Britain's Prince William took a self-deprecating dig at his musical tastes during a visit to a youth rehab centre in Australia Wednesday, saying it often made him the butt of jokes.
The 27-year-old prince made the remarks following a rap jam session at the centre in eastern Sydney, which he toured with Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.
"I can't do any beatboxing, I'm not so good at that," he told Rudd, referring to the vocal percussion stylings of the hip-hop trio before them.
"I normally get the piss taken out of me for my choice of music," he joked.
"Mine's very varied -- I like rock, Linkin Park... Kanye West."
After his visit to the Ted Noffs centre, which runs three-month residential treatment programmes for young people with serious drug and alcohol problems, William travelled to a major army base on Sydney's western outskirts.
William graduated as a fully-fledged Royal Air Force helicopter pilot just before his trip to Australia, and he took part in a live firing exercise with elite snipers who have served in Afghanistan and Iraq.
He is due to visit a marine research vessel on Sydney Harbour later Wednesday before enjoying a barbecue lunch in the Royal Botanic Gardens along the city's picturesque waterfront.
Second-in-line to the British throne, William is in Australia on an unofficial three-day visit, which he personally requested as a way to get to know the country and its people.
He was welcomed Tuesday with a traditional Aboriginal "smoking ceremony" in the poor inner-city neighbourhood of Redfern, which was presided over by an elder daubed in body paint and bearing smouldering gum leaves.
Thousands of cheering fans packed the suburb's narrow streets for a glimpse of the prince, who last visited the country in the arms of his late mother, Princess Diana, when he was just nine months old in 1983.
He met with Aboriginal elders to discuss, among other things, the repatriation of indigenous artefacts and remains, including the head of indigenous warrior Pemulwuy.
William reportedly slipped out for a seafood platter and a few beers at exclusive Sydney nightspot Bungalow 8 on Tuesday night.
He will visit bushfire-ravaged areas near Melbourne on Thursday before returning home the following day. His Australia tour follows an official visit to New Zealand, where he represented his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II for the first time.
Copyright 2010 AFP Global Edition
