Abe Ape: Humble

After being granted asylum from Sudan to Australia, Abe Ape recognised that this was his chance to seize an opportunity. fluoro spoke with the mentor, performer, spoken word poet, founder of Creative Rebellion Youth and author in our Melbourne studio.

Abe has been in Australia for nine years, yet he expresses that to him it “still feels like nine days” even though he has achieved so much including the recently published book, Humble. Abe recognises the power of language. “Words have a major impact on our lives, they can either better us or they can destroy us.” Humble is a stream of Abe’s insights and wisdom, and is a profound personal insight into his views on identity, race, family and human truths.

His passion for learning English was inspired by the idea of freedom of speech. Being able to voice something without the concern of being harmed encouraged Abe to write down his thoughts as a way to look inside himself. He expressed that Humble stemmed from a fascination with the notion of keeping a diary. “A friend of mine showed me a diary before this book and I was intrigued by the concept. The diary mentioned everything that happened and I think that it solidified their identity. The fact that nobody else knew about it, it wasn’t so much discreet but at the same it represents their growth. I thought if I had something like that, it would be amazing.”

Abe’s diary, Humble became somewhat of an insight into his soul, an insight that he is comfortable with sharing. “Just give people the view into your soul. I am stuck with this one for the rest of my life so I might as well accept it for what it is.” He also adds “there is nothing that I wouldn’t publish. I just write, every second I get.”

Abe’s journey to Australia with his mother and siblings was not a seamless one. “When we were applying for asylum in Australia, we only had three chances of being accepted, the first time we were rejected, the second time we were rejected and the third time we found out we were able to come.” His path could have easily taken a different angle. Abe reflected as we spoke. “Looking back at a country that showed no notice. Looking back that hurt.”

This journey to Australia has left Abe with an identity that is somewhat clouded, something which he is however, comfortable with. “I think that the identity crisis is always going to be there for me… identity is something that will never be solidified for me which really has been an advantage. I am not judging people based on their skin tones or their wealth or their morals. I don’t really care if they are right or wrong. When I listen to people I would really just listen. I am not allowing myself to be bothered.”

Much of Abe’s work has an aspect of performance to it, taking the form of spoken word poetry. His inspirations from specific musical genres are clear. Much of his love of music can be attributed to his childhood in Africa where he was part of a girl’s choir at church. Here Abe found a sense of community, where circumstance didn’t matter and people would come and sing for hours. From being the only boy in the girls choir Abe learnt a lot about emotions. “Girls can be very sensitive. Guys, we like to numb our emotions.” He reflected.

When Abe first came to Australia, he would visit Billy Hyde Music on Bourke Street, Melbourne and play the drum set on display. He gained an awareness that he didn’t have to have everything, but that he could strive for these things if he wanted to. This drive inspired Creative Rebellion Youth, an establishment he founded in Collingwood, Melbourne to aid young artists in producing their albums to tell their stories. “What I really love about music is that it is so hard to make, particularly when it comes from personal stories.” The ability to mentor [through Creative Rebellion Youth] is something that still to this day surprises Abe. “You don’t know how much something you create can impact someone’s life up until you stop thinking about yourself all the time.”

A belief of being larger than oneself is something that becomes apparent through much of Ape’s work. Investing in people, something taught to him by his mother, is a principle that he constantly applies.

Humble is available via Creative Rebellion Youth.

For more information about Creative Rebellion Youth click here.

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