Briggs (rapper)
Adam Briggs, known professionally by the mononym Briggs, is an Aboriginal Australian rapper, record label owner, comedy writer, actor, and author. Briggs became well known as a solo artist, signing with Golden Era Records in 2009, before co-founding the hip hop duo A.B. Original in 2016 with Trials from the Funkoars. In 2025, Briggs debuted a new hardcore punk project, Big Noter.
As a solo artist, Briggs has released one EP, Homemade Bombs in 2009, and two albums: 2010's The Blacklist and 2014's Sheplife. He has made appearances on songs with Hilltop Hoods, the Funkoars, Drapht, and The Last Kinection, as well as supporting a number of international artists. In 2015, Briggs founded his own record label, Bad Apples Music, which has signed several Indigenous hip-hop artists and houses A.B. Original.
Extending his career beyond music, Briggs has appeared in several television series on ABC: as a writer and actor for the second season of the sketch comedy Black Comedy in 2016; playing the role of Maliyan in the drama series Cleverman in the same year; and becoming a regular cast member on news satire program The Weekly with Charlie Pickering in 2017.
Early life and education
Briggs was born on 28 August 1986 and grew up with his family in Shepparton, a city in rural Victoria, Australia.He is an Aboriginal Australian of the Yorta Yorta people and the tribe name is tattooed on his forearms. His father was from Cummeragunja. He has stated in an interview with G&T magazine that the tattoo's purpose is "so every time I rock the mic people know that I am representing."
Briggs was a student at Shepparton High School and Wanganui Park Secondary College, where he briefly played guitar in a punk band prior to his involvement with hip hop. He also worked as a security guard at Shepparton's Yahoo Bar venue. Briggs explained in a December 2013 interview that making a name for himself in Shepparton, for a range of reasons, was not difficult and the area was actually a reminder of the larger experience that was open to him and the diligence required to become involved with a music scene that was more significant.
Music
2005–2009: Independent artist, ''Homemade Bombs'' EP
Briggs initially became attracted to American rap music, and formed a group named Misdemeanour with schoolmate Peter Shiels. After renaming the group "912", they performed a gig in Melbourne with Australian hip hop artist Reason. Briggs later recalled that Reason was one of the first MCs that he had heard rapping with an Australian accent. Upon seeing the 19-year-old Briggs perform, Reason invited him to join an Obese Records record label tour to undertake a role as the established artist's "hype man". Reason explained:
I was pretty taken aback by this... this big fella with so much energy and so much passion standing up there, proud of his... his world of Shepp, and rapping in a way that, you know, is so comparable to some of the greats, some of the more powerful MCs, you know, that I've followed over the years. And he was only 19 years of age.
Briggs then moved to the Melbourne suburb of St Kilda so that he could more easily access contacts in the local hip hop community. While in Melbourne, he struggled to pay rent with the social security benefits that he was reliant upon − Reason stated on the Message Stick TV program that this period was beneficial, as it provided Briggs with an insight that has assisted his growth since that time. Briggs later stated in December 2013 that sacrifice is the "cornerstone" of his career, and his time in Melbourne was greatly representative of the scant lifestyle that defined his time in the capital city.
Briggs independently released his first EP Homemade Bombs in 2009 with the support of a monetary loan from Hilltop Hoods' MC Suffa. The recording included the song "Bad Move", for which a video clip was produced, and a collaboration with Reason that is titled "My Priority".
2009–2013: Golden Era Records, ''The Blacklist''
The Hilltop Hoods signed Briggs to their Golden Era record label and invited him to be the support act on their 2009 European tour. Briggs accepted the tour invitation and the European trip represented the artist's first time overseas.Briggs' debut full-length album The Blacklist was released in 2010 on Golden Era and included the single "The Wrong Brother" that was inspired by an incident in which Briggs was stopped from entering a Shepparton pub by security officers, only to be told, "Sorry mate, we got the wrong brother." Suffa appears in the music video for the song as a record label manager. The album also included the tracks "So Dangerous", with Trials, and "I Wish". Briggs later revealed that he "didn't expect" the public's response to the album, which included a #3 ranking on the Australian iTunes hip-hop charts that lasted a duration of four days.
In October 2010, Briggs was the seventh MC to participate in the Rapper Tag series of videos that featured Australian rappers who had been "tagged" by Newsense.
In June 2012, Briggs was featured on the ABC Television Indigenous affairs program Message Stick. The episode included interviews with Reason, Suffa and Trials.
