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Saudi Gazette
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Saudi Gazette
Donald Trump looms large over Australia's election
SYDNEY — In Western Sydney, an audience of Stetson-wearing Australians are sitting in their fold-up camping chairs, swigging beers and eating a spiraled fried potato on a skewer known as a 'chip on a stick'. People here are enjoying bull rides, barrel racing and bucking broncos. It feels like a slice of Americana in New South Wales perhaps — but that would miss the point that here, rodeo has become very much an outback Australian tradition in its own right. In recent months, politics here in Australia could be compared to watching a rodeo. Between conflict in Europe, the Middle East and more recently US President Donald Trump and his threat of global trade wars, every day has brought with it a sharp jolt that changes the dynamics of the campaign trail. Politicians, like these cowboys, have been thrown off course despite their best efforts. "Tariffs are great," exclaims rodeo fan Guy Algozzino, who's dressed in a cowboy hat, a waistcoat and a Western-style bolo tie with an engraved image of a cowboy riding a bull. "We should have had tariff protection many years ago — it looks bad now [but] America's fantastic ... Trump's the best thing America ever had.'' Other spectators are more nuanced. "It's going nuts," admits Jared Harris, when asked about world politics. "I'm just sitting back and watching. It's a bit like a show. It's quite interesting to watch, it's entertaining. It probably affects me more than I realize, but I just choose to ignore it."Australia didn't worry too much about President Trump's second coming when he won power back in November. The country had already witnessed a Trump presidency – and weathered it. Australia felt far removed from the shores of Trump's second term is panning out very differently. Tariffs — imposed on ally and adversary alike — have traveled the whole doesn't care about making enemies. But Australia does. People here pride themselves on 'mateship' – a value that embodies friendship and loyalty – and that extends to politics Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said as much when Trump initially announced tariffs without exemptions. This was not "the act of a friend," said Albanese, while he also committed to not responding in of this comes as the country heads to a federal election on 3 May. Candidates would rather focus on domestic issues they can control: cost-of-living, housing and healthcare. Instead, they are forced to grapple with a question that goes right to the heart of Australia's role in the world: how to deal with a US president as unpredictable as Trump?In the final few days of campaigning before up to 18 million Australians go to the polls, the Labor Party's Albanese, who entered power three years ago after promising to invest in social services and tackle climate change, went on a speedy tour of six states. That effort appears to be paying off, with the latest YouGov poll putting Labor on 54 per cent of the two-party vote, versus 47 per cent for the opposition Coalition (an alliance of the Liberals and Nationals). This is a modest turnaround from the beginning of the year, when Labor was consistently lagging the Coalition in polls."It's not the campaign either party thought they would be having," says Amy Remeikis, chief political analyst at the Australia Institute think tank. "The looming figure of Trump is overshadowing the domestic campaign but also forcing Australia's leaders to do something they haven't had to do in a long time — examine Australia's links to the US."The US-Australia relationship has perhaps been taken for granted in these parts. Australia likes the fact the US has long been a dominant military force in the Pacific. Australia relies on its funding and benefits from being part of alliances like Aukus — the far-reaching defense pact between Australia, the UK and the US, designed to counter China – and the Anglo-intelligence alliance Five rise of China has made Australia even more conscious about having the US on its side. Beijing has expanded its military presence in the Pacific, launching various military exercises in recent years — including one live-fire drill in February that saw Chinese naval vessels just 340 nautical miles from the New South Wales coast. Australia recently announced efforts to expand its navy and now hosts four US military bases — decisions fuelled in part by the rise of all placed extra value on Canberra's alliance with Washington DC — one that Trump may be throwing into in February, Trump held a meeting with the UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. He was asked whether they would be discussing Aukus."What does that mean?" Trump asked the reporter. After being given an explanation of Aukus, he continued. "We'll be discussing that ... we've had a very good relationship with Australia."When asked about Aukus during a meeting with Sir Keir Starmer, Trump appeared unfamiliar with the pact, asking: "What does that mean?"Australia collectively held its breath, then let it out in a big sigh of relief.A blip maybe — but an indication perhaps of how little Trump thinks about Australia right now. However, Australia, like much of the world, is thinking about the US."We don't have anywhere else to turn," says David Andrews, senior policy advisor at the National Security College, which is part of the Australian National University in Canberra. "We are physically isolated from everyone. As long as we've had European settlement here, we've always been concerned about the distance [and] isolation, which is why we've always maintained such a strong relationship with first Britain and then the US as the dominant maritime power."While only 5% of Australia's exports go to the US (China is by far Australia's biggest trading partner), the