Just for something new I thought I would introduce the forum to a bloke named Spanian.

He certainly will get a few noses out of joint and if you are offended by high level swearing including the frequent use of the 'c' word perhaps you might want to give him a miss. However as a commentary on Australian themes such as culture, drugs, crime, capitalism, redemption amongst other things, his life and the stories and the perspective he delivers make for interesting viewing.

An example would be his “Hood Logic” piece on crime and drugs.
http://youtu.be/DQoI_jKv_BI

To give an idea of his youth this is his School Siege story.
http://youtu.be/nyKDRfU6zy8

Talking about corrupt Sydney Cops
http://youtu.be/slI7kZG6NqI

This is one of his rap songs.
http://youtu.be/Q5di6YvSY6M

He afforded me a look into a side of Australian life that I had very little knowledge about and there is some pithy messages that come with it.

SteeleRedux,
A crystal clear example of plain wrong ! It's clear that he was led onto the wrong path & let loose by the "system" ! System=incompetent bureaucracy !
He sees other peoples' wrongs but not his own !

Hi Steele,

What an amazing story. Kicking a heroin habit I
imagine is no easy task. Yet this guy has gone
"cold turkey" on all substance abuse by the
sound of it. And not only that - he's influencing
others to do the same. Kudos to him. Well done!
Cases like his are rare - it seems that his time
in jail was well spent. Changed his life - and
hopefully he'll be able to influence others in
doing the same thing.

Dear individual,

I think he is well aware of his wrongs but is calling out those who would judge those who have chosen a life of crime. He is also calling out the system. Financial advisers thieving off our elderly or payday lenders preying on our financially insecure might be examples. As he explains virtually everyone has a 'hustle'. While society might judge what is legally right or wrong he questions the underlying morality of those distinctions.

Dear Foxy,

I think it is a fair bit darker than that. The fact that he was able to get off drugs in his early 20s but go on to create a substantial dealing network throws up some interesting questions. The type of nihilism wound up in his take on life can be seen as an obvious result of the increasingly 'economic' drivers for our system of values.

To be good looking, healthy and own 'mad' things. That really sums up the economic rationalism that has infected our society through the think tanks behind the LNP. Spanian and others like him is a product of what they have sown. That dystopia is expressed through his songs.

This chap does a bit of a breakdown of Spanian's lyrics of the song Six. It misses a lot but will give you a bit of an idea. The name of the song is Six which repeated three times as he does gives us the mark of the beast. Through the song he references Mohammad, the Second Coming, the Apocalypse.

“The meek, the blessed
The dreams, the death
You breathe
You slip into the beast
The Six, the Six, the Six”

But also references consumerism.

“You talking heart
I am man
Down to my true fabric
You talking brands
I am Gant
Down to my two Asics”

I don't know but I think both Marx and Nietzsche would have found him interesting.

Sorry. Here is the link mentioned last post.

http://youtu.be/6JZc5As9HOA

Hi Steele,

A totally different world from mine and I have to
admit I find it difficult to fully understand what's
going on with Spanian.

I was raised to always look for the
positive in life and to believe that people are
basically good. Some of them just go astray.
I was taught to be responsible and that it's up
to you how you react to things.

Anyway, thanks for pointing out that there's much
more here than what I'm obviously seeing