Meriki Hood is a strong Aboriginal Kunai and Gunditjmara woman from the eastern and western districts of Victoria. She has been in the hip hop and urban rap seen for the past 10 years starting song writing and composing music at the age of seventeen. Meriki is my special guest to yarn about Share the Spirit festival that celebrates the survival of First Nations people in Australia held on January 26 – Survival Day
Share the Spirit is a community-based festival that celebrates the survival of First Nations people in Australia held on January 26 – Survival Day.
Created by Songlines Aboriginal Music in 2003, and growing stronger and stronger every year, Share the Spirit is an important cultural gathering for local and regional communities. It presents a reminder to all Australians that, despite the many great accomplishments Australia has achieved as a nation, Nationhood has come at a cost to the country’s First Nations people. The festival is a diverse showcase of First Nations music, art, craft and culture, and 2022’s stellar line-up is not to be missed. Christine Anu, Dan Sultan, Uncle Kutcha Edwards, Bumpy Hip Hop Showcase featuring: Philly, Bricky B, Miss Hood and Soju Gang.
We are also excited to welcome back our market stalls after a year without them because of the pandemic. Share the Spirit is a free, non-ticketed event that is drug and alcohol free. As with every Songlines event, we invite all to attend and offer a safe space for everyone. We look forward to Sharing the Spirit with you all! Event partners include Arts Centre Melbourne and City of Melbourne.
She considers her music as a way of reaching out to her people and showing them anything is possible when you follower your dreams. Meriki also met her best friend and father of her beautiful daughter Lyrik while performing on stage in 2003. She has completed over 5 years of music studies including business and management skills. She has complete two Songlines mentorship programmes and participated in Framework song writing and producing courses.
Meriki’s dedication to developing her craft also saw her completer her certificates 2 and 3 in music production and sound engineering. She has also co-hosted the Koori Survival and Hip Sister hip hop shows on 3CR radio station and coordinated countless music song writing and radio workshops from the indigenous youths and troubled teens of Victoria. Also working in the Dame Phylis Frost women correctional facility by teaching music is a therapeutic form of healing and self-expression through song writing, she has been strongly involved with the beyond the bars prison broadcast project for NAIDOC Week.
Meriki has been very committed to the Aboriginal community for the past 8 year participating in fund raising events and performing free support acts for the opening aboriginal organization and raising cultural awareness. She also likes to practice what she preaches by not drinking or smoking and voicing her opinion in two strong heartfelt songs based on the negative effects of drugs and alcohol and the devastating consequences that it has on the youth and young families today she definitely feels that this is a big step in the right direction for being a roll modal in the Aboriginal community.
Meriki has featured on Mr Morgz album and currently collaborating on Johnny Mac new album the Mac Hood Experiment. She has been nominated twice for the best Indigenous female artist of the year for the Bump Awards and Meriki has opened acts for the Yung Warriors, Alter Egos, Last Kinection and the well-known Outlawz. Meriki also performed at the after party of SnoopDogg Bone ThugzN Harmony and Ice Cube in 2008 she has been working closely alongside Payback records for the past 4 years.
With over a decade of experience under her belt she has definitely proven a force to be reckoned with. Meriki has been touring numerous times all over Australia with her amazing sounds and mixture of hip hop, rap, R’n’B and soul, she’s is certainly in her element when she’s on stage. Meriki is currently working on the all strong and sexy female group called Fatal Attraction with their fun party vibes and there no mess around attitude they are definitely turning heads and proving that they can hold their own in a male dominated industry.