Kobie Dee knows the power of music as a positive force that can steer young people towards a less destructive path. He knows the road they're on.
"I was very fortunate that I didn't end up in jail," he tells Double J's Michael Hing.
"I was very much walking down a road that was leading that way. For me, it was, 'If I don't get my life right, if I don't get myself help, these opportunities aren't going to last for me.'
"There were so many opportunities that came when I was heavy in addiction, and all the stuff I was doing. I missed out on so much stuff. There were big shows that I was supposed to do that I didn't do because I was heavy in addiction."
The 29-year-old Gomeroi man and award-winning musician has recently spent weeks working as part of the Hear Me Out, Music Behind Bars initiative from the Australian Children's Music Foundation, an intensive six-week songwriting pilot for those detained at the Cobham Youth Justice Centre.
He was joined by Rhyan Clapham, a Filipino Murrawarri musician who performs as Dobby. Both rappers believe there are few more powerful and accessible ways to escape.
"We've seen the power of music play out again and again with young people," Dobby says.
