Some of Australia and New Zealand’s biggest creative forces have opened up on their family connections to celebrate JD Sports’ festive season ‘FAMILY’ campaign. In line with its “Forever Forward” spirit, JD Sports is diving deep into the familial connections powering youth culture, tapping into those connections both biological and chosen. The campaign portrays some […]
Some of Australia and New Zealand’s biggest creative forces have opened up on their family connections to celebrate JD Sports’ festive season ‘FAMILY’ campaign.
In line with its “Forever Forward” spirit, JD Sports is diving deep into the familial connections powering youth culture, tapping into those connections both biological and chosen. The campaign portrays some of our favourite athletes, artists and creatives at their most authentic.
To mark the occasion, the JD Sports team globally are bringing back some of their biggest and brightest. Two of the local stars of the campaign, Yuin artist and producer Nooky and Auckland DJ Poppa Jax, spoke with Complex AU about their enormous years and the family they’re standing proud with for JD Sports.
Nooky, who spent most of 2024 setting new benchmarks in his supergroup 3% (alongside iDallas Woods and Angus Field), is featured with his mum and his nan, two central figures of his childhood. In conversation, Nooky fondly recalls his mum “blasting Mariah Carey” over Christmas, in between “100 cousins running around with new toys and bikes, getting our clothes dirty right away.”
“It was all about giving and sharing, which is something Blackfellas carry every day, but it’s amplified at Christmas,” he says.
Christmas Day might also be the first day off Nooky’s had all year.
With 3%, he’s taken the country by storm—starting with a tour of prisons in Victoria all the way up to an MCG crowd of nearly 800,000 at the AFL’s marquee Dreamtime at the ‘G clash. Nooky then capped off the year by popping out at THE KID LAROI’s homecoming stadium show in Sydney, all while continuing to host his Triple J radio show Blak Out.
So it’s any wonder he’s excited for the break. When asked about Christmas growing up in Nowra, Nooky reminisces about good food and even better company.
“We’d have big feeds—lots of seafood. We grew up on the coast, so uncles and dad would go diving for lobsters, abalone, prawns, and fish. Nan would cook a mad feed, and pop, who’s English, made Yorkshire pudding. That was some of the best food I’ve ever eaten,” he says.
But spending time with his mum and nan isn’t just about looking forward to what’s to come, but it’s reflecting on the lineage they share. Nooky’s mum in particular played a vital role in shaping his path as an artist, helping a young Nooky connect with his culture’s artistic tradition as a vehicle to help during a rough patch when he was just 7.
“For me, school wasn’t an environment where I thrived, but I loved to learn. I was a bit conflicted as a kid—found myself in trouble a lot, not able to regulate my emotions, and a bit angry, which led to trouble. I had non-stop suspensions,” he says.
“Mum noticed how bad things were for me and knew culture and identity would ground me. That’s what grounds a lot of us. She asked my uncles—Uncle Richard Scott-Moore and Uncle Cecil McLeod—if they could come in and be my support. Uncle Richard came in first and used to hang out with me at school. If I got in trouble, he’d take me out of class, sit me down, and have a yarn.
That led to Uncle Cecil coming in, and they started teaching me traditional songs and dances on the back oval. Soon, other boys at school joined in, and we all learned our culture and history together. That gave me a real sense of pride, strength, and identity, which set me on the path I’m on now.”
That experience set Nooky on the course for stardom. Though he’s long been one of Australia’s most respected voices in rap, 2024 has marked the mainstream breakthrough of Nooky and his 3% bandmates.
Their debut album, Kill the Dead, exponentially grew their fan base and led to a slew of awards—most notably the NIMA Song of the Year for lead single ‘Our People’ and an ARIA Award for Best Hip-Hop/Rap Release (cover artists Daniel Boyd and Nomad Create also won Best Cover Art).
“My identity, my stage presence, and my craftsmanship as a performer all come from what I learned when I was seven years old,” Nooky says.
“It really helped me, and while I did get kicked out of school in the end, they got me much further than I would have otherwise. Now, with the work I do, I try to bring that back because I know how much it helped me.”
Another artist in the JD Sports family who’s putting on her loved ones this Christmas is Auckland DJ Poppa Jax, who features with her older sister Emma-Lee and her nine-year-old sister Elias.
Poppa too has a lot to celebrate—starting the year off with her first national festival spot with Souled Out before closing the year on the bill for Promiseland and Boiler Room.
“I’ve been back and forth to Australia playing alongside DJs that I’ve looked up to since starting my journey,” she says.
“It’s been a wild year, and all the hard work that I’ve been doing behind the scenes is now starting to come to fruition which I’m so grateful for.”
A whirlwind 2024 has taken Poppa away from home more than ever and, as the Christmas season rolls in, it’s given her time to reflect on the importance of her familial connections.
“My older sister and I had very different interests growing up—she was more of a tomboy, a natural at all sports while I was playing dress-up and Barbie dolls,” Poppa says. “Although we were into different things as kids, we always supported each other. As you grow older you realise that, as sisters you share the same upbringing, and it’s something only she and I experienced which is what I’ve come to appreciate.”
The JD Sports campaign had an additional layer of meaning for Poppa and her family, who opted to do the shoot at their marae, a traditional Māori meeting place.
“Us Māori have a deep connection to our whenua (land) and so we decided to shoot content at our marae. For many generations our family have had birthdays, weddings and funerals held at our Marae, so it was extra special to do it at home.”
It’s been the perfect way to wrap the year, but Poppa is already looking ahead towards 2025 with another set of ambitious goals that will take her further and further from home.
“I feel like I’ve conquered Aotearoa for now and it’s time to pass the ropes down to the next wave of DJs in the scene here,” she says.
“I hope to travel overseas in Europe, specifically Amsterdam and Madrid and immerse myself in the culture and community there. I just want to completely throw myself in the deep end and have new experiences, be inspired and live a full life!”
Poppa, Nooky and a host of stars from Australia and New Zealand join the global JD Sports team who are celebrating Christmas with the ‘FAMILY’ campaign. The campaign sees the likes of Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold and UFC lightweight Paddy ‘The Baddy’ Plimblett cradling the smallest members of their family, while UK rapper Central Cee features with some of his chosen family.
Fans and fashion lovers can also get the whole family sorted at JD Sports this festive season, with plenty of fresh looks for all ages. You can shop the latest collections online and in-store at JD Sports.
