Some of our strongest solo hip hop acts have formed a supergroup: BLKCITY. Jonique Purcell talks to its five members about changing the landscape. Within recent years the names Raiza Biza, JessB, Abdul Kay, Blaze The Emperor and Mo Muse have become synonymous with Aotearoa’s simmering hip hop scene. Last year, after recording Raiza Biza’s … Read more
Duncan Greive and Leonie Hayden were young hip hop heads and music journalists during the era captured in a new documentary about the rise and fall of South Auckland hip hop label Dawn Raid. Here they discuss the film and their memories (what’s left of them) of that time. Duncan Greive: It’s great to see … Read more
Auckland rapper JessB has just released a new EP and wraps up a national mini-tour tonight in her home town. Jogai Bhatt talked to her about her world travels, performing at Ihumātao, and how her community and her music intersect. It’s only been two years since JessB entered the public radar as the first woman … Read more
Charli XCX has just released her latest album, Charli. The futuristic musician is always looking ahead, and so are her fans. We’ve paired each star sign with their perfect Charli XCX song. Charli XCX burst onto the scene in 2012, when she co-wrote and performed electro-pop headbanger ‘I Love It’ with Swedish duo Icona Pop. … Read more
Since their first single release in 2015, Leisure has had over 75 million streams and a handful of sold-out international concerts. Jaden Parkes sat down with Josie Adams to talk about the secret of success: leisure time. Leisure is made up of the New Zealand music industry’s shining stars, and its quiet heroes. They’re writers, … Read more
The Red Bull 64 Bars series has become a hotbed of local hip-hop. Hussein Moses asked the artists who had stepped up to the mic to break down their favourite one-liners from a series that’s full of them. Now seven seasons deep, and on the eve of the next group of young talent stepping up … Read more
Saraid Cameron interviews poet-musician Jamila Woods upon the release of her sophomore album, the forward-thinking, backward-facing Legacy Legacy! Jamila Woods has had a meteoric rise to success, collaborating with artists like Chance the Rapper and Noname on her debut album Heaven which was named in the top 50 albums of 2016 by Pitchfork. But she’s just as … Read more
Poetik is a fresh talent in the Auckland hip hop scene, but he takes a very retro approach to his music, creating G-funk bangers and selling CDs direct to fans as if the internet hadn’t been invented. Gareth Shute caught up with him to talk about his old-is-new approach and why it’s all part of … Read more
Simon Day was at the last night of the tumultuous 20th anniversary tour of The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. She was meant to be late. She was supposed to be sick. She’s meant to be a “diva”. Lauryn Hill’s relationship with her live audiences has been complicated for a long time. When you’re the last … Read more
Meek Mill, rapper and former Drake adversary, had one hell of a 2018, culminating in his long-awaited fourth album. Jogai Bhatt reviews Championships. Championships comes off the back of what has been one of the most defining years of Meek Mill’s life. In 2018, the Philadelphia rapper was released from jail after a highly-publicised probation … Read more
Every day in the leadup to Christmas, open the door to reveal a Spinoff writer’s short, sizzling commentary on a weighty subject. Our arbitrary and strictly enforced word limit: 365. Today: Simon Day on why Kiwi MC, Tom Scott, is the Greatest rapper Of All Time. An essential part of hip hop culture is making … Read more
OG fangirl Tayi Tibble reviews Tommy Genesis’ new self-titled album. I’m the OG Tommy Genesis fangirl. It’s just a fact. Sometimes it just be like that. I’ve loved her since she was on her dark-wave Atlanta trap kick with Father and Awful Records. I loved her when she was pulling big school-girl x military general … Read more
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
Brockhampton are a new breed of boyband who have quickly risen from a Kanye messageboard to a multi-million-dollar record deal. Reilly Hodson reviews their new album, documentary and concert in Auckland last night. “I think that we wake up every morning and think about what we can make to make people happy,” says Kevin Abstract, the … Read more
A lot has changed for Tom Scott in the past four years and, with his new project Avantdale Bowling Club, he’s ready to reveal all. He talks to Hussein Moses about fame, infamy and coming home to Avondale. In a home studio, out the front of his house, is where you’ll find Tom Scott most … Read more
The Spinoff’s trap correspondent, Tekashi09, reviews one of the biggest albums of the month, Travis Scott’s Astroworld. Esskeetit!
