DOBBY

Rapper. Drummer. Drapper.



Rhyan Clapham (DOBBY) is a Hip Hop artist and drummer. Aged 24, he has completed a Bachelor of Music at the University of NSW, and an Indigenous Studies Honours (focusing on Aboriginal Hip Hop music) in 2015. He proudly identifies as a Filipino and Aboriginal musician, and a member of the Murrawarri Republic in Brewarrina, NSW.

Rhyan’s musical training began at age 7. He studied classical piano and achieved AMEB grade 6 and grade 2 musicianship. At age 14, he learned jazz drumkit, and in 2012 performed as part of the Wollongong Conservatorium of Music in California, Nevada, and San Francisco, USA.

DOBBY is a skilled composer and is the 2017 recipient of the bi-annual Peter Sculthorpe Fellowship. He has performed as a rapper and drummer for a variety of events such as BIG SOUND Festival, The Plot Festival, Yabun Festival, 4Elements Hip Hop Festival, UNSW corporate and academic functions, Koori Radio events, and at numerous NAIDOC celebrations across Australia. DOBBY is also a rapper and drummer for Sydney band Jackie Brown Jr in various events and festivals such as Wollombi Music Festival, Rabbits Eat Lettuce, and Psyfari Festival.

DOBBY currently facilitates Hip Hop and drum workshops in community centers, and both primary and high schools throughout Sydney and rural NSW. He is also currently an academic tutor in Indigenous Studies at UNSW.