Jimmy Barnes, Jessica Mauboy and ONEFOUR cover Phil Collins on Like A Version

A 70-year-old pub rock legend, a Darwin-raised pop icon and a drill group police spent years keeping off stages have made an unlikely appearance on triple j's Like A Version.

Packed into the studio alongside a guitarist, drummer, producer and backing vocalists, ONEFOUR members J Emz, Celly and Spenny laid tough rhymes over Phil Collins's classic 1981 song In The Air Tonight.

Jimmy Barnes and Jessica Mauboy complemented them, sliding Collins's soaring melodies between the rappers' hard bars.

We have Mahalia Barnes to thank for bringing her legendary father together with the Australian Idol alumni and Samoan Australian drill-rappers.

"When I got asked to do it, Mahalia, my daughter, rang me up and said, 'Do you want to do this?' I said, 'Shit yeah," Barnes told triple j's Abby Butler and Tyrone Pynor.

"We come from very similar backgrounds; we both had to fight to get ourselves heard and to have our say, and we still have to fight 'til this day.

"So, it was a match made in heaven. And I got into the rehearsal room with these guys, and it was just … it was full on straight away. We connected straight away. It was great."

ONEFOUR emerged from Western Sydney suburb Mount Druitt in 2019 with their viral single The Message, opening the world up to a very different style of Australian rap.

Influenced by UK drill, which is associated with crime, violence, prejudice and socio-economic hardship, ONEFOUR drew the scrutiny of the NSW Police, which suggested their lyrics depicting the underbelly of Western Sydney would incite violence among fans.

Heightened pressure from authorities resulted in ONEFOUR struggling to book and perform their own gigs, instead opting for surprise guest spots with artists like The Kid LAROI and UK rapper Dave. The collective finally played their first headline show in Sydney in 2025.

In the Like A Version studio, the new collaboration marks a moment of connection between the group of artists.

Despite coming from very different corners of the musical world, they all share a deep respect and reverence for Phil Collins and his work, whether they first heard it on the car radio or in a TV ad for chocolate.

"We all come from different genres and music and backgrounds," Celly told triple j.

"So just to come together, it was definitely a moment there.

"You've got Jimmy's roaring voice and Jessica's angelic-type voice, and then you've got us," J Emz added.

"In the beginning we were kind of iffy about how the crossover was going to happen, but then it all came together at the end. Like it was meant to be."

Coupled with their cover, ONEFOUR performed their latest single HIM, originally written for the Prince of Malaysia Tunku Ismail, who they met when he booked them for a show.

"He requested us to make a song and it actually really resonated with us," Spenny said.

The Crown Prince of Johor discovered the Western Sydney group through their documentary and flew them to Malaysia to perform.

"[HIM] was actually pretty easy to write because we got to spend a bit of time with the prince over there," J Emz said.

"Just being around him and obviously given that opportunity, we're just inspired to create music based on him and what he's been able to expose us to."