Baker Boy Takes Album, Song and Film Clip of the Year at 2026 NIMAs
Baker Boy was the standout winner at the 2026 National Indigenous Music Awards, held on Saturday at the Darwin Amphitheater, taking home three top honours including Album of the Year. The Yolŋu rapper's win underscores his status as a leading figure in Indigenous Australian music, having become the first artist to achieve mainstream success rapping in Yolŋu Matha since breaking through in 2017.
His album DJANDJAY won Album of the Year, while single "THICK SKIN", featuring Thelma Plum, Emma Donovan, Kee'ahn and Jada Weazel, took both Song of the Year and Film Clip of the Year; he performed the track live with Donovan joining as a surprise guest. Other winners included cousins Birdz and Fred Leone for Artist of the Year, Drifting Clouds for Best New Talent, and Northern Peninsula Area and Bulman School & Community for community and language awards respectively, while blues musician Marlene Cummins and Elcho Island's Saltwater Band were inducted into the NIMAs Hall of Fame.
- Baker Boy won three top prizes at the 2026 NIMAs
- Album DJANDJAY and single "THICK SKIN" both triumphed
- Marlene Cummins and Saltwater Band entered the Hall of Fame
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Baker Boy, whose real name is Danzal Baker, is a rapper and dancer from Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory who performs largely in Yolŋu Matha, an Indigenous Australian language. He first gained wide attention in 2017 and is credited as the first artist to reach mainstream success rapping in the language, making him a prominent figure in Indigenous Australian music.
The National Indigenous Music Awards, known as the NIMAs, are held each year in Darwin to recognise achievement in Indigenous Australian music across categories such as album, song and artist of the year, alongside a Hall of Fame honouring long-standing contributors to the scene. The awards showcase a wide range of performers and serve as one of the main annual celebrations of Indigenous music in Australia.
The event brings together well-known and emerging Indigenous artists, with winners chosen across music, language and community categories, reflecting both individual achievement and the health of Indigenous music and language more broadly.
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