US still dominates the conversation here."This isn't a time to end alliances," says Justin Bassi, director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, a think tank. "That would be cutting off our nose to spite our face."And, perhaps counter to the majority view here, Bassi thinks that Australia should support Trump's moves."We should continue to make it clear that any measures the US takes against Australia are unjustified but we should welcome and support American measures to counter Beijing's malign actions — or for that matter Russia," he says. "Not to keep Trump happy but because it is in Australia's interests to constrain the adversary that is undermining our strategic interests."A poll published by the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper last month found that 60% of Australians felt Trump's victory was bad for Australia. That was up from last November when it was just 40%.And a Lowy Institute poll published two weeks later showed almost two in three Australians held 'not very much' or no trust 'at all' in the US to act questions on transnational alliances are not part of normal campaigning. But when Albanese and opposition leader Peter Dutton faced each other in their first televised debate, the first question asked by the audience was one on has long stressed that he would be the politician best suited to dealing with the US President. He often cites his experience as a cabinet minister during tariff negotiations in Trump's first term. But that strategy doesn't always serve him well."He went into the election telling people he and Trump were similar enough that they would get on better, that he was the sort of personality Trump liked," says Remeikis. "He's not repeating that now because people don't want someone to get on with Trump — they want someone who will stand up to him."Dutton has had to do some back-pedalling on comments he made earlier in the year. Back in February, after Trump said he had plans to eject Palestinians from Gaza, Dutton called the US president "a deal-maker ... a big thinker."And he has come in for some criticism amid accusations of copying the US president. He's talked about cutting public sector jobs, for example. And his Liberal party appointed Jacinta Nampijinpa Price as shadow minister for government efficiency, not too dissimilar to the Doge. But when Senator Price recently started talking about wanting to 'Make Australia Great Again' on the campaign trail, Dutton avoided questions over the of course has to tread a careful line too. In a world that's being turned upside down, he's trying to reassure people he's a safe pair of hands; that those alliances may turn out to be in his some analysts say that Trump's conduct may be helping Albanese, with voters rushing to support the incumbent during a time of perceived crisis. Just a few months ago, Labor's re-election was thought unlikely as it consistently polled behind the Coalition. But the final YouGov polling model of the election, published a few days ago, predicted that Labor will win 84 of the 150 seats in the House of Representatives — an increased Professor Gordon Flake, CEO at Perth USAsia Centre, a think tank, it paints a stark parallel with this week's election result in Canada — in which the Liberal Party won re-election by riding a backlash of anti-Trump sentiment."What we have seen in Canada has been a dramatic shift back towards the incumbent government and that is a rallying around the flag based on attacks on that country," he says."The attacks on Australia haven't been as severe so it's not the same degree, but at the same time you're also seeing a rallying around the current Labor government. Six months ago you thought their re-election would be unlikely; today on the cusp of the election here in Australia, it seems more likely than not — and one of the important factors in that has been developments in Washington DC. "But whoever wins, they will have a big job on their hands to navigate Australia's future with its allies."We have to make do with the hand we've been dealt," says Andrews. "I expect that we are going to have to be much more ruthlessly self-interested and that's not comfortable because our foreign policy has generally been based around cooperation, collaboration and multilateralism – so that shared sense of threat that middle powers have of working together to maximise their output."Back at the rodeo, the sun's gone down, the cheerleaders are out and the audience gets ready to watch bucking broncos – the riders shortly afterwards holding on to their steer for as long as possible before being violently thrown to the above the arena are the flags of Canada and the US, alongside Australia, New Zealand and Brazil. There may not be much of a team spirit among allies right now — but voters here will be keen to see how their next leader rides out the storm. — BBC
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Donald Trump is looming over Australia's election
In Western Sydney, an audience of Stetson-wearing Australians are sitting in their fold-up camping chairs, swigging beers and eating a spiralled fried potato on a skewer known as a 'chip on a stick'. People here are enjoying bull rides, barrel racing and bucking broncos. It feels like a slice of Americana in New South Wales perhaps - but that would miss the point that here, rodeo has become very much an outback Australian tradition in its own right. In recent months, politics here in Australia could be compared to watching a rodeo. Between conflict in Europe, the Middle East and more recently US President Donald Trump and his threat of global trade wars, every day has brought with it a sharp jolt that changes the dynamics of the campaign trail. Politicians, like these cowboys, have been thrown off course despite their best efforts. "Tariffs are great," exclaims rodeo fan Guy Algozzino, who's dressed in a cowboy hat, a waistcoat