Khaled “Azmarino” Abdulwahad, one-half of dynamic Melbourne hip-hip duo Diafrix, migrated to Australia as a refugee fleeing his war-torn African home of Eritrea. Azmarino met his creative co-conspirator Mohamed “Momo” Komba (himself a refugee from the Comoros Islands) in the early 2000’s at a community hip-hop workshop in Footscray. Decade-plus pioneers of the ever-expanding genre of Australian hip-hop, Diafrix have brought African-influenced beats, roots, reggae and soul to the local scene spawning a pair of albums, 2009’s Concrete Jungle and the 2012 feature-heavy follow-up Pocket Full Of Dreams. From humble origins Diafrix went on to earn some of the most-coveted support slots in urban music sharing stages with everyone from George Clinton to BoB, Tinie Tempah and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis as well as appearing at the 2011 Glastonbury Festival in the UK. Wanting to give back to the community that embraced them; Azmarino & Momo have frequently collaborated with local councils and grass-roots organisations around Melbourne engaged in delivering workshops and mentoring youth.
