Aoteaora Hiphop Vol 1 compilation (1998) reviewed by Kerry Buchanan

Kerry Buchanan reviews Aotearoa Hiphop Vol 1 compilation (Real Groove, Aug 1998) 

[Compiled in 1998 by Mark Williams AKA MC Slave. Youtube playlist of full album above.]

Hiphop in Aotearoa. It’s always been a natural connection. Way before any of the tracks on this compilation were released, there was a local hiphop culture. I first heard the Sugarhill Gang’s ‘Rapper’s delight” on a jukebox in 1979. Some kids put it on and started freestyling on the rhymes. There was local hiphop during the breaking days, using the electro sounds of Afrika Bambaataa to produce something of a local flavour. In Aotearoa, hiphop has never been viewed as something foreign, more a cultural bridge between black Americans and Polynesians; a meditation and a transition point between the two linked cultures.

Upper Hutt Posse’s ‘E Tu’ hit in 1988, when the hegemony of white guitar rock (Flying Nun) dictated the nature of what constituted ‘New Zealand music’, and cultural indifference ruled. This is why UHP acted like the Maori bomb, a fierce call to arms. With their brilliant use of historical knowledge to comprehend the contemporary struggle, this crew still has a lasting impression.

Ruaumoko’s ‘Tama Kaha Tama Ora Tama Tu’ is lifted from 1992’s Tribal Stomp compilation, and is one of the most ideologically pure raps to come out of Aotearoa. A musical presentation of what many Maori felt about the Treaty, about language, and about the future. In a similar vein is the ultra cool ‘Behold my kool style’ by Dam Native, from last year's fantastic Kaupapa Driven Rhymes Uplifted. Once again, a spirited attack on the myth of ‘one nation’.

Hiphop offers a great forum for political discussion, but let's not forget its celebratory nature.On Three The Hard Way’s ‘Hiphop Holiday’ the fun spirit pervades with a cheeky interpolation of 10CC added to the mix.

Pacific Island brothers and sisters come on strong here with some major cuts. Tha Feelstyle with ‘Anthem’ sums it up. Rapped in Samoan, it has that beautiful understated feel that has become indicative of Polynesian rap styles. Sisters Underground appear with ‘In the neighbourhood”, an all time stone cold classic with a wonderful pulse and lines like ‘listening to the brothers talk about the damn Mack 10’.

Tim Finn, Dave Dobbyn, The Mutton Birds... forget about them, this is the damn song of Aotearoa. ‘In the neighbourhood’ is not false nostalgia for a white, middle class childhood a lot of us never had, but a portrait of a community living in the here and now. Ditto OMC’s ‘We r the OMC’, a bonafide South Auckland anthem.

A Polynesian tale of importance comes courtesy of LostTribe, whose ‘Summer in the winter’ is about 70s work migration and the savagery of the dawn raids.

There's so many great tracks on offer here, including of course, DLT and Che Fu's ‘Chains (a remixed version), Manuel Brandy getting dubby on ‘Freddy Fender’, Urban Disturbances ‘Robert Jane’, Dei Hamo’s ‘Peoples’, Teremoana’s ‘OPC’, MC OJ and Rhythm Slave’s ‘Burn time’, and ‘Static’ from Joint Force.

Anyone with an interest in the music of Aotearoa and with hiphop desires, shouldn't sleep on this one.