This young Perth muso just had the best day of high school ever.

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17-year-old producer and rapper Arno Faraji has been crowned the winner of this year’s Unearthed High competition, dazzling us with his future-thinking hip hop tracks like ‘destiny’s’, ‘130 Ego Jump’, and ‘TREE’X’ – uploaded just this week.

The Year 12 student got the news firsthand from Ben and Liam, who snuck their way into his school assembly at Shenton College in Perth, disguised as fellow classmates, to announce Arno had taken out the UE High crown.

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In 10 years of unearthing the best high school music acts in the country, Arno Faraji is the first hip hop artist to win the competition. Inspired by greats like J Dilla, Chance, and KAYTRANADA, Arno started making his own beats and rhymes in October. He also dabbles in guitar, piano, bass, and a little trumpet and aims to write music that expresses his feelings on social justice and marginalisation (side note: he’s got some #goodthoughts on The Bachelorette’s problem with race). We also hear on the sly that he’s a mean chef and makes the ‘best fried rice in town’.

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triple j Unearthed Music Director Dave Ruby Howe praised Arno’s charismatic ‘destiny’s’, saying his “raps crackle with intelligence and electrifying attitude but it’s the self-produced futuristic house beat that elevates the track to another level.”

In Arno Faraji we’ve discovered this extraordinary teenager who’s only just beginning to tap the potential of his talent.”

Update: Veronica and Lewis got Arno down the line from Perth, to find out how he’s doing since joining the Unearthed High ranks: “I’m so ecstatic. I don’t know if you guys can hear my heart but it’s beating so hard right now”.

Did he have an inkling that he might be the winner? “No inkling at all. I was late to school, that’s how much I didn’t think I was going to win.” After getting on the topic of influences and artist’s he looks up to, Arno namechecked KAYTRANDA, Remi, Sensible J, Sampa the Great, and Tkay Maidza.

It was at this point that we surprised him with the news that we’d be flying him to triple j in Melbourne to make some sweet tunes with Remi and Sensible J. To which he replied, “That would be - - I don’t even know what to - - that is amazing. What the heck? Oh my goodness! I’m standing up right now. That would be so amazing - - what?!”

Of the 1000+songs uploaded for Unearthed High this year, Arno’s was the top pick of our super-talented finalists: Ninajirachi, Stevie Jean, Taj Ralph, and SŸDE.

As part of his prize, Arno will be flown from WA to triple j HQ to professionally record a song, following in the prestigious footsteps of Unearthed High alumni Gretta Ray, Mosquito Coast, Japanese Wallpaper, Asta and Stonefield.