The performance of Kendrick Lamar’s hip-hop carries special meaning for New Zealand’s minorities, Tamsyn Matchett writes. Kendrick Lamar has been on his DAMN. tour for more than a year. He will finish the 12 month marathon next week in Australia. Such a gruelling, brutal schedule is warranted given the huge mainstream success of DAMN., and its … Read more
Yesterday, Jogai Bhatt talked with the people behind creative collective Nah Zone. Today, she talks with one of its closest musical collaborators, Church & AP. Church & AP is a rap duo comprised of Elijah Manu (Church), Nah Zone’s head writer, and Albert Purcell, the younger brother of Nah Zone’s founding director Jonique Purcell. The … Read more
Lukas has reached a quarter-million streams with his track ‘Comfort Clouds’, while LMC has produced beats for US acts, most notably one of the tracks off Rich The Kid’s new album, which just went gold in the US. Now they’ve come together to create the perfect downbeat tune for the season, matched by an equally … Read more
J. Cole plays Spark Arena and seems to have no idea how much his fans love him. There’s something about rap crowds. It’s a pride in knowing every single lyric of every single song an artist has released, even the old, obscure ones. Especially the old, obscure ones. The real fans were out in full … Read more
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
Lukas created his first buzz on Soundcloud before crossing over to a wider audience with his track ‘Comfort Clouds,’ which has quickly reached 120,000 streams on Spotify. He explains to Gareth Shute why he sees himself as part of a new wave of downbeat hip-hop acts poised to rise up from the underground. “I wouldn’t … Read more
Kate Robertson chats on the phone with Macklemore for exactly nine minutes and thirty seconds, just enough time to ask him about his new album GEMINI, why he ditched the other dude, and making music in Trump’s America. It’s hard not to bop along to Macklemore. Some rap purists will say they thought he was … Read more
If he gets his way, Rei will be a name you’ll be hearing a lot more often. Hussein Moses sits down with the up-and-coming New Zealand artist to talk about his new album and how he’s working to bring te reo outside of the classroom and into the world. Whether it’s the message he’s trying … Read more
Miriama Aoake listens to Jay-Z’s new album 4:44 and finds the rapper full of introspection, self-criticism and, ultimately, black empowerment. A couple of weeks ago, Jay-Z was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame by Barack Obama, unanimously nominated by his industry peers. He was the first rapper to receive the honour. The following week, … Read more
Montell2099, whose debut single ‘Hunnid on the Drop’ with Savage 21 is released today, reports from his trip to LA to perform at Red Bull Sound Select. Auckland-based, Katikati-raised producer Montell2099 is on a meteoric rise, from making beats in his grandparent’s rural home to collaborating with rapper 21 Savage (who has worked with Drake, Future among … Read more
$UICIDEBOY$ are a New Orleans rap duo whose songs have millions of plays on Soundcloud and who sold out their first Auckland show in mere hours. Kate Robertson was there. $UICIDEBOY$, a white rap duo from the US, sold out Auckland venue The Studio in 24 hours. An act that doesn’t get mainstream radio play, … Read more
Over lunch at Balmoral Chinese restaurant Spicy House, Henry Oliver asks David Dallas about how growing older, getting married and watching Roger Federer all influenced his new album, Hood Country Club. This has been the longest gap between albums for you, right? Everyone’s saying that. It doesn’t seem as long as it is, but when … Read more
Henry Oliver tries to go deep with Los Angeles rapper Vince Staples, fails, and asks him about basketball and cartoons instead. Vince Staples is young, very skilled and very, very chill. He raps fast, but talks slow. His records are loud, but he is quiet. He grew up in gangs, but now, he says, all … Read more