Chloe Quayle (born 1995), known by her stage name Barkaa (stylised in

all caps In typography, text or font in all caps (short for "all capitals") contains capital letters without any lowercase letters. For example: All-caps text can be seen in legal documents, advertisements, newspaper headlines, and the titles on book co ...

), is an

Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia 50,000 to 65,000 year ...

rapper and musician. In September 2020, ''

GQ Magazine ''GQ'' (short for ''Gentlemen's Quarterly'' and previously known as ''Apparel Arts'') is an international monthly men's magazine based in New York City and founded in 1931. The publication focuses on fashion, style, and culture for men, though ...

'' dubbed her "the new

matriarch Matriarchy is a social system in which positions of power and privilege are held by women. In a broader sense it can also extend to moral authority, social privilege, and control of property. While those definitions apply in general English, ...

of Australian rap". and in 2020,

Triple J Triple J is an Australian government-funded national radio station founded in 1975 as a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). It aims to appeal to young listeners of alternative music, and plays far more Australian conten ...

listed her as one of the top 5 female rappers in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Early life

Barkaa was born as Chloe Quayle in 1995. Her mother was one of the

Stolen Generations The Stolen Generations (also known as Stolen Children) were the children of Aboriginal Australians, Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, Torres Strait Islander descent who were removed from their families by the Australian Gover ...

, and she had an uncle who died in

police custody Police custody may refer to: * Arrest An arrest is the act of apprehending and taking a person into custody (legal protection or control), usually because the person has been suspected of or observed committing a crime. After being taken in ...

. She lived in the

Greater Western Sydney Greater Western Sydney (GWS) is a large region of the metropolitan area of Greater Sydney, New South Wales (NSW), Australia that generally embraces the north-west, south-west, central-west, far western and the Blue Mountains sub-regions with ...

suburb of

Merrylands Merrylands is a suburb in Western Sydney, Australia. Merrylands is located west of the Sydney central business district and is in the Local government in Australia, local government area of the Cumberland Council, New South Wales, Cumberland Ci ...

as a child. She was known for performing rap at high school, and entered rap competitions in

Blacktown Blacktown is a suburb in New South Wales, Australia, west of the Sydney central business district. It is one of the most multicultural places within Sydney, Greater Sydney. History Before the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788, the area of ...

. She is a

Malyangapa The Malyangaapa are an Indigenous Australian people who live in the far north western areas of the state of New South Wales. Language The Malyangapa spoke a dialect of the Yarli language. Country Malyangaapa country extends over some with its ...

and

Barkindji The Paakantyi, or Barkindji or Barkandji, are an Australian Aboriginal tribal group of the Darling River (known to them as the Baaka) basin in Far West New South Wales, Australia. Name The ethnonym Paakantyi means "River people", formed from ...

woman.

Career

Barkaa takes her name from the

word for the

Darling River The Darling River (or River Darling; Paakantyi: ''Baaka'' or ''Barka''), is the third-longest river in Australia, measuring from its source in northern New South Wales to its confluence with the Murray River at Wentworth. Including its long ...

, and says that she feels very honoured to have been given permission to use this name to represent her people. Her music reflects her experiences with

incarceration Imprisonment or incarceration is the restraint of a person's liberty for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is considered " false imprisonment". Impri ...

, child removal and

addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to use a drug or engage in a behavior that produces natural reward, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use can ...

, with much of it overtly political; she has drawn from the words of Shareena Clanton and

Rosalie Kunoth-Monks Rosalie Lynette Kunoth-Monks (4 January 193726 January 2022), also known as Ngarla Kunoth, was an Australian film actress, Aboriginal activist and politician. Early life Rosalie Lynette Kunoth was born on 4 January 1937 in Utopia, Northern ...

in her songs. She first performed in front of an audience in 2019, at a Klub Koori event. She released her debut single, "For My Tittas", in March 2020. Her song "Our Lives Matter", released in June 2020, became the unofficial

anthem An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to sho ...

for the

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a Decentralization, decentralized political and social movement that aims to highlight racism, discrimination and Racial inequality in the United States, racial inequality experienced by black people, and to pro ...

movement in Australia. She has collaborated with DOBBY ("I Can't Breathe") and

Electric Fields Electric Fields is an Australian electronic music duo made up of vocalist Zaachariaha Fielding and keyboard player and producer Michael Ross. Electric Fields combine modern electric-soul music with Aboriginal culture and sing in Pitjantjatj ...

, and has performed at the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue Performing arts center, performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive b ...

Enmore Theatre The Enmore Theatre is a theatre and entertainment venue in Enmore, New South Wales, Australia. It was built in 1908. It is located at 118–132 Enmore Road in Newtown, in the inner west of Sydney's suburbs. It was first opened in 1912 as a ph ...

in Sydney and the

Sidney Myer Music Bowl The Sidney Myer Music Bowl is an outdoor bandshell performance venue in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is located in the lawns and gardens of Kings Domain on Linlithgow Avenue close to the Arts Centre and the Southbank entertainment prec ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. Her debut album, released on 2 December 2021, was ''Blak Matriarchy'', so named "in honour of powerful First Nations women who've paved the way for future generations", including her mother. The song "King Brown", which she says is about a "shitty ex" is on the album. The album was produced by jayteehazard. The ''Blak Matriarchy'' EP begins with a sample of actress Shareena Clanton. One of the standout tracks is "Bow Down", which was used in

Warwick Thornton Warwick Thornton is an Australian film director, screenwriter, and cinematographer. His debut feature film '' Samson and Delilah'' won the Caméra d'Or at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival and the award for Best Film at the Asia Pacific Screen Awar ...