Briggs released his single "Rather Be Dead" on 27 July 2012 and uploaded a corresponding film clip onto his YouTube channel "BriggsTheMilkman" the previous day—as of September 2012, the video had received over 30,000 views. The single was added to playlists on Australian youth radio station Triple J—it was featured on the playlist of the Home and Hosed program on 26 June 2012 and then appeared on The Hip Hop Show on 2 July 2012.
Briggs initially announced the release schedule for his second album as late 2012; however, in October 2012, the artist revealed that this had changed to early 2013.
In addition to appearing on the Golden Era Mixtape 2011 and Golden Era Mixtape 2013, Briggs hosted the Golden Era Mixtape 2012.
In May 2013, Briggs and Jaytee launched a podcast available via iTunes. On 20 May 2013, Briggs used an image from the John Hughes film Planes, Trains, and Automobiles for a promotional post for the podcast on his Facebook fan page.
2014: ''Sheplife''
Briggs commenced the recording of his second album, titled "ShepLife", in 2012. Briggs coined the term "ShepLife" as a reference to the local lifestyle in his hometown of Shepparton. Briggs has used the hashtag "#sheplife" on Twitter, written a song titled "#sheplife" that appears on the Golden Era Mixtape 2012 and released beanies emblazoned with "ShepLife". In an online interview, he explained the intention behind the album in relation to that of The Blacklist:
It was a pretty aggressive record. I said to Jay when I was working on stuff for the ShepLife album, "If The Blacklist was the punch in the face, ShepLife is why I punched you in the face." Shep Life kinda like the prequel.
A promotional video for the title song of Sheplife was released on Briggs' YouTube channel on 19 August 2014—the video is directed by Oli Sansom and produced by Michelle Grace Hunder. The video consists of footage filmed in Shepparton, including sections in which Briggs is rapping in the back seat of a driving car.
Briggs' second album Sheplife was released on 22 August 2014 through Golden Era Records. The first single, "The Hunt", was released on 11 July 2014 and features a collaboration with Indigenous Australian artist Gurrumul. The corresponding music video for the first single was published on YouTube on 17 July 2014 and the two artists performed the song live for NAIDOC Week at the studios of the triple j radio station on 10 July 2014.
"Bad Apples" was the second single released from Sheplife and the corresponding music video was published on Briggs' YouTube channel on 27 August 2014. The video was filmed near Briggs' home town of Shepparton "at the crossroads just by the Murchison East Railway Hotel & Train station, an iconic and humble piece of history which sadly has since burnt down." In an October 2014 radio interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Briggs provided further insight into the song:
That's just how I think all the time. I'm just angry... all the time. That's not a one-off... But it's definitely not finished yet. I'm not done talking about that yet. And that's what's important to understand: with Sheplife, I've put a lot on the table, right? But, now that it's on the table, it doesn't mean there's a weight lifted off my shoulders. It's just that now I've put it on the table, it's gotta be talked about... So, the discussion is there—I tried to not "beat around the bush" with "Bad Apples" and that was my ultimate goal: to make a track that was "in your face". That was scary for some people. That did make some people squirm; make some people think. I wanted to put that fear back in hip hop. That voice, you know, that fist back into rap music, because I hadn't seen it in this country for so long.
Briggs released the music video of a collaborative song with Sydney-based artist Joyride on 9 October 2014. Featured on Briggs' YouTube channel, the video is co-directed by Briggs and the song is described as "all about skipping the honeymoon period and getting right into the plateau of the relationship—where none of the magic happens." Titled "Mike Tyson Love Thing", the song is produced by Western Australian artist Dazastah of SBX.
As part of a series of media appearances that occurred throughout 2014, Briggs was selected as an "IndigenousX" guest by the Guardian publication in mid-November. The IndigenousX series is based on a Twitter account—@IndigenousX—and the tagline "Our stories, our way". Guests are responsible for the series' Twitter account for a one-week duration, and are asked "to discuss topics of interest to them as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people"—Kaleesha Morris and Mark Ella are examples of previous guests. In his introductory interview, Briggs described himself as "An introvert with an extrovert's career." He used the account to live-tweet his reaction to the SBS documentary series First Contact about six Australians who are challenged about their perceptions of Indigenous Australians.
As a prelude to Briggs' second Sheplife remix competition, a "Squad Remix" of the album song "Golden Era" was uploaded onto the Golden Era Records SoundCloud profile on 27 November 2014. Featuring the Hilltop Hoods, K21, Funkoars and Vents, the remix was described as venomous by the Tone Deaf website, due to the lyrical content. Contestants are required to download vocals file, in addition to other material, from the SoundCloud page to produce their entry. The first "#KingOfTheTown" remix contest was for rappers and was won by Sydney MC Sarah Connor in early September 2014.