and a Western-style bolo tie with an engraved image of a cowboy riding a bull. "We should have had tariff protection many years ago - it looks bad now [but] America's fantastic … Trump's the best thing America ever had.'' Other spectators are more nuanced. "It's going nuts," admits Jared Harris, when asked about world politics. "I'm just sitting back and watching. It's a bit like a show. It's quite interesting to watch, it's entertaining. It probably affects me more than I realise, but I just choose to ignore it." Australia didn't worry too much about President Trump's second coming when he won power back in November. The country had already witnessed a Trump presidency – and weathered it. Australia felt far removed from the shores of America. But Trump's second term is panning out very differently. Tariffs - imposed on ally and adversary alike - have travelled the whole world. Trump doesn't care about making enemies. But Australia does. People here pride themselves on 'mateship' – a value that embodies friendship and loyalty – and that extends to politics too. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said as much when Trump initially announced tariffs without exemptions. This was not "the act of a friend," said Albanese, while he also committed to not responding in kind. All of this comes as the country heads to a federal election on 3 May. Candidates would rather focus on domestic issues they can control: cost-of-living, housing and healthcare. Instead, they are forced to grapple with a question that goes right to the heart of Australia's role in the world: how to deal with a US president as unpredictable as Trump? In the final few days of campaigning before up to 18 million Australians go to the polls, the Labor Party's Albanese, who entered power three years ago after promising to invest in social services and tackle climate change, went on a speedy tour of six states. That effort appears to be paying off, with the latest YouGov poll putting Labor on 54 per cent of the two-party vote, versus 47 per cent for the opposition Coalition (an alliance of the Liberals and Nationals). This is a modest turnaround from the beginning of the year, when Labor was consistently lagging the Coalition in polls. "It's not the campaign either party thought they would be having," says Amy Remeikis, chief political analyst at the Australia Institute think tank. "The looming figure of Trump is overshadowing the domestic campaign but also forcing Australia's leaders to do something they haven't had to do in a long time - examine Australia's links to the US." The US-Australia relationship has perhaps been taken for granted in these parts. Australia likes the fact the US has long been a dominant military force in the Pacific. Australia relies on its funding and benefits from being part of alliances like Aukus - the far-reaching defence pact between Australia, the UK and the US, designed to counter China – and the Anglo-intelligence alliance Five Eyes. The rise of China has made Australia even more conscious about having the US on its side. Beijing has expanded its military presence in the Pacific, launching various military exercises in recent years - including one live-fire drill in February that saw Chinese naval vessels just 340 nautical miles from the New South Wales coast. Australia recently announced efforts to expand its navy and now hosts four US military bases - decisions fuelled in part by the rise of China. It's all placed extra value on Canberra's alliance with Washington DC - one that Trump may be throwing into doubt. Back in February, Trump held a meeting with the UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. He was asked whether they would be discussing Aukus. "What does that mean?" Trump asked the reporter. After being given an explanation of Aukus, he continued. "We'll be discussing that … we've had a very good relationship with Australia." Australia collectively held its breath, then let it out in a big sigh of relief. A blip maybe - but an indication perhaps of how little Trump thinks about Australia right now. However, Australia, like much of the world, is thinking about the US. "We don't have anywhere else to turn," says David Andrews, senior policy advisor at the National Security College, which is part of the Australian National University in Canberra. "We are physically isolated from everyone. As long as we've had European settlement here, we've always been concerned about the distance [and] isolation, which is why we've always maintained such a strong relationship with first Britain and then the US as the dominant maritime power." While only 5% of Australia's exports go to the US (China is by far Australia's biggest trading partner), the US still dominates the conversation here. "This isn't a time to end alliances," says Justin Bassi, director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, a think tank. "That would be cutting off our nose to spite our face." And, perhaps counter to the majority view here, Bassi thinks that Australia should support Trump's moves. "We should continue to make it clear that any measures the US takes against Australia are unjustified but we should welcome and support American measures to counter Beijing's malign actions - or for that matter Russia," he says. "Not to keep Trump happy but because it is in Australia's interests to constrain the adversary that is undermining our strategic interests." A poll published by the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper last month found that 60% of Australians felt Trump's victory was bad for Australia. That was up from last November when it was just 40%. And a Lowy Institute poll published two weeks later showed almost two in three Australians held 'not very much' or no trust 'at all' in the US to act responsibly. Big questions on transnational alliances are not part of normal campaigning. But when Albanese