's 2021-2022 vampire TV series, ''

Firebite ''Firebite'' is an Australian drama/horror television series featuring vampires created by Warwick Thornton and Brendan Fletcher. A co-production between See-Saw Films and AMC Studios, the series premiered on AMC+ on 16 December 2021 and r ...

''. Barkaa performed at the Paartjima festival on the 2022 Easter weekend in

Alice Springs Alice Springs () is a town in the Northern Territory, Australia; it is the third-largest settlement after Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin and Palmerston, Northern Territory, Palmerston. The name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William ...

. In August 2024, Barkaa announced the forthcoming release of her second EP ''Big Tidda'' which she described as "a celebration of Blak joy, the importance of Blak love and just feeling yourself." , Barkaa is signed to Bad Apples Music, which was founded by Briggs.

Personal life

Barkaa grew up with a single mother. She was addicted to

methamphetamine Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug use, recreational or Performance-enhancing substance, performance-enhancing drug and less commonly as a secon ...

as a teenager, and spent three periods in

juvenile detention Juvenile may refer to: In general *Juvenile status, or minor (law), prior to adulthood * Juvenile (organism) Music * Juvenile (rapper) (born 1975), stage name of American rapper Terius Gray *''Juveniles'', a 2020 studio album by the band Kingsw ...

, where she gave birth to her third child, a son, . She has been sober since, and has her children back. Her daughter Alinta often performs with her.

Discography

Extended plays

Singles

Awards and nominations

APRA Music Awards

The

APRA Music Awards The APRA Music Awards in Australia celebrate excellence in contemporary music, honoring songwriters and publishers who have achieved artistic excellence and outstanding success in their fields. Several award ceremonies are run in Australia b ...

were established by

Australasian Performing Right Association APRA AMCOS consists of Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS), both copyright management organisations or copyright collectives which jointly represent over 100,000 songwri ...

(APRA) in 1982 to honour the achievements of songwriters and music composers, and to recognise their song writing skills, sales and airplay performance, by its members annually. ! , - ,

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

, "We Up" (Chloe Quayle and Jacob Turier) , Song of the Year , , , -

ARIA Music Awards

The

ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...

is an annual awards ceremony held by the

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival Records (Australia), Festival, Sony Music ...

. They commenced in 1987. ! , - , rowspan="2",

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, ''Blak Matriarchy'' , Best Hip Hop / Rap Release , , rowspan="2", , - , "Blak Matriarchy" (Barkaa, Selina Miles) , Best Video , , - ,

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

, Barkaa ,

ARIA Award for Best Australian Live Act The ARIA Music Award for Best Australian Live Act, is a popular-voted award presented at the annual ARIA Music Awards, which recognises live performers. It replaces the previous category, ARIA Music Award for Most Popular Australian Live Artist ...

, ,

National Indigenous Music Awards

The

National Indigenous Music Awards The National Indigenous Music Awards (NIMA), also known as the NT Indigenous Music Awards from 2004 to 2008, are music awards presented to recognise excellence, innovation and leadership among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander musicians in ...

is an annual awards ceremony that recognises the achievements of Indigenous Australians in music. ! , - ! scope="row" rowspan="4",

, Barkaa , New Talent of the Year , , rowspan="4", , - , "King Brown" , Song of the Year , , - , "King Brown" , Film Clip of the Year , , - , "Blak Matriarchy" , Film Clip of the Year , , - ! scope="row" rowspan="3",

, Barkaa , Artist of the Year , , rowspan="3", , - , "We Up" , Film Clip of the Year , , - , "We Up" , Song of the Year , , -

National Live Music Awards

The

National Live Music Awards The National Live Music Awards (NLMAs) are annual Australian music awards, established by Heath Media in 2016. They were preceded by the AU Live Music Awards in the previous two years. The awards are given in categories that recognise the best ...

(NLMAs) commenced in 2016 to recognise contributions to the live music industry in Australia. ! , - , rowspan="1" ,

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

, Barkaa , Best Hip Hop Act , , rowspan="1" ,

Rolling Stone Australia Awards

The

Rolling Stone Australia Awards The ''Rolling Stone Australia'' Awards are awarded annually in January or February by the Australian edition of ''Rolling Stone'' magazine for outstanding contributions to popular culture in the previous year. The awards initially commenced i ...

are awarded annually in January or February by the Australian edition of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' magazine for outstanding contributions to popular culture in the previous year. ! , - , 2025 , Barkaa , Best Live Act , , , -

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barkaa 1995 births Living people 21st-century Australian musicians Australian women rappers Bad Apples Music artists Rappers from Sydney