Sam WicksSam Wicks

‘So pop that it becomes experimental’: An oral history of Mint Chicks’ Screens

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Ten years ago, Mint Chicks shredded the high-gloss sound that saw their sophomore LP go overground. The band tells Sam Wicks how they ripped up the rulebook on Screens. Surprising everyone, the band formerly known as The Mint Chicks won over a mainstream audience with Crazy? Yes! Dumb? No!, scoring commercial radio play and five … Read more

‘I wanted to rep my neighbourhood, my country’: Che Fu on making 2b S.Pacific

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Twenty years on from the release of his debut album 2b S.Pacific, RNZ Music‘s Sam Wicks speaks to Che Fu about how getting kicked out of Supergroove lit the fire that helped him create his landmark album. In October 1998, BMG New Zealand released the debut solo project from Che-Fu (Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Whakatere), an … Read more

‘I should write about stuff like this night right here’: An oral history of Home Brew’s Last Week EP

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Home Brew’s needle-shifting Last Week EP was released 10 years ago in October. Sam Wicks talks to the people who brought the unapologetically local project to life. ‘This is our 7 track EP we wrote last week about the shit we did last week. We call it Last Week.’ With those unadorned words, Tom Scott … Read more

SWIDT: ‘There’s no rules. It’s the Wild Wild West out here’

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Sam Wicks talks to SWIDT rapper Spycc about the Onehunga group’s new EP and life after Stoneyhunga. With two Tui awards, a gang of iTunes chart entries, and a buzz that can’t be bought, Onehunga rap collective SWIDT was rightfully crowned 2017’s number one draft pick. Eager to capitalise on the wins, Spycc, INF and producers … Read more

‘I was just a dude from the street who got lucky’: An oral history of Young Sid’s The Truth

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To mark the 10th anniversary of The Truth, the debut album from Sid Diamond (FKA Young Sid), Sam Wicks talks to Sid and the team that helped capture his Otara state of mind. In September 2007, Young Sid released his landmark street rap album on Move the Crowd Records, a label set up by ex-pat music executive … Read more