The music of New Zealand has been influenced by a number of traditions, including Māori music, the music introduced by European settlers during the nineteenth century, and a variety of styles imported during the twentieth century, including blues, jazz, country, rock and roll, reggae, and hip hop, with many of these genres given a unique New Zealand interpretation.
Che Kuo Eruera Ness, better known by his stage name Che Fu, is a New Zealand hip hop, R&B and reggae artist, songwriter and producer. A founding member of the band Supergroove, as a solo artist he has gone on to sell thousands of albums both in New Zealand and internationally. Che Fu is considered a pioneer of Hip hop and Pasifika music in New Zealand.
Hilltop Hoods are an Australian hip hop group that formed in 1991 in Blackwood, Adelaide, South Australia. They are regarded as pioneers of the "larrikin-like" style of Australian hip hop. The group was founded by Suffa and Pressure, who were joined by DJ Debris after fellow founder, DJ Next, left in 1999. The group released its first extended play, Back Once Again, in 1997 and have subsequently released eight studio albums, two "restrung" albums and three DVDs.
Sanerivi "Sani" Sagala, better known by his stage name Dei Hamo, is a New Zealand hip hop artist, producer and director.
New Zealand Hip Hop derives from the wider hip hop cultural movement originating amongst African Americans in the United States. Like the parent movement, New Zealand hip hop consists of four parts: rapping, DJing, graffiti art and breakdancing. The first element of hip hop to reach New Zealand was breakdancing, which gained notoriety after the release of the 1979 movie The Warriors. The first hip hop hit single, "Rapper's Delight" by the Sugarhill Gang, became a hit in New Zealand when it was released there in 1980, a year after it was released in the United States. By the middle of the 1980s, breakdancing and graffiti art were established in urban areas like Wellington and Christchurch. By the early 1990s hip hop became a part of mainstream New Zealand culture.
Demetrius C. Savelio, better known by his stage name Savage, is a New Zealand rapper and a former member of hip hop group the Deceptikonz. Savage was the first New Zealand hip hop artist to have a commercial single achieve platinum certification status in the United States. The "International Breakthrough" accolade of the Pacific Music Awards was created in his honour. Savage also has applied his recognisable voice in the electronic dance music space with 5× platinum hit ''Freaks'' with Timmy Trumpet, and 4 times platinum hit ''Swing'' with Joel Fletcher.
Urban Pasifika is a New Zealand subgenre of hip hop, that developed primarily among Pasifika New Zealanders in South Auckland. Drawn from alternative hip hop and R&B influences, it was quickly blended with Pacific Island or Māori instrumentation and traditional songwriting and singing and rapping in a variety of Polynesian languages, such as Māori, Samoan, Niuean and Tongan. The genre's genesis in the 1980s blossomed into a unique, globally enrapturing cultural scene in its homeland of Auckland, especially in the next decade. Urban Pasifika is one of the most popular music genres to arise from New Zealand, and helped cement Auckland's reputation on the world stage as a major cultural centre, and the most ethnically Polynesian city in the world.
Frontline are a New Zealand hip hop music group formed in 2001.
First Edition is the first album by the New Zealand hip-hop artist, Dei Hamo released in 2005. The album charted at #13 on the New Zealand Albums Chart.
Bill Urale, known by his stage name King Kapisi, is a New Zealand hip hop recording artist. He was the first hip hop artist in New Zealand to receive the prestigious Silver Scroll Award at the APRA Awards for Songwriter of the Year for his single Reverse Resistance in 1999, which followed on the popular release of his debut single Sub-Cranium Feeling. Kapisi is of Samoan origin, with his stage name being the Samoan word for 'cabbage'.
Sam Hansen, better known by his stage name PNC, is a New Zealand hip hop artist and rapper.
Proud: An Urban Pacific Streetsoul Compilation is a 1994 New Zealand hip hop and R&B compilation album. It was released in New Zealand by Second Nature Records and in Australia by Volition Records, and later rereleased in New Zealand by Huh! Records in 2000. Proud has been described as "one of the most important NZ releases in the past decades" by New Zealand music industry figure Simon Grigg.
Benjamin Peter Speed is an Australian musician who composes scores for film, television and theatre. He performs and records as Mister Speed and was vocalist and songwriter in the Australian alternative, electronic and hip hop band The New Pollutants.
DLT, born Darryl Thomson, is a New Zealand DJ, music producer, composer and artist. He was born in Maraenui, New Zealand.
Coco Solid is an emcee, writer, artist, director and producer. She is of Māori, Pacific and German heritage. Her musical style is a mixture of hip hop, disco and electronica. She created the animated television series Aroha Bridge.
The New Zealand Music Hall of Fame | Te Whare Taonga Puoro o Aotearoa is a figurative hall of fame dedicated to noteworthy New Zealand musicians.
Matthew James Colwell, better known by his stage name 360, is an Australian hip hop recording artist. He has released four studio albums: What You See Is What You Get (2008); Falling & Flying (2011), which peaked at No. 4 on the ARIA Albums Chart and was certified platinum; Utopia (2014), and Vintage Modern (2017). 360's second album provided four charting singles, including "Boys like You", which peaked at No. 3 on the ARIA Singles Chart and was certified 4× platinum. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2012, he received six nominations and won the 'Breakthrough Artist – Release' award for Falling & Flying, while Styalz Fuego won the ARIA 'Producer of the Year' Artisan award for the same album.
Pieter Tuhoro, known by his stage name Pieter T, is a New Zealand R&B singer and music producer. He was originally a member in the short lived music group, Boyband in 2006. Pieter T made his solo musical debut in 2009 with the single Cold Nights followed by the singles, Stay With Me, Can't Stop Loving You and Something Else which peaked at number six on the NZ Radio Charts. His latest release is the single the Business feat. PNC and Dei Hamo off his debut album Life, Love and Lessons.
The 2013 APRA Silver Scroll Awards were held on Tuesday 15 October 2013 at Vector Arena in Auckland, celebrating excellence in New Zealand songwriting. This is the first year the ceremony was held at Vector Arena, moving from its previous location of the Auckland Town Hall in order to accommodate more of APRA's 8000 New Zealand members.
The 2017 New Zealand Music Awards was the 52nd holding of the annual ceremony featuring awards for musical recording artists based in or originating from New Zealand. It took place on 16 November 2017 at Spark Arena in Auckland and it was hosted by Jono Pryor and Ben Boyce. The awards show was broadcast live nationally on Three.