and opposition leader Peter Dutton faced each other in their first televised debate, the first question asked by the audience was one on Trump. Dutton has long stressed that he would be the politician best suited to dealing with the US President. He often cites his experience as a cabinet minister during tariff negotiations in Trump's first term. But that strategy doesn't always serve him well. "He went into the election telling people he and Trump were similar enough that they would get on better, that he was the sort of personality Trump liked," says Remeikis. "He's not repeating that now because people don't want someone to get on with Trump - they want someone who will stand up to him." Dutton has had to do some back-pedalling on comments he made earlier in the year. Back in February, after Trump said he had plans to eject Palestinians from Gaza, Dutton called the US president "a deal-maker … a big thinker." And he has come in for some criticism amid accusations of copying the US president. He's talked about cutting public sector jobs, for example. And his Liberal party appointed Jacinta Nampijinpa Price as shadow minister for government efficiency, not too dissimilar to the Doge. But when Senator Price recently started talking about wanting to 'Make Australia Great Again' on the campaign trail, Dutton avoided questions over the comments. Albanese of course has to tread a careful line too. In a world that's being turned upside down, he's trying to reassure people he's a safe pair of hands; that those alliances remain. That may turn out to be in his favour. Indeed, some analysts say that Trump's conduct may be helping Albanese, with voters rushing to support the incumbent during a time of perceived crisis. Just a few months ago, Labor's re-election was thought unlikely as it consistently polled behind the Coalition. But the final YouGov polling model of the election, published a few days ago, predicted that Labor will win 84 of the 150 seats in the House of Representatives - an increased majority. For Professor Gordon Flake, CEO at Perth USAsia Centre, a think tank, it paints a stark parallel with this week's election result in Canada - in which the Liberal Party won re-election by riding a backlash of anti-Trump sentiment. "What we have seen in Canada has been a dramatic shift back towards the incumbent government and that is a rallying around the flag based on attacks on that country," he says. "The attacks on Australia haven't been as severe so it's not the same degree, but at the same time you're also seeing a rallying around the current Labor government. Six months ago you thought their re-election would be unlikely; today on the cusp of the election here in Australia, it seems more likely than not - and one of the important factors in that has been developments in Washington DC. " But whoever wins, they will have a big job on their hands to navigate Australia's future with its allies. "We have to make do with the hand we've been dealt," says Andrews. "I expect that we are going to have to be much more ruthlessly self-interested and that's not comfortable because our foreign policy has generally been based around cooperation, collaboration and multilateralism – so that shared sense of threat that middle powers have of working together to maximise their output." Back at the rodeo, the sun's gone down, the cheerleaders are out and the audience gets ready to watch bucking broncos – the riders shortly afterwards holding on to their steer for as long as possible before being violently thrown to the ground. Flying above the arena are the flags of Canada and the US, alongside Australia, New Zealand and Brazil. There may not be much of a team spirit among allies right now - but voters here will be keen to see how their next leader rides out the storm. Xi's real test is not Trump's trade war There are signs Trump could be ready to retreat on tariffs Will this be the 'anyone but the big parties' local election? BBC InDepth is the home on the website and app for the best analysis, with fresh perspectives that challenge assumptions and deep reporting on the biggest issues of the day. And we showcase thought-provoking content from across BBC Sounds and iPlayer too. You can send us your feedback on the InDepth section by clicking on the button below.
BBC News
01-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Donald Trump is looming over Australia's election
In Western Sydney, an audience of Stetson-wearing Australians are sitting in their fold-up camping chairs, swigging beers and eating a spiralled fried potato on a skewer known as a 'chip on a stick'.People here are enjoying bull rides, barrel racing and bucking broncos. It feels like a slice of Americana in New South Wales perhaps - but that would miss the point that here, rodeo has become very much an outback Australian tradition in its own recent months, politics here in Australia could be compared to watching a rodeo. Between conflict in Europe, the Middle East and more recently US President Donald Trump and his threat of global trade wars, every day has brought with it a sharp jolt that changes the dynamics of the campaign trail. Politicians, like these cowboys, have been thrown off course despite their best efforts. "Tariffs are great," exclaims rodeo fan Guy Algozzino, who's dressed in a cowboy hat, a waistcoat and a Western-style bolo tie with an engraved image of a cowboy riding a bull. "We should have had tariff protection many years ago - it looks bad now [but] America's fantastic … Trump's the best thing America ever had.''Other spectators are more nuanced."It's going nuts," admits Jared Harris, when asked about world politics. "I'm just sitting back and watching. It's a bit like a show. It's quite interesting to watch, it's entertaining. It probably affects me more than I realise, but I just choose to ignore it." Australia didn't worry too much about President