Jacob Paulson (born 1997/1998), known professionally as JK-47, is an

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

rapper, musician, and activist from Tweed Heads South,

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. His debut album, ''Made for This'', was released

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

ly on 4 September 2020.

Early life

Jacob Paulson was born in 1997 or 1998 in

Tweed Heads, New South Wales Tweed Heads is a town in New South Wales. It is located on the Tweed River in north-eastern New South Wales, Australia, in Tweed Shire, next to the border with Queensland and adjacent to its "twin town" of Coolangatta, which is a suburb of the ...

. Paulson is a Minjungbal/Gudjinburra man of the Bundjalung community. He attended

Tweed River High School Tweed is a rough, woollen fabric, of a soft, open, flexible texture, resembling cheviot or homespun, but more closely woven. It is usually woven with a plain weave, twill or herringbone structure. Colour effects in the yarn may be obtained ...

for his

secondary education Secondary education or post-primary education covers two phases on the International Standard Classification of Education scale. Level 2 or lower secondary education (less commonly junior secondary education) is considered the second and final pha ...

from 2009 to 2015. He began rapping and writing music at the age of 14. In a July 2020 interview with the ''Tweed Valley Weekly'', Paulson discussed how he came to be a rapper, stating: "I have always been into rap since I was in

third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (d ...

fourth grade Fourth grade (also called grade four, equivalent to Year 5 in England and Wales, and Year 4 in Australia) is a year of Elementary education in some countries. In North America, the fourth grade is the fifth school year of elementary school. Stud ...

. My brother and cousin used to rap and so I always wanted to be a rapper... I like to keep it real and I like my music to have a message."

Career

2019: Career beginnings and "Came for the Lot"

On 13 September 2019, Paulson released his debut solo single "Came for the Lot", featuring Brisbane rapper Nerve. Later that month, he featured on Nerve's single "Sunday Roast", a song credited as both artists' breakthrough. At the end of the month, Paulson was Nerve's

support act A opening act, also known as a warm-up act, support act, or supporting act, is an entertainment act (musical, comedic, or otherwise), that performs at a concert before the featured act, or "headliner". Rarely, an opening act may perform again a ...

at Listen Out Festival.

2020–present: "The Recipe" and ''Made for This''

On 22 January 2020, Paulson was announced as a support act for

Adrian Eagle Adrian Eagle, born Adrian Naidu, is an Australian singer-songwriter. He is an ARIA Award winner and also a winner of two categories in the SA Music Awards in 2019. Early life He was born in Adelaide to a Maltese mother and a Fiji-Indian father ...

's Mama Tour in support of Eagle's EP of the same name. On 29 May, Paulson released the single "The Recipe". The track received frequent rotation on

Triple J Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greater emphasis on broad ...

and saw him become a

Triple J Unearthed Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian Radio in Australia, radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greate ...

Feature Artist on the station. On 1 July, ''

The Music The Music are an English alternative rock band, formed in Kippax, Leeds in 1999. Comprising Robert Harvey (vocals, guitar), Adam Nutter (lead guitar), Stuart Coleman (bass) and Phil Jordan (drums), the band came to prominence with the releas ...

'' revealed in an exclusive that New World Artists had signed Paulson to their roster and additionally announced an initial August release date for his forthcoming debut album. On 3 July, Paulson released the single "I Am Here (Trust Me)", featuring Phoebe Jacobs & Hazy. The song discusses

mental health Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental hea ...

and

Aboriginal deaths in custody Aboriginal deaths in custody is a political and social issue in Australia. It rose in prominence in the early 1980s, with Aboriginal activists campaigning following the death of 16-year-old John Peter Pat in 1983. Subsequent deaths in custody ...

. On 8 August, Paulson performed his track "Outta Here"

virtually In mathematics, especially in the area of abstract algebra that studies infinite groups, the adverb virtually is used to modify a property so that it need only hold for a subgroup of finite index. Given a property P, the group ''G'' is said to b ...

at the 17th Annual National Indigenous Music Awards. "Outta Time" was later featured on his debut album ''Made for This''. On 4 September, he independently released his debut album, ''Made for This''. In January 2021, Paulson performed at

Yours and Owls Yours and Owls is a brand and annual music festival that is held in Wollongong, Australia. It originally started as a coffee shop, then a gallery and restaurant space, then a music venue, then pop-up gigs, a record label, and now holds an ann ...

