Tha Feelstyle (Kas Futialo) dropped his outstanding debut album Break It To Pieces back in 2004, a landmark recording for NZ hiphop - scratch that, it's a landmark NZ recording, fullstop.
Produced by very talented Andy 'Submariner' Morton, it won three awards at the Pacific Music Awards in 2005, beating Scribe and Dei Hamo in two categories. Check that beautiful cover, looks even better on the double vinyl release. It won best album cover at the 2005 NZ Music Awards.
The cover painting is by Charles McPhee - there's a great documentary featuring McPhee called Velvet Dreams (watch here), directed by Sima Urale, one of King Kapisi's sisters.
I read yesterday that The Feelstyle has been nominated at this year's Pacific Music Awards, for his 2011 album Good Morning Samoa. That album was released at the Pasifika Festival in March 2011, and available for sale there, apparently. I didn't even know he'd done a new album, and a bit of searching revealed he's done TWO albums since his debut. I got some catching up to do!
This Feb 2010 article mentions a 2008 album title Lokokasi, all in Samoan. Tha Feelstyle's Bebo page says he's working on an English-language album too, Firepower To The People. The most recent single from the Feelstyle (with Adeaze) is available over at Amplifier (from 2010), and I hear they plan to have the Good Morning Samoa album up shortly. Check out the title track below...
Read: One Samoana Notebook interviews Kas Futialo about Good Morning Samoa.
Tha Feelstyle interviewed by Gareth Shute for NZ Musician, 2004.
Listen: Tha Feelstyle on Soundcloud.
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