Trump's second coming when he won power back in November. The country had already witnessed a Trump presidency – and weathered it. Australia felt far removed from the shores of Trump's second term is panning out very differently. Tariffs - imposed on ally and adversary alike - have travelled the whole world. Trump doesn't care about making enemies. But Australia does. People here pride themselves on 'mateship' – a value that embodies friendship and loyalty – and that extends to politics Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said as much when Trump initially announced tariffs without exemptions. This was not "the act of a friend," said Albanese, while he also committed to not responding in kind. All of this comes as the country heads to a federal election on 3 May. Candidates would rather focus on domestic issues they can control: cost-of-living, housing and healthcare. Instead, they are forced to grapple with a question that goes right to the heart of Australia's role in the world: how to deal with a US president as unpredictable as Trump? 'Nowhere else to turn' In the final few days of campaigning before up to 18 million Australians go to the polls, the Labor Party's Albanese, who entered power three years ago after promising to invest in social services and tackle climate change, went on a speedy tour of six states. That effort appears to be paying off, with the latest YouGov poll putting Labor on 54 per cent of the two-party vote, versus 47 per cent for the opposition Coalition (an alliance of the Liberals and Nationals). This is a modest turnaround from the beginning of the year, when Labor was consistently lagging the Coalition in polls."It's not the campaign either party thought they would be having," says Amy Remeikis, chief political analyst at the Australia Institute think tank. "The looming figure of Trump is overshadowing the domestic campaign but also forcing Australia's leaders to do something they haven't had to do in a long time - examine Australia's links to the US." The US-Australia relationship has perhaps been taken for granted in these parts. Australia likes the fact the US has long been a dominant military force in the Pacific. Australia relies on its funding and benefits from being part of alliances like Aukus - the far-reaching defence pact between Australia, the UK and the US, designed to counter China – and the Anglo-intelligence alliance Five rise of China has made Australia even more conscious about having the US on its side. Beijing has expanded its military presence in the Pacific, launching various military exercises in recent years - including one live-fire drill in February that saw Chinese naval vessels just 340 nautical miles from the New South Wales coast. Australia recently announced efforts to expand its navy and now hosts four US military bases - decisions fuelled in part by the rise of all placed extra value on Canberra's alliance with Washington DC - one that Trump may be throwing into in February, Trump held a meeting with the UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. He was asked whether they would be discussing Aukus."What does that mean?" Trump asked the reporter. After being given an explanation of Aukus, he continued. "We'll be discussing that … we've had a very good relationship with Australia." Australia collectively held its breath, then let it out in a big sigh of relief.A blip maybe - but an indication perhaps of how little Trump thinks about Australia right now. However, Australia, like much of the world, is thinking about the US."We don't have anywhere else to turn," says David Andrews, senior policy advisor at the National Security College, which is part of the Australian National University in Canberra. "We are physically isolated from everyone. As long as we've had European settlement here, we've always been concerned about the distance [and] isolation, which is why we've always maintained such a strong relationship with first Britain and then the US as the dominant maritime power."While only 5% of Australia's exports go to the US (China is by far Australia's biggest trading partner), the US still dominates the conversation here. "This isn't a time to end alliances," says Justin Bassi, director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, a think tank. "That would be cutting off our nose to spite our face."And, perhaps counter to the majority view here, Bassi thinks that Australia should support Trump's moves."We should continue to make it clear that any measures the US takes against Australia are unjustified but we should welcome and support American measures to counter Beijing's malign actions - or for that matter Russia," he says. "Not to keep Trump happy but because it is in Australia's interests to constrain the adversary that is undermining our strategic interests."A poll published by the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper last month found that 60% of Australians felt Trump's victory was bad for Australia. That was up from last November when it was just 40%.And a Lowy Institute poll published two weeks later showed almost two in three Australians held 'not very much' or no trust 'at all' in the US to act responsibly. An election upended Big questions on transnational alliances are not part of normal campaigning. But when Albanese and opposition leader Peter Dutton faced each other in their first televised debate, the first question asked by the audience was one on has long stressed that he would be the politician best suited to dealing with the US President. He often cites his experience as a cabinet minister during tariff negotiations in Trump's first term. But that strategy doesn't always serve him well. "He went into the election telling people he and Trump were similar enough that they would get on better, that he was the sort of personality Trump liked," says Remeikis. "He's not repeating that now because