Of The Year, DJANDJAY is Baker Boy's most emotionally layered and creatively evolved work yet. Named in honour of his late grandmother, DJANDJAY also pays homage to the Yolŋu spiritual figure of the same name: a guiding octopus spirit that leads souls forward.
The 14-track 'DJANDJAY' album will include previously released singles 'PEACEKEEPER' and 'FREAK OUT feat. Briggs and Haiku Hands', and 'LIGHTNING' feat. REDD. 'DJANDJAY' will also include features from friends and collaborators Pardyalone (US), and Jean Deaux (US).
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