Kultar Ahluwalia
When Kultar Ahluwalia stepped onto the PHIVE stage in Sydney on 6 February, audiences weren’t just watching a hip-hop gig – they were being invited into a life story shaped by family, migration, music, and love.
In The Mixed-Race Tape, Kultar draws on hip-hop, spoken word, archival audio and family interviews in a raw, autobiographical exploration of identity, masculinity and fatherhood shaped by his Punjabi and Irish roots.
The stage show, which has been touring across Australia after its premiere at OzAsia Festival, feels deeply personal and also human. For Kultar, that balance was intentional.
“I think the show has a much broader potential for anyone searching for belonging and connection,” he tells Indian Link. “It’s ultimately a show about love. I hope it allows audience members to reflect on their own loved ones and who they have had in their life that allows them to feel safe, secure and loved – hold onto those people tight!”
While The Mixed-Race Tape now exists as a fully realised theatrical work, it didn’t begin that way.
Kultar traces its evolution back to 2023, when he was selected for the Interplay Program at Nexus Arts, a year-long initiative that proved pivotal in shaping both the project and his artistic direction.
“It was a gradual thing over several months,” he recalls. “I don’t think I came to this decision independently/in a vacuum. It was fostered through excellent mentorship.”
During the program, Kultar was paired with mentors Joel Ma (Joelistics) and Parvyn, who encouraged him to think beyond a conventional music release.
“The Mixed-Race Tape is 100 per cent the culmination of everything I absorbed there,” the artist confesses. Kultar Ahluwalia
Homage to Adelaide and multicultural roots
One of the most striking elements of the show is its use of archival audio and family interviews, which bring earlier generations into the room alongside Kultar himself.
“Revisiting that material gave me a much deeper appreciation for the sacrifices made on both sides of my family from previous generations to be in the position I am in today,” the Southern Adelaide-raised artist reveals. “So much of the show is about gratitude to those who came before us in order for us to ultimately be better versions of ourselves.”
That sense of lineage and thankfulness runs throughout the performance. Kultar’s awareness of being “mixed” came early on in life. “I tell a brief anecdote about this early in the show,” he says. Kultar Ahluwalia’s
“I think I was about three when I became aware and it was when I learned the word ‘Gora’ and that it could apply to my mum which I found really confusing.”
His mother, he explains, was fully embedded in Adelaide’s Punjabi community. “She was so embedded in the tightknit community and practiced Sikhi, could understand Punjabi etc. So I started becoming aware of our differences from multiple communities.”
As a young person navigating identity without many visible role models, hip-hop offered Kultar both refuge and possibility. Kultar Ahluwaliaw
“When I first fell in love with hip-hop it felt really empowering to hear artists like Native Tongues crew, Public Enemy, Ice Cube and Tupac sharing really revolutionary ideas on records,” he shares. “Hearing other marginalised communities bring truth to power was inspiring when you didn’t have many role models from your own cultural background represented in mainstream media.”
Those influences continue to reflect in his work – not as imitation, but as inheritance.
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A ‘full circle’ moment
Over two decades, Kultar has released music under various pseudonyms. More recently, he made the decision to create under his birth name.
“I’ve always found it hard to put a label/brand on what I do because it’s the culmination of so many influences,” he says. “So to finally land on the decision to just be creative under my birth name has been liberating because I’m just being me while representing my broader family in a way too.”
Fatherhood has added new layers to Kultar’s understanding of identity, culture and masculinity.
“I have a stronger desire to connect to my cultural background more than ever, so I can share and pass these things onto my daughter,” he says. “In essence, you have to have a good understanding of who you are in order to be a better parent.”
He’s equally conscious of the lessons his daughter absorbs. “I also want my daughter’s understanding of masculinity to be shaped positively; that there can be strength in being vulnerable, in being in tune with your emotions and being brave and courageous.”
Now mentoring the next cohort of Interplay artists at Nexus Arts, Kultar finds himself on the other side of the support system that once shaped him.
“Hopefully I can be an example that you don’t have to follow a traditional path as an artist and that success is subjective to the individual,” he says, continuing, “Self-awareness is critical: who are you, really and why are you creating?”
It’s advice hard-earned. “It took me such a long time to be on that stage enjoying every moment and feeling grateful – hopefully I can speed up that process for future artists I get the privilege to work with!”
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