people don't want someone to get on with Trump - they want someone who will stand up to him."Dutton has had to do some back-pedalling on comments he made earlier in the year. Back in February, after Trump said he had plans to eject Palestinians from Gaza, Dutton called the US president "a deal-maker … a big thinker."And he has come in for some criticism amid accusations of copying the US president. He's talked about cutting public sector jobs, for example. And his Liberal party appointed Jacinta Nampijinpa Price as shadow minister for government efficiency, not too dissimilar to the Doge. But when Senator Price recently started talking about wanting to 'Make Australia Great Again' on the campaign trail, Dutton avoided questions over the of course has to tread a careful line too. In a world that's being turned upside down, he's trying to reassure people he's a safe pair of hands; that those alliances may turn out to be in his favour. Indeed, some analysts say that Trump's conduct may be helping Albanese, with voters rushing to support the incumbent during a time of perceived crisis. Just a few months ago, Labor's re-election was thought unlikely as it consistently polled behind the Coalition. But the final YouGov polling model of the election, published a few days ago, predicted that Labor will win 84 of the 150 seats in the House of Representatives - an increased Professor Gordon Flake, CEO at Perth USAsia Centre, a think tank, it paints a stark parallel with this week's election result in Canada - in which the Liberal Party won re-election by riding a backlash of anti-Trump sentiment."What we have seen in Canada has been a dramatic shift back towards the incumbent government and that is a rallying around the flag based on attacks on that country," he says. "The attacks on Australia haven't been as severe so it's not the same degree, but at the same time you're also seeing a rallying around the current Labor government. Six months ago you thought their re-election would be unlikely; today on the cusp of the election here in Australia, it seems more likely than not - and one of the important factors in that has been developments in Washington DC. " But whoever wins, they will have a big job on their hands to navigate Australia's future with its allies."We have to make do with the hand we've been dealt," says Andrews. "I expect that we are going to have to be much more ruthlessly self-interested and that's not comfortable because our foreign policy has generally been based around cooperation, collaboration and multilateralism – so that shared sense of threat that middle powers have of working together to maximise their output."Back at the rodeo, the sun's gone down, the cheerleaders are out and the audience gets ready to watch bucking broncos – the riders shortly afterwards holding on to their steer for as long as possible before being violently thrown to the ground. Flying above the arena are the flags of Canada and the US, alongside Australia, New Zealand and Brazil. There may not be much of a team spirit among allies right now - but voters here will be keen to see how their next leader rides out the storm. BBC InDepth is the home on the website and app for the best analysis, with fresh perspectives that challenge assumptions and deep reporting on the biggest issues of the day. And we showcase thought-provoking content from across BBC Sounds and iPlayer too. You can send us your feedback on the InDepth section by clicking on the button below.
National Geographic
08-03-2025
- Entertainment
- National Geographic
Meet the female rappers carving out a home in Nashville, America's Music City
In America's country music capital, a new generation is stepping out from the shadows of its beloved honky-tonks. Meet the trailblazing female rappers singing 'Music City' a different song. This article was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK). It's early evening in Nashville and classic country music drifts from the doorway of a nearby honky-tonk bar. Peeking inside the dingy dive, I see a four- piece band in matching western-wear owning the stage. Their rhinestone costumes dazzle under the spotlights as they serenade the crowd, who look amped for a night of serious two-stepping. For me it's too early to start line dancing, so I continue strolling along Lower Broadway — commonly known as Honky Tonk Highway — past a chorus of Stetson-wearing revellers and glowing neon signs shaped like cowboys and giant guitars. At first glimpse of the thronging streets of Tennessee's capital, it would be easy to write this city off as a stuck record, playing heartbreak songs on repeat. Yet I'm here to meet a new wave of musical talent — the south's female rappers, who are picking up the mic and bringing greater diversity to its hallowed music scene. Nashville's influence on America's music heritage runs deep. Photograph by Adina Olteanu, Getty Images Nashville has been a nerve centre of America's music industry since the 1800s, home to major songwriting publishing houses and recording studios. It was a Black choir who helped earn Nashville its nickname — when Queen Victoria met the Fisk Jubilee Singers during a 1873 world tour, she reputedly declared they must be from a 'city of music' — but it's country music that made it famous. After the 1925 launch of weekly live show the Grand Ole Opry, the twang of banjos, fiddles and steel guitars stole the limelight here. Country continues to be the sound most associated with Nashville, at least partly responsible for attracting nearly 17 million annual visitors to the booming city. To find the beat of a different drum in this city, the next day I arrange to meet a rising star of the US rap world, 28-year-old Daisha McBride. She's offered to show me her side of Nashville and we're starting at her favourite pizzeria, Slim & Husky's, located in the creative Buchanan Arts District to the north of the city. She arrives wearing a baseball cap, beaded bracelets on her wrists and a ready smile. Over an artisan thin-crust margherita named 'Got 5 on it' in homage to Luniz's 1995 hit, Daisha points out a medley of other musical references. 