Miiesha and Briggs pull skeletons from the closet on “Blood Cells (Remix)”

Briggs jumps on a remix of “Blood Cells,” one of the highlights from Miiesha’s Nyaaringu.

August 26, 2020

On her superlative debut Nyaaringu, Woorabinda artist Miiesha drew a vivid, richly-detailed map of personal, familial, and community history. Across a set of songs that spanned warm, modern R&B ("Black Privilege," "Blood Cells,") brassy soul ("Twisting Words,") and spare, percussive electronic music ("Broken Tongues,") Miiesha tied together stories of her own life as well as lessons taught by her grandmother, passed down across generations. Moving and inviting, Nyaaringu has proven to be one of the more indelible pieces of pop to come out of Australia this year, its generosity and scope continuing to reveal itself over time.

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If Nyaaringu was a celebration of history and selfhood, the new remix of "Blood Cells" featuring Shepparton rapper Briggs, premiering today on The FADER, incisively pushes back against the brutal systems that seek to remove those things from First Nations people. Already a searing highlight of Nyaaringu, Briggs' new opening verse for "Blood Cells" works to further expose the grit and horror of Australia's carceral system, pulling skeleton after skeleton from the closet. "'Blood Cells' was written over a year ago, but feels more relevant now than ever," Miiesha says of the song. "For Briggs being such a strong voice for our mob, it’s deadly he was able to jump on this song." Listen to "Blood Cells (Remix)" featuring Briggs above, and pre-order the physical edition of Miiesha's Nyaaringu here.

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Miiesha and Briggs pull skeletons from the closet on “Blood Cells (Remix)”