“This video is a message to say, “Hey, we’re here, we’ve BEEN here and we’re not going anywhere!!” Personally, I feel it is the MOST important message … That’s how much this video means to me. It means VISIBILITY. It means being role models to our brown babies. It means acceptance. It means being different is OKAY.”

Leilani went to Samoa last year. This is her photo essay from the trip.

Omar bin Musa is an Australian-Malaysian poet, writer, rapper, screenwriter and our first international guest on Snacks and Chats.

He talks with us about the experience of growing up brown, Asian and Muslim in Australia and how learning about Muhammad Ali changed the entire course of his life - from learning to love his brown skin to discovering hip hop. We also talk about how he transferred feelings of fury and frustration into his debut novel Here Come the Dogs, and the pain he poured into his latest album, 'Since Ali Died'.

After we heard of the sudden death of Dolores O’Riordan, Shirl and I began reminiscing about our favourite The Cranberries songs.

We spoke with Jahra 'Rager' Wasasala shortly after she'd performed her solo 'a world, with your wound in it' and the group show ORCHIDS at the Tempo Dance Festival. She spoke about the come-down after performing such works following years of prep, the conflicting tension that comes with the question 'where are you from'?, the problem with terms like Polynesian and Melanesian, not being afraid as an artist, the challenges of training institutions for young creatives, her mantra ‘The world as a woman’s body’, the creative influence of her mother and much, much more.

Welcome to the first of RALLY's semi-regular music column: STRAIGHT SETS, by Shirlina Deans and Kristyn Vai. Definitely the best music column in the country, if not the world.