'This place is hip-hop inspired, from the music that's playing to the names of the pizzas, which reference famous rap songs,' she says. 'It's all about amplifying Black music.' Video footage of her performing at a gig supported by Slim & Husky's flashes up on a wall-mounted screen. Daisha's Tennessee upbringing helped shape her musical vocabulary. Born in Knoxville in the Smoky Mountains, the leafy Appalachian foothills that also raised Dolly Parton, Daisha was already riffing on her surroundings and creating her own lyrics by the tender age of 10. 'Growing up in east Tennessee, the vibe was lots of folk, country and rock,' she says. 'And then over in Memphis, in western Tennessee, there was blues, jazz and trap [a distinctively southern style of hip-hop with a heavy bassline] music.' Slim & Husky's, Rapper Daisha McBride's favourite pizza place, takes tangible inspiration from the hip-hop scene. Photograph by Diana King The Johnny Cash Museum is one of Nashville's many attractions honouring country music. Photograph by Jacqueline Anders As a young adult, Daisha moved to Nashville — known as 'the buckle' of the Bible Belt because of its central location and Christian music industry — and discovered a harmonious melting pot of influences. 'One of the cool things about Tennessee is that it's actually super diverse,' she says. 'You'll often get this crossover between the genres.' We head onwards to the bohemian neighbourhood of east Nashville for a spot of thrifting at Music City Vintage. Inside this vast warehouse treasure trove — which counts the Canadian rapper Drake as a customer — walls are splashed with funky murals and rails are crammed with a selection of hard-to-find urban streetwear. As we browse nostalgic T-shirts from the 1990s and coveted retro Nascar jackets, Daisha reflects that Nashville's non-traditional movement has been largely powered by the musicians themselves, tired of waiting for opportunities from industry gatekeepers. 'If you're not invited to the table, you have to build your own,' she says, skimming through a rack of silky baseball jerseys. Despite being the subject of a documentary made by the legendary singer and actress Queen Latifah, amassing over 180,000 Instagram followers and achieving a million downloads of her single, Birds, Daisha remains an unsigned artist. Instead, she's bootstrapping her own path. 'I'll hit up a Nashville venue to perform a show and let people know through social media,' she says. We stop to admire a wall of shrink-wrapped collectable trainers, some of which are so rare they'll fetch hundreds of dollars. 'Some spaces do a great job of making themselves inclusive,' says Daisha, citing Nashville venues like Exit/In, Acme Feed & Seed, The Basement and The Basement East as examples. 'And the honky-tonks have multiple floors. You'll have a live band playing country covers on the ground floor, but often the upper floors will have a DJ spinning in some hip-hop with pop.' Grimey's, housed in a former church, is one of Nashville's most beloved vinyl shops. Photograph by Diana King Our next stop, just down the street, is Grimey's New & Preloved Music, a former church resurrected as a retail shrine to vinyl records. Championing up-and-coming talent since 1999, this independent store maintains a community vibe. 'Everyone has a lot of love and respect for Grimey's,' says Daisha fondly as she walks through the door. Heading straight to the alternative section, she starts pulling out albums by local melody makers including Maggie Rose and Alanna Royale. To give struggling artists a morale boost, Grimey's often commissions painted portraits of lesser-known musicians to appear on its facade, and its wooden aisles are filled with LPs spanning from blues pioneer Robert Johnson to obscure European folk collectives. Music-lovers regularly gather at this lo-fi store to hear free gigs performed on a dinky stage tucked away in the back, Daisha tells me, pointing out the huge rainbow Pride flag rippling over the entrance. 'I'm a triple minority — a woman, Black and queer — so any place I can walk in that feels inclusive is always appreciated,' she says, smiling. Nashville supports stores like Grimey's with such enthusiasm, customers queue overnight to buy exclusive vinyls released on the annual record store appreciation day in April, an international event that in Nashville brings block party celebrations, vinyl pressings, food trucks and of course plenty of live music. In return, Grimey's blows the trumpet for local artists like Daisha — her latest releases are in pride of place at the front of the store. Daisha is hoping to add to this back catalogue, and offers to show me Diamond Sound Studios in the Metro Center area, where she's working on new material with her producer Sci-Fi. Leaning back on her chair between tunes, the rapper describes how the 2021 opening of the National Museum of African American Music (NMAAM) was further acknowledgement of Nashville's rich Black music legacy. 'I love that it's right there on Broadway, just across the road from the Ryman Auditorium,' she says, referring to the historic music venue where Elvis, Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton and Taylor Swift have all graced the fabled wooden stage. 'Its central location makes an important statement; it says that Black music is part of Music City too.' A journey through sound Back downtown, a guest experience associate at NMAAM shows me around the museum's interactive galleries. Romello Smith wears smart wire-framed glasses and a clipped beard, his diamond earring twinkling as he walks me through 400 years of R & B, hip-hop, gospel, jazz and blues history. 