Naarm/Melbourne artist Mudrat has unveiled a live-shot video for I Hate Rich Cts from his debut album Social Cohesion, as he prepares for UK and European dates and expands his Australian run.
by Paul Cashmere
Naarm’s Mudrat has released a stark, single-take video for I Hate Rich C**ts, the incendiary centrepiece from his 2025 debut album Social Cohesion. Filmed at a sold out all-ages Rage Against Racism show at The Tote in Melbourne, the clip captures a moment that has quickly become pivotal in the artist’s ascent, a room of young fans shouting every lyric back at him.
The video is here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmE3snE5-Ks
and the song is here:
Mudrat, born Sean Thompson and formerly recording as Kvnyl, describes the song as the catalyst for a broader political awakening. He says it was written at a time when his long-held liberal assumptions were unravelling in the face of the Gaza conflict, a period that pushed him towards a more defined understanding of class politics.
“This song represents my entry point to class consciousness,” he says. “It was feeling before theory, an observation of what I was seeing and feeling. The anger in it is something a lot of people recognise.”
The video was initially conceived as a more elaborate production. Instead, the final cut is drawn almost entirely from one explosive performance at The Tote. Mudrat says stepping into the crowd as the track played altered the plan. The energy in the room, he says, demanded documentation without artifice.
“The crowd knew every word,” he says. “I’d never imagined hearing my lyrics yelled back at me that loud. That moment needed to stand on its own.”
The track’s impact has extended well beyond the venue. Since its release in 2024, I Hate Rich C**ts has become Mudrat’s most streamed and discussed song, a blunt expression of frustration that helped propel Social Cohesion onto the shortlist for the 2025 Australian Music Prize. The album ultimately missed out on the award, but the nomination marked a significant milestone for an artist who only adopted the Mudrat moniker in late 2023.
Social Cohesion was self-released in August 2025 and completed less than a month before its arrival. The title references proposed Victorian legislation requiring community organisations to commit to a “social cohesion pledge” to access government grants. For Mudrat, the phrase symbolises a tension between public order and protest rights, a theme that runs throughout the record.
The album also marks the full emergence of his band, The Mischief, featuring Emile Battour on drums, Javier Langham on guitar and Noah Sole on bass. Battour, known for his work with Ocean Grove, brings a muscular rhythmic backbone that complements Mudrat’s rapid-fire delivery. The project has shifted from a producer-MC dynamic into a live band configuration capable of pivoting between punk frontman ferocity and tightly structured hip hop.
Mudrat’s musical foundation stretches back to his teenage years writing poetry and competing in public speaking. As Kvnyl, he released the EP The Worst Of Me in 2021 before closing that chapter with the 2023 single 2Nas. The reinvention as Mudrat coincided with a sharpened political focus and a heavier sonic palette, blending punk rock, hip hop and elements of nu-metal.
In 2026, the project is expanding beyond Australia. Mudrat will tour the UK in April and May supporting Hyphen on the Rebel Scum Tour, alongside appearances at The Great Escape Festival in Brighton and headline dates across Europe. Before departing, he will support The Bronx at The Forum in Melbourne and play the Sydney Road Street Party at Howler.
For Mudrat, the release of the video signals both a culmination and a transition. He acknowledges that the song’s raw immediacy cannot be replicated by design.
“Doing it once was lightning in a bottle,” he says. “We won’t try to recreate that. The next chapter will go deeper into the uncomfortable shades of grey in political movements.”
SOCIAL COHESION Track Listing
1 – Acknowledgement
2 – Break Free
3 – Last Night
4 – Fme Ft. BVT
5 – I Hate Rich C**ts
6 – You Don’t Care About Poor People
7 – Facetoface
8 – Mud Interlude Ft Emile Battour
9 – Mud.25 Ft Emile Battour
10 – A Beautiful Mess History
Mudrat Live Dates
Sunday March 1, Melbourne, Sydney Road Street Party at Howler
Stay updated with your free Noise11.com daily music news email alert. Subscribe to Noise11 Music News here
Be the first to see NOISE11.com’s newest interviews and special features on YouTube. See things first—Subscribe to Noise11 on YouTube
Follow Noise11.com on social media:
Bluesky
Facebook – Comment on the news of the day
