What’s My Scene: Kultar Ahluwalia found comradery and community in hip-hop
In our regular Q&A column What’s My Scene, InReview speaks to emerging and established local artists to get their take on the South Australian creative scene and their place within it. This week, Kultar Ahluwalia reflects on Adelaide’s early 2000s hip-hop scene and the fundamental human need to tell stories.
Where was your first gig, and how did it go?
First time I stepped on stage with my own original music was 2004 at Reynella Youth Centre (now Base 10). The group I was in at the time was invited to do one song – all I had to do was rap one verse and I still burned my voice out screaming and using poor mic technique. So, it’s been a journey since then! I feel really blessed to support young people at Base 10 through City of Onkaparinga with the Rhyme Recital program – I’ve been doing that on a weekly basis since 2018.
What is your artist origin story?
It’s kind of a hard thing to define in a lot of ways. Did it start with being surrounded by music in the womb? Having family members who played instruments in early childhood? Growing up in the Adelaide Hills in the early 2000s and seeing so many local groups in my area flourishing with great music and being inspired to do the same? It’s been a lifelong love of music and words, a journey with many twists and turns with me ultimately landing on putting out art under my birth name which is a relatively recent venture.
What was your impression of the local scene when you first started, and how has that changed?
My initial impression of the local scene is pretty myopic as it’s representative of the what was happening the Adelaide hip-hop scene in the early to mid-2000s. The first gig I attended independent of my parents was Hilltop Hoods’ The Calling album launch at The Planet in 2003 and I didn’t realise how much of a life-changing moment that would be, both personally and for Australian music culture more broadly.
After that show, I started attending and participating in smaller local shows. It was a super exciting time and a very tight knit community, where everyone knew everyone. It was also hyper-masculine, lacked diversity, competitive and very linked to drinking culture – none of which really fit who I am. My participation in the local arts scene has significantly broadened in the last two decades. I see a lot more diversity, inclusion and flexibility in people’s tastes and everything feels more welcoming and safer, which is to be celebrated. But I think as we see a decline in “scenes” or subcultures, there is also a loss of comradery and community.
How has your own project evolved since you first started?
I’ve been releasing and performing music over the last two decades under various pseudonyms and in the group, We Move Like Giants. It’s really only since 2022 that I started putting out works under my birth name and with that came a whole new-found level of vulnerability and – I know this is the buzzword at the moment – authenticity. When I first started out, I thought I was a rapper or MC. Then I started making beats because I needed music to rap to, so I became a rapper/producer. Then I started making film clips to accompany the music I was making, and fast forward to the last couple of years, and I’ve made an autobiographical hip-hop theatre show, so I guess I’m a multidisciplinary artist? Ultimately, the form, the genre, the method, it doesn’t matter: it all comes back to the fundamental human need to tell stories and connect with one another.
What is it about your next release/project that you’re most excited/nervous to share with the world?
I’m still really excited and focused on The Mixed-Race Tape, my theatre show and accompanying EP – it came out a year ago and premiered at OzAsia and I’m excited to be doing again for OzAsia in 2025 and continue sharing it with territories outside of Kaurna land. I’m not as nervous with the work as I was a year ago. We’ve done it multiple times (I’m usually accompanied by the incredible John Bartlett on keys) in different environments so there’s a level of comfortability with the work now that allows us to adapt to the audience in real time, which makes it even more exciting. I’m also working on a new EP/short form storytelling piece that’s in its early stages so watch out for that in 2026. I’m also sitting on a lot of fun standalone singles that aren’t as serious in terms of content as The Mixed-Race Tape that I’m excited to share soon as well. Hopefully we can squeeze something in before the year finishes.
Who are the artists around you that inspire or challenge you?
I’ll go back to John Bartlett again; we are in the group We Move Like Giants together, and having him be a part of The Mixed-Race Tape show in a more intensive way has just elevated every aspect of the show – he’s just an absolute master at listening to an existing piece of music and knowing how build on top and add extra “sprinkles” of sonic magic I could never imagine. I also want to give a special shout out to my wife Jarrah – she’s pretty much been on this journey from the beginning, she’s a creative herself and has constantly supported my art especially from a visual perspective but also an honest opinion that I trust.
Favourite venue?
Absolute no brainer. Nexus Arts – it’s like a second home for me (and also my employer!).
Dream act to open for?
Hmmm. Tricky one, I’m going to go with my gut. There are amazing “bigger” artists I could mention, but I’m going to say Avantdale Bowling Club from Aotearoa. Their debut release in 2018 was my favourite album of that year and their sophomore release in 2022 was my favourite album for that year. I just think Tom Scott is an outstanding lyricist, vocalist, MC and the group as a whole are such a tight unit, it’s jazz hip hop at its finest. And I think by picking a relatively “underground” act so close to home and putting it out into the universe, it makes the dream that little bit closer to coming to fruition.
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Favourite act to have open for you?
While we are on the note of Aotearoa, I always love playing with Taiaha. If you aren’t familiar with that name in SA, you are missing out. Brother is a star.
Where is your next gig, and how do you hope it will go?
My only headline show on Kaurna land in 2025 is the return of The Mixed-Race Tape at Nexus Arts on November 4. I’ll have some special guests joining me (John Bartlett and Parvyn) and it’s looking like it’s going to be a full house. I’m confident after 20 years of experience I can rock the mic for more than a verse without losing my voice this time around. We’re ready to rock.
Kultar Ahluwalia performs The Mixed-Race Tape on Tuesday November 4 at Nexus Arts as part of OzAsia Festival