OneFour rapper tells a judge it’s a ‘human right’ to play music in a failed bid to overturn a ban on him touring with the group
- Iakopo Esera, 20, was banned from associating with Onefour as part of his arrest
- Rapper fronted court this week when he tried unsuccessfully to appeal the ban
- His defence argued it was a basic ‘human right’ to be able to perform music
A member of controversial Australian rap group OneFour has failed to overturn a ban on him touring with group after arguing it is a ‘human right’ to play music.
Iakopo Esera, 20, has been ordered not to associate with the music group as part of his bail conditions over an alleged affray.
Three of OneFour’s members are in jail and their national tour was cancelled in Australia as part of a police crackdown targeting gang-related violence in western Sydney.
Iakopo Esera (pictured) fronted Bankstown Local Court to try and overturn a ban on performing with the controversial Sydney rap group Onefour
The rapper fronted Blacktown Local Court this week when he tried unsuccessfully to appeal the ban on him associating with the group.
His defence lawyer Sophie Toomey told the court the band has had to cancel gigs because they’re short on members, and it’s affecting his ability to earn his livelihood, The Daily Telegraph reported.
She also said stopping him from performing goes against his human right to make music.
‘If that’s not enough, I would refer (to) his human right to associate with people for a lawful purpose, the lawful purpose being the playing of music, and that is a human right … (the order) is going step too far,’ she said.
Iakopo Esera (pictured) lost a court battle to allow him to play with the controversial Sydney rap group Onefour
But Magistrate Leanne Robinson dismissed the application, citing a gang war between a group of the same name and another gang called District 21.
‘These two gangs, they’re at war with each other, they’re extremely violent to each other – I accept that is the case,’ she said.
OneFour shares its name with a Mount Druitt youth gang but have insisted they are not members themselves, and say the name comes from the year they were established.
Three members of OneFour were jailed over a violent assault in the pokie room at a pub in western Sydney
The OneFour gang are at war with 21 District, which appears to have started after a song which made fun of the death of one of their members in Parramatta last year.
The group has developed a cult-following for its drill-rap about living in western Sydney.
But the band has been struggling to perform after three members were jailed for a violent assault at a pub in western Sydney.
New South Wales police previously said they haven’t banned the group from performing but said venues hosting the rap-group would need to pay for on-duty police officers to attend the concerts.
The band recently performed in New Zealand without three of its members because two had been jailed over a violent brawl in a Western Sydney pub and one was refused entry to the country