Festival. On 11 February 2021, Paulson performed a cover of

2Pac Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the b ...

's "

Changes Changes may refer to: Books * ''Changes'', the 12th novel in Jim Butcher's ''The Dresden Files'' Series * ''Changes'', a novel by Danielle Steel * ''Changes'', a trilogy of novels on which the BBC TV series was based, written by Peter Dickinson ...

" with Bronte Eve for

's '' Like a Version'' segment, alongside a performance of "The Recipe" as his original track. In March, Paulson performed at the

Adelaide Festival The Adelaide Festival of Arts, also known as the Adelaide Festival, an arts festival, takes place in the South Australian capital of Adelaide in March each year. Started in 1960, it is a major celebration of the arts and a significant cultural ...

's hip hop finale concert. The event had an all-indigenous line-up, featuring Jimblah,

Ziggy Ramo Ziggy Ramo Burrmuruk Fatnowna, known professionally as Ziggy Ramo, is an Australian singer. Early life Ziggy Ramo Burrmuruk Fatnowna was born to an Aboriginal and Solomon Islander father and a mother of Scottish heritage in Bellingen, New S ...

and J-Milla. On 1 July, Australian record company Waxx Lyrical announced ''Made for This'' as their "Record of the Month". Following the announcement, the company reissued the album on vinyl for a limited run of 150 copies. In August 2022, Paulson released "At One (reVision)" and announced the forthcoming release of his second studio album, ''Revision for Regrowth''.

Personal life

Paulson's partner Lauren gave birth to their son, Zuriel, in June 2020.

Musical style and influences

Paulson is primarily a hip hop and

Australian hip hop Australian hip hop traces its origins to the early 1980s and is largely inspired by hip hop and other urban musical genres from the United States. As the form matured, Australian hip hop has become a commercially viable style of music which i ...

artist. His music frequently discusses issues facing

Indigenous Australians Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

. Paulson's track "The Recipe" has been favourably compared to late American rapper

Nipsey Hussle Airmiess Joseph Asghedom (August 15, 1985 – March 31, 2019), known professionally as Nipsey Hussle (often stylized as Nipsey Hu$$le), was an American rapper, entrepreneur, and activist. Emerging from the West Coast hip hop scene in the mid- ...

, an artist whom he considers an influence. He also lists J. Cole,

Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. Known for his progressive musical styles and socially conscious songwriting, he is often considered one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generat ...

, the Game,

Joey Bada$$ Jo-Vaughn Virginie Scott (born January 20, 1995), known professionally as Joey Badass (stylized as Joey Bada$$), is an American rapper, singer, and actor. A native of Brooklyn, New York City, he is a founding member of the hip-hop collective Pro ...

, and

Lauryn Hill Lauryn Noelle Hill (born May 26, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and record producer. She is often regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, as well as being one of the most influential musicians of her generation. ...

as musical influences.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Promotional singles

Notes

Awards and nominations

National Indigenous Music Awards

The

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 ...

(NIMAs) recognise excellence, dedication, innovation and outstanding contribution to the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...

music industry. In

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

, Paulson was nominated for one award, which he won. ! , - ! scope="row",

, Himself , Triple J Unearthed National Indigenous Competition , , , - ! scope="row" rowspan="1",

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, ''Made for This'' , Album of the Year , ,

J Awards

The

J Awards The J Awards are an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio station Triple J and which are judged by the music and on-air teams from radio stations Triple J, ...

are an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

's youth-focused radio station

. They commenced in 2005. ! , - ! scope="row" rowspan="2",

, ''Made for This'' , Australian Album of the Year , , , - , Himself , Unearthed Artist of the Year , ,

Rolling Stone Australia Awards

The Rolling Stone Australia Awards are awarded annually in January or February by the Australian edition of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' magazine for outstanding contributions to popular culture in the previous year. ! , - , 2021 , JK-47 , Best New Artist , , , -

Concert tours

Supporting

* Mama Tour –

(2020)

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 1997 births Australian male rappers Bundjalung people Date of birth missing (living people) Hip hop activists Indigenous Australian musicians Living people