The ‘Ready or Not’ hitmakers talk ambition, competition, and how things change when you accidentally become the most buzzed-about young rap group in the country. Church & AP didn’t plan for this. The rappers born Elijah Manū and Albert Purcell were still attending high school in Auckland’s central suburbs when they started working together, more … Read more
A children’s television presenter, New Zealand’s first supermodel, and bloody Cocksy! Jordan Hamel pays tribute to the Kiwi icons that helped get him through his life. Adolescence was not a great time for me. Depression, anxiety, sexuality, awkward social interactions, emotional repression, being shit at sports – all the cliched tropes you see in any … Read more
To celebrate the eighth season of this local institution, Hussein Moses goes behind the scenes of the series putting New Zealand rappers to the test. David Dallas is waiting. It’s mid-morning on a weekday in May and as he sits in the control room of Red Bull Music Studio Auckland, a camera crew sets up … Read more
Ten years after Bazooka Kid, one of the most singular New Zealand albums, Duncan Greive sits down with PNC to talk about its genesis, and why rappers still don’t get their due in this country. 2009 was a year of transition for hip hop. Lil Wayne was at his commercial peak, winning four Grammys; Kanye … Read more
Ten years ago, Smashproof released ‘Brother’, the song that swiftly became the longest running number one by a New Zealand act. Jogai Bhatt talks to the band about the impact of the song then, and what it means to them today. I remember it like it was only ten years ago. I’d recently made the … Read more
Meer has been known for her punchy, slick rapping since her duo Cool Tan (then called Heavy) dropped their first EP in 2014. Last year, she kicked off her own solo career and here she talks to Gareth Shute about her new single ‘1953’. There are many reasons why Meer (real name Reem) holds a … 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
Jogai Bhatt talks to Abdul Kay, a young Auckland rapper who rose quickly from obscurity only to go silent, about his comback single ‘September Freestyle’. By this time last year, Abdul Kay had already caught the attention of the local hip-hop scene. With a co-sign from industry heavyweight David Dallas, the newcomer was able to … 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
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
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
Henry Oliver talks to Wellington artist and producer Estère about technology, attention and her new album My Design, On Others’ Lives. Estère has had one crazy year. She’s released a conceptual double album, My Design, On Others’ Lives (recorded with help from NZ on Air) opened for Grace Jones toured Africa, Europe, Scandinavia, UK, South Korea, Australia and … Read more
Henry Oliver talks to JessB about her first EP and how her professional netball career is helping her in the music industry. JessB is a force of focus and energy, the kind of person that seems to, at all times, be moving toward some kind of achievement. A bit over a week ago, Jess (birth … Read more
Don Rowe talks to Auckland rapper Ryan Hendriks about music, travel and performative confrontation in the wake of his first solo album, Old Zealand. Old Zealand, the first solo release by Auckland rapper Ryan Hendriks, is a testament to the quality and diversity of Auckland’s evolving hip-hop scene, and the extended flora and fauna which … 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
After dropping one of the most underrated releases in the country last year, PNC has stepped his game up once again with his new single ‘Iverson 01’. As Hussein Moses writes, not only is it one of the most exciting moments in New Zealand rap’s recent history, it’s also managed to spark the beginning of … Read more
Henry Oliver catches the 312 bus to Onehunga with SWIDT, whose debut album Stoneyhunga is out today. “We grew up on here,” says Spycc (Daniel Latu), one of SWIDT’s two MCs after we pile into the back of the 312 bus to Onehunga, the base of New Zealand’s most exciting hip-hop group. “This is our second home.” … Read more
Raiza Biza’s first full length album since 2012 is on the horizon. He talks to Simon Day about the local hip hop community, growing up black in New Zealand, and his upcoming all-ages gig – which we’re giving away tickets to. It’s been a complicated journey for Raiza Biza. His family left Rwanda when his … Read more
It’s not just Lorde releasing hot singles today. The Spinoff Music critics are divided over David Dallas’ latest, ‘Fit In’. Robyn Gallagher Yes, Ddot. This is what getting older feels like. ‘Fit In’ doesn’t have the sound of super-edgy hip hop from 2017, but it doesn’t have to. The lyrics provide Dallas with a clever … Read more
Thirteen years ago, New Zealand hip hop’s king-hitters joined forces for one of the biggest tours this country has ever seen. Gareth Shute talked to many of those involved to get the inside story of what went down. In March 2004, after years of bubbling under underground, the local hip hop scene was riding a wave … Read more
Henry Oliver talks to Savage about getting his songs on big Hollywood movies, outlasting so many of his New Zealand hip hop contemporaries and why he’s not interested in recording any more albums. Two weeks ago, during the Super Bowl, over 110 million people heard a minute of ‘Push’, a year-and-a-half-old song that Savage, perhaps … Read more