Wollongong artist Kid Pharaoh reclaims his history and avenges his people on ‘British Museum; a twisted fantasy of sweet revenge, striking back against his country’s colonisers. The latest track is out today via Farmer & The Owl / BMG.
LISTEN TO SINGLE HERE
‘British Museum’ tells the tale of an elaborate ruse to reclaim Egypt’s stolen artefacts from London and return them home to Cairo. The provocative and merciless single shies away from few issues discussing colonialism, cultural identity, and the restitution of displaced artefacts in museums abroad.
Kid Pharaoh comments, “The topic of Egyptian artefacts being held in countries such as England has always been a significant issue in the Egyptian community and became even more highlighted this year following the passing of the Queen. In the spirit of songs like ‘Sand Monkey’ and ‘Jesus Looks Like Me’, an issue of this scale that affected my community felt like a very Kid Pharaoh task to take on. It was crucial that the lyrics pulled no punches and put everything on the table, as well as making sure to weave in traditional Egyptian music throughout the heavy rap production to craft the perfect storm.”
‘British Museum’ sees rich Egyptian orchestration juxtapose colossal rap production akin to the recent ‘Sand Monkey’, as Kid Pharaoh again effortlessly fuses together the musical stylings of East and West.
On location at the Chau Chak Wing Museum in Sydney, the accompanying music video (directed by Kid Pharaoh) is filmed amongst the largest collection of Egyptian artefacts in the Southern Hemisphere. In conjunction with the museum, Kid Pharaoh will participate in consultation as a member of the Egyptian-Australian community in discussing cultural representation in the museum’s future exhibits.
Discussing the clip, “While the goal was always to film in a real museum, I highly doubted I would find one willing to take on a project that addresses the difficult issues that “British Museum” does. The Chau Chak Wing Museum in Sydney allowed us complete freedom to film in their space and it was incredible to be able to film authentic Egyptian artefacts for a video of this scale.”
Coming off the back of his highly praised Bigsound performances and teaming up with Akmal Saleh for recent release ‘Sand Monkey’, Kid Pharaoh has proven he is an artist to watch in 2023.
Out now via Farmer & The Owl / BMG, listen to ‘British Museum’ here
