Boorloo / Perth-based rapper-producer Arno Faraji returns today with his first drop of 2024 – the self-assured new single ‘Boss Energy’. With this track also comes the announcement of Arno’s debut mixtape Return To Raji, slated for release on September 12, 2024. LISTEN TO ‘BOSS ENERGY’ HERE + PRE-SAVE THE MIXTAPE HERE.

For Arno, ‘Boss Energy’ at its core is about “taking charge of yourself on your own journey, being honest about what you want, and going for it”. The young talent’s verses brim with effortless confidence and melodic instinct in an invitation to his own experience and the ongoing determination of pursuit, addressed most clearly with the lyrics “there ain’t no limit on us / I want it all ain’t enough”. A repeat listen, ‘Boss Energy’ balances golden-era hip-hop with gritty production to set a new cue for Arno Faraji, while maintaining his ability to deliver a consistently captivating flow.

Speaking on the release, Arno shares, “During the start of my music journey I had so many things I wanted to do, I’ve been so fortunate to have ticked a lot of things off that list. In the midst of being grateful there’s still so much more I look forward to. My scopes have widened so much and ranges further than before, sometimes the pursuit of these ambitions feels invigorating, other times it feels a little crazy, but I’d be my own enemy if I wasn’t honest about what I want and gave the things I start my best shot. Boss Energy is a mindset / zone I enter, I experience it a lot at shows, it feels like armour, when I tap into it (like this track) I feel amped up and like I can take on anything on, even the wildest dream(s).”

Since becoming the first hip hop artist to win the triple j Unearthed High competition in 2017, Arno Faraji has become a mainstay of Perth’s bustling hip-hop scene, and is now at the forefront of a greater, nation-wide rap explosion. Inspired by the grooves of Kaytranada and Smino, his verses have the ability to move between the playfulness of Goldlink and the ferocity of Childish Gambino, and this refreshing approach to hip-hop has cemented Arno as one of the genre’s most exciting and forward-thinking names. Garnering acclaim through a series of self-written and largely self-produced solo tracks including ‘On The Move’ and ‘Gravity’, Arno has collaborated with the likes of REMI and Sensible J on ‘Bless (What It’s Like)’, Two Another on ‘Just A Phase’, as well as the Milan Ring-assisted ‘Scalin’’.

Not only a jack-of-all-trades across rapping, production and songwriting, Arno Faraji is a force to be reckoned with on the live stage as well: captivating crowds across Vivid LIVE, Groovin The Moo, FOMO and Yours & Owls Festival, and collected fans while warming stages for Little Simz, Rejjie Snow, Cosmo’s Midnight and The Streets among others. With his debut mixtape now on the horizon, #FARAJISZN is only just beginning.