If You Feel on Edge Listening to 3%, Good. That’s the Point.

Living day by day with a never-bite-your-tongue mentality is what makes Blak Australian music collective 3% incomparable.

Made up of Yuin artist and founder of We Are Warriors, Nooky, Noongar rapper and MC, Dallas Woods, and Gumbaynggirr singer, Angus Field, the group are determined to amplify the voices of their community that too often go unheard.

“I wasn't given this gift to go out and have fun. This gift was given to share and empower,” Dallas Woods told VICE.

Woods first worked with fellow 3% member, Nooky, on January 26th, Survival Day in 2022, where he performed at a We Are Warriors campaign event. Despite crossing paths prior, it made sense that the beginning of their working relationship – and imminent brotherhood – began on one of many days of the year where the fight for Indigenous recognition is most prominent. 

After identifying the similarities they share in life, it was clear that creating impactful and honest music together would become commonplace.

“We respected each other for what we do for our communities and the wider community of Australia. So we just thought, ‘Let's do a song together”,” Woods said.

“And I remember thinking we sound good, we have good chemistry. We don't come from a place of fakeness. What we're saying is very real. And I think that resonated with both of us. There are no ulterior motives, what you see is what you get with us.”

Nooky brought in singer-songwriter Angus Field, who came in with a youthful and tenacious energy that made the group feel whole. Despite a gap in age and experience, Field showcased a sense of urgency in the way he approached music, giving 3% the sonic push that it was missing.

“I got [to the session] and Angus jumped on a hook. I was just blown away with the voice and the attitude of him. And I think it was apparent at that moment that we had something here.” Woods said.

3% were born.

The group’s debut track “OUR PEOPLE” is a potent, brazen sonic display of thousands of years of colonial resistance. Sampling The Presets’ 2007 song “My People”, the group reinvented the track’s original message of calling out the government’s treatment of asylum seekers, to discuss the alarming and rising rate of Indigenous deaths in custody. 

Field’s vocals are dominating and hopeful on the song, soaring over the chorus and hook, creating a necessary equilibrium for both Dallas Woods’ and Nooky's ferocious delivery. 

“I want to start by giving The Presets big love for just how amazing, professional and understanding they were of what we wanted from the song, and how much they actually supported and championed exactly what we wanted to do from the get go,” Woods said.

“We sent it and they sent it back straight away and they loved it. When it comes to clearing samples or getting artists of that calibre to even acknowledge your song, the fact that it happened was such a blessing. It felt right. Having that support from the actual original artists let us know that we were allowed to do what we wanted to do.”

The group played their first tour through the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria Presents: Treaty Day in - 2023 Prison Tour over the course of November. Being part of Treaty Day Out  – a similar showcase held by the Assembly – 3% knew that playing these shows for mob inside would be unquestionable.

“We are the most incarcerated people in the world,” Woods said.

“Nooky and I have similar stories where growing up, prison was a normal thing in our life… But we'd also done so much youth work and had gone into jails prior in our own time, just to give back. That's just something we do.”

“A lot of the people inside were telling us that for an hour, it didn't feel like they were in jail. We had grown men crying because they felt the music that we were making was for them. And it is, it doesn't discriminate. Just because you're inside doesn't mean we're not fighting for you on the outside.”

Through those shows, 3% have been able to revitalise themselves with an indisputable drive and passion to keep up the fight. 

The strength and courage that binds all of 3% together has opened up a relentless push to keep being loud, keep being vulnerable, and keep educating. If you feel uncomfortable, anxious or confronted by the group’s message, then they’ve done their job correctly. Comfort only comes after effective action, and 3% are eager to keep putting in the work.

“We say it all the time – the Blak era is here,” Woods said.

“We're just gonna show that not only do we keep following the same footsteps as our ancestors, we're gonna make sure that the next generation can see the continuation of warriors and fighters and people that want better for our people. And we're just bringing everyone else along for the ride.”


Adele is the Junior Writer & Producer for VICE AU/NZ. Follow her on Instagram and Twitter here.

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