'Over here is DeFord Bailey,' he says, gesturing to a photo of the sharp-suited harmonica star, who in 1927 became the first African American artist to perform at the Grand Ole Opry. 'At that time, it was taboo for a Black artist to play there, so he really broke the colour barrier.' We pass one of many guitars that BB King named 'Lucille', and a room where visitors joyfully hit the high notes as part of a virtual reality gospel choir. 'And let's not forget Jimi Hendrix!' says Romello. 'Having left the military he came straight to Printers Alley to cut his musical teeth.' By the 1940s, Nashville's former printing district had evolved into an entertainment hotspot, filled with saloons and nightclubs. 'In Nashville today you'll find talent like Allison Russell: a Black social justice folk singer who's just about the best artist in the city right now,' he says, as our tour reaches a crescendo at NMAAM's hip-hop gallery. Beloved local hangout Martin's Bar-B-Que Joint has three locations in Nashville. Photograph by Martin's Bar-B-Que Joint A few blocks away is another of Daisha's recommendations, Acme Feed & Seed, where I round off the day with flaming hot Nashville chicken, eaten while perched at the bar as an indie-rock band thrash it out under the music venue's flickering stage lights. The following morning, for my encore, I make my way over to Clear Waters Studio, which specialises in recording with non-country artists including local female rappers such as Sweet Poison and Meme Jenkins. Here I find 29-year-old hip-hop artist Mia Reona, working on some new music. She was raised in Nashville's Jefferson Street district, an area with significant African American heritage, and takes a break to tell me about how the city has influenced her musical style. 'Growing up here, it was kind of inevitable that I listened to country,' she says, taking a seat on a weathered Chesterfield sofa. 'And I've since dabbled with multiple genres in my own music — rhyming over country beats, for example.' Behind her is an illuminated mixing station, plus a stack of speakers and cables piled high like a plate of spaghetti. Mia isn't the only one breaking down Nashville's musical barriers. 'I think Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter album helped open people's minds. When it launched, there were a lot of themed parties where people of colour were showing up in full attire. Chaps, cowboy hats — the whole thing,' she recalls with a grin. Nevertheless, the women in this space are pioneers. 'The scene is still pretty male dominated,' Mia tells me. 'The Tennessee hip-hop stars who've broken through are mostly male artists, like Young Buck or Yo Gotti.' While there are plenty of women in the industry, she says they tend to be behind-the-scenes grafters in roles such as artist promotion or tour manager, as opposed to the headline act. 'But things are slowly changing here in Nashville. Country music always gets more shine, but there's a growing awareness of the other genres floating around the city, too. It's quite normal to see a rock act followed by a hip-hop artist on a night out now.' As Mia returns to the microphone, I take the scenic route back along Lower Broadway — past the honky-tonks playing cry-into-your-beer country. This time I take Daisha's advice and climb the staircases, up to the hidden spaces playing Nashville's alternative genres — the future of Music City. How to do it Getting there & around British Airways, Average flight time: 9h. Nashville is relatively easy to explore without a car — downtown is walkable, and for longer journeys use ride-hailing apps such as Uber and Lyft. When to go Nashville's spring (March to May) and autumn (September to November) are both ideal seasons to visit the city, with plenty of sunshine and temperatures hovering in the low 20Cs. In March, Nashville hosts Tin Pan South, said to be the world's largest songwriters festival, held at small venues throughout the city over four days. Nashville sits within the subtropical climate zone, so the weather can be extreme. Summers are humid, with temperatures reaching the early 30Cs between June and August. Country music fans can catch stadium-quality acts performing during June's CMA Music Festival. There's a chance of winter storms between December and February, but Nashville's low season also offers its cheapest hotel rooms. Where to stay , downtown. From $230 (£183). More info Purely Southern USA offers a three-night break from £799 per person, including room-only accommodation at The Element Vanderbilt West Nashville and flights from Heathrow. American Airlines all fly direct from Heathrow to flight time: is relatively easy to explore without a car — downtown is walkable, and for longer journeys use ride-hailing apps such as Uber and Lyft. BCycle has electric bike stations all over the spring (March to May) and autumn (September to November) are both ideal seasons to visit the city, with plenty of sunshine and temperatures hovering in the low 20Cs. In March, Nashville hosts Tin Pan South, said to be the world's largest songwriters festival, held at small venues throughout the city over four days. Nashville sits within the subtropical climate zone, so the weather can be extreme. Summers are humid, with temperatures reaching the early 30Cs between June and August. Country music fans can catch stadium-quality acts performing during June's CMA Music Festival. There's a chance of winter storms between December and February, but Nashville's low season also offers its cheapest hotel rooms. Fairlane Hotel Nashville , $230 (£183). National Geographic Traveller (UK). To subscribe to National Geographic Traveller (UK) magazine click Published in the USA guide, available with the Jan/Feb 2025 issue of(UK).To subscribe to(UK) magazine click here . (Available in select countries only). Inspiring exploration for over 130 years Subscribe now a get a free tote SUBSCRIBE
