An Australian muse is hard to come by in Madison. Sure, there’s the overpopulation of Ugg-ly camel-colored boots, though one can hardly draw artistic inspiration from sheepskin shoes.

But if you reset your cultural compass and look toward the music scene, you’ll be able to find some sonic ingenuity from Australian-born musical mix master and hip-hop architect of beats and soul, Felicia Alima.

Alima, 28, came to Madison in 2002 to pursue an internship degree at a market research company, but soon embarked on an odyssey of musical exploration among the Madison hip-hop scene.

“The journey has been amazing,” Alima said. “I went from a girl with a dream of pursuing music to a diva with a six-piece band.”

Since seriously committing herself to music in 2006, Alima has released three albums, collaborating with local, industry and Aussie producers. But don’t let the diva moniker fool you — Alima is no Diana Ross. The Aussie performer created her own entertainment company, Chantik Entertainment, to aid other independent artists in establishing themselves on the professional music scene by providing them resources with which to extend their creative outlets beyond Madison.

Also incorporated in Chantik, which means “beautiful” in Bahasa Indonesia, is Alima’s multicultural heritage. The soulstress is half Indonesian and half Czech, something she personifies within her melodies.

“I’m proud to represent my heritage, so in my music I make it known that I am Australian,” Alima said.

In one of her songs, “Ode To My Mother,” she begins the track speaking in Indonesian as a tribute to her mother, who along with her father ignited her creative musical spirit.

“My dad was a guitarist and musician, and he bought me my first guitar when I was five,” Alima said. “Unfortunately, he passed when I was seven, so intuitively I took up guitar lessons and carried on his legacy in music in my own way.”

Along with her deep-rooted desire to honor her culture, nationality and family, Alima is also committed to using her hip-hop influence as an activist medium against human trafficking, an issue she was inspired to pursue after watching the movie “Trade.”

Last year, Alima worked with rapper Chino XL and producer DJ Pain 1 to produce a track called “Trade” to raise awareness about the global initiative to stop human trafficking. Part of the proceeds of the single went to the Coalition Against Trafficking In Women, a non-profit, non-governmental organization committed to fighting global trafficking.

“Hip-hop is not just music; it’s a movement,” Alima said. “Hip-hop is huge all over the world… so knowing that hip-hop has such a large audience internationally, it can be a very effective platform for educating our youth and even the older population.”

In addition to “Trade,” Alima designed a campaign to further magnify the issue and created wristbands and organized an event that featured speakers from anti-human trafficking organizations to garner increased insight into the global concern.

“I’m very glad to say that ‘Trade’ has been my proudest release to date,” Alima said. “As long as at least one person walked away with new knowledge and awareness, I felt I had done my job.”

Recognized by the Madison Area Music Association as Urban/R&B Artist of the Year for three years in a row, Alima also recognizes how important her gender presence is to aspiring Madison female artists.

“I know I’ve worked really hard over the past four years, and that there was a lot of pressure and expectation on me, being the only female solo R&B artist on the scene amongst all the male rap groups,” Alima said. “I’m proud to show the Madison music scene that a woman can do this too.”

Though the artist relocated back to her home in Perth, Australia, Alima calls Madison her “musical incubator,” and the place she matured as an artist.

“Music is my liberation,” Alima said. “So at the end of the day, the journey has been worth every effort.”

To hear some of Felicia Alima’s music, check out her web site at www.feliciaalima.com