One thing that no one can dispute is that OneFour’s Spencer “Spenny” Magalogo is a man who has undoubtedly been through a lot, but he still fights to have his true voice heard. Though his current stance is based on principles other than ego and aggression, it differs greatly from what he experienced, encouraged, or participated in as a child in Western Sydney, Australia. This is essentially demonstrated by Netflix’s “ONEFOUR: Against All Odds,” which follows his drill rap trio as they resist attempts to suppress their work due to “safety concerns.”
In this documentary, Spenny was frank that he had never considered making music as a job. Mount Druitt is where [I, Celly, J Emz, Lekka, and YP all grew up.] There is a sizable Samoan community of Islanders worldwide. Thus, he has known the other band members since they were little children attending a Mormon church, without realising that the bad reputation of their community will soon lead them astray. This is due to the fact that, in his own words, they had just three choices in life at the time: play football (soccer), have a long, labor-intensive work at a nearby factory, or live a life of pure crime.
When talking to gang rivalry based on districts, Spenny remarked, “There’s always been drama with, you know, certain areas.” “I have no idea how it began or the whole background narrative. I suppose we were drawn into it because we grew up surrounded by it. Put another way, the crew was in fact engaged with these types of crowds for a considerable amount of time and had difficulties; this young person was frequently at the centre of things since he knew that the only way to settle a dispute was to engage in physical combat. Therefore, they didn’t truly find their calling and make the decision to start anew until they learned about the Street University Youth Centre, which provides free studio sessions in addition to music programmes.
Spenny is Now a Proud Writer, Vocalist, and Community Representative
Thus, OneFour developed into a respectable drill rap combo; Spenny, in particular, discovered his calling as a songwriter before progressively getting out of the situation he had fallen into. In 2022, the band as a whole also disassociated itself from the notorious NF14 gang in the area, declaring their want to live chaste lives and keep telling their story via music. Unfortunately, given that their experiences include getting into fights, seeing violent crimes, and serving time in prison, that’s what they rap about. As a result, the authorities take offence, believing that they’re encouraging gang culture.
OneFour is upset about the unofficial censorship/ban on them performing live because, as they freely say, they have no such goal and are just attempting to support themselves in a way that fulfils their creative urges while also being truthful in every sense of the word. Regarding Speeny’s current situation, it appears that the New South Wales Police are looking into whether or not he was involved in a street fight. Despite this, he continues to buck the system in the only manner he knows how, ostensibly to further his profession. He is concentrating on his role as the hip-hop group’s vocalist-songwriter while simultaneously making sure that he actively and loudly represents Pacific Islanders living in Australia in the media. Spenny wants everyone to be aware of how diverse Australia is.
