"Meditjin" ( en, "Medicine") is a song by Indigenous Australian musician

Baker Boy Danzal James Baker (born 10 October 1996), known professionally as Baker Boy, is a Yolngu rapper, dancer, artist, and actor. Baker Boy is known for performing original hip-hop songs incorporating both English and Yolŋu Matha and is one o ...

featuring New Zealand rapper

JessB Jess Bourke, better known as JessB, is a rapper and former professional netballer from Auckland, New Zealand. She has released two EPs (''Bloom'' and ''New Views'') and won Best New Zealand Act at the 2019 MTV Europe Music Awards. Discogra ...

, released on 21 November 2019 as the second single from his debut album ''

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'' (2021). "Meditjin" was the recipient of various awards, including Film Clip of the Year and Song of the Year at the 2020 National Indigenous Music Awards and second place in the 2021

Vanda & Young Global Songwriting Competition The Vanda & Young Global Songwriting Competition is an annual competition that "acknowledges great songwriting whilst supporting and raising money for Nordoff-Robbins" and is coordinated by Albert Music and APRA AMCOS. The competition awards ...

, and was used in an advertisement for the

2020 AFL season The 2020 AFL season was the 124th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior men's Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season featu ...

. The Gabriel Gasparinatos directed music video was nominated for Best Video at the

ARIA Music Awards of 2020 The 2020 ARIA Music Awards are the 34th Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (generally known as ARIA Music Awards or simply The ARIAs) and consist of a series of awards, including the 2020 ARIA Artisan Awards, ARIA Ha ...

.ARIA Award previous winners. At the

APRA Music Awards of 2021 The APRA Music Awards of 2021 are the 39th annual series, known as APRA Awards. The awards are given in a series of categories in three divisions and in separate ceremonies throughout the year: the APRA Music Awards, Art Music Awards and Screen ...

, the song was shortlisted for Song of the Year.

Background

In a statement, Baker Boy said "Music is the best meditjin (medicine). It brings everyone together, makes you want to dance, love, laugh, vibe and feel and I wrote 'Meditjin' with just that in mind. It's about making people feel the music and expressing themselves."

Release

"Meditjin" was released for digital download and on

streaming services An over-the-top media service is a streaming media service offered directly to viewers via the Internet. OTT bypasses cable, broadcast, and satellite television platforms, the companies that traditionally act as a controller or distributors of s ...

on 21 November 2019.

Music video

The music video was released on 4 December 2019, and was directed by Gabriel Gasparinatos.

Synopsis

The video features Baker Boy rapping in his native language of Yolngu Matha as well as English, alongside six barefoot Dancehall Dancers and two members of the Baker Boy family. Baker Boy said: "The video for "Meditjin" was such an exciting process to work through, the concept blew my mind, so I was just so pumped we managed to pull all the elements together. The small things in this video make me so excited, like having my brother, Adam, and cousin, Tristan in the clip. It wasn't really planned but the timing worked out, so it was like 'why not', they were so excited too!"

Critical reception

Christopher Brown from ''With Guitars'' said "'Meditjin' is drenched in positive vibes and brings the raw energy of early singles such as "

Marryuna "Marryuna" ( en, "Let's Dance") is a song by Australian musician Baker Boy featuring Yirrmal, released independently on 6 October 2017. The song ranked at number 17 in Triple J's Hottest 100 of 2017. At the AIR Awards of 2018, the Baker Boy ...

", as well as the sound of the Yidaki (aka Didgeridoo) – an instrument that originated with the Yolngu and Galpu people of North East Arnhem Land."

Chart performance

The song peaked at number 1 on the National Indigenous Music Chart.

Awards and nominations

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 ...

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In popular culture

* "Meditjin" was used in advertisements in promotion of the

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2019 singles 2019 songs Baker Boy songs JessB songs Macaronic songs Songs about Australia Songs written by Baker Boy Songs written by Dallas Woods Songs written by JessB Songs written by Jerome Farah Yolngu-language songs