It all started from nothing: Jaike Digney, who was homeless from the age of fourteen to eighteen, released most of his first four albums while living on the streets, vocalising what it’s like to live a terrible life while still so young, under the moniker Kurupt Emcee. Derek Abel and Jacob Perrot, two film directors, were photographing an abandoned building when they first came across Digney and his friends. They were struck by the way they were living and decided that people could not keep living like this, and that they needed to get this message out to the public and make a change in society. The documentary Homeless Australia was subsequently filmed and aired on SBS Television in late 2015.
Digney had decided enough was enough after the release of Homeless Australia, understanding he was now a role model and needed to have a stronger influence on the younger generation. He stopped using drugs and alcohol. Digney had previously been selling packets while saving money in a Nike shoe box, and was the youngest tenant authorised for a housing property in NSW. At the age of eighteen, he built his own recording studio and founded the record label HMMF’CO, Haters Make Me Famous Company, signing himself and four other up-and-coming artists from Sydney. Kevin Gates, Kehlani, and a slew of other internationally renowned artists have since collaborated with Digney.
