Combat Wombat

Combat Wombat

Combat Wombat is an Australian hip hop group based mainly in Melbourne. The group works with samplers, microphones and turntables, and its music combines hip hop with dub reggae, ragga and punk-influenced political flows. Its core line-up includes MC Elf Tranzporter, MC Izzy and DJ Wasabi, with Monkey Marc providing production and beats.

Music and themes

The group’s second album, Unsound System, draws on 1970s reggae, Public Enemy’s Bomb Squad and early 1990s golden-era hip hop. It mixes hard-edged hip hop with heavy dub reggae and uses politically charged vocals and samples. The lyrics address national identity, the treatment of refugees, Indigenous sovereignty, US military force and uranium mining.

Formation and activism

Combat Wombat’s work is closely tied to activism. Its Lab Rats Solar Sound System begins at the Jabiluka uranium mine protests in 1998, and the group runs its mobile studio using solar panels on the van roof. Monkey Marc and MC Izzy are also pioneers of vegetable oil conversions for diesel engines. The group presents itself as working under a “Truth over Spin” approach and as using its performances and recordings to reflect frontline activism.

Collaborations and performances

Combat Wombat collaborates with artists including Ozi Batla of The Herd and Seed MC of TZU. It performs alongside acts such as Anticon, The Herd and Curse ov Dialect, and appears at a range of venues across Australia, from outback desert shacks to inner-city venues such as the Prince of Wales Hotel in Melbourne.