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.
Brian L. Friedman is an American dancer and choreographer.
Cristan Lee Judd is an American actor, dancer and choreographer known for his brief marriage to Jennifer Lopez.
Auckland Girls' Grammar School (AGGS) is a New Zealand secondary school for girls located in Newton, in the Auckland central business district. Established in 1888, it is one of the oldest secondary institutions in the country. The school received the Goodman Fielder awards for School and Secondary School of the year in 2000.
Barry Lather is an American creative director, choreographer, producer, and dancer based in Minneapolis, Minnesota and Los Angeles, California.
Stan Walker is an Australian-born New Zealand singer, actor, and television personality. In 2009, Walker was the winner of the seventh and last season of Australian Idol. He subsequently signed a recording contract with Sony Music Australia. In December 2009, Walker released his debut studio album, Introducing Stan Walker, which included the hit single, "Black Box". The album debuted at number three on the Australian ARIA Albums Chart and was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). It also appeared on the New Zealand Albums Chart at number two and was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ).
Antonia Christina Basilotta, better known by her stage name Toni Basil, is an American singer, choreographer, dancer, actress, and director. Her song "Mickey" topped the charts in the US, Canada and Australia and hit the top ten in several other countries.
Avalanche City is the stage name of indie folk musician Dave Baxter from Auckland, New Zealand. He is best known for his 2011 New Zealand No. 1 single "Love, Love, Love" and his 2015 single Inside Out, which also charted at No. 1. In 2011, Dave Baxter was awarded the APRA Silver Scroll and nominated for three New Zealand Music Awards, including Breakthrough Artist of the Year, Song of the Year and Album of the Year.
ReQuest Dance Crew are an all-female hip-hop dance crew from Auckland, New Zealand. ReQuest was formed in 2007, with originally five members. They are based out of The Palace Dance Studio in Penrose and are one of six crews alongside The Royal Family (MegaCrew), Kingsmen (Adult), Sorority (Varsity), Duchesses (Varsity) and Bubblegum (Junior).
Broods is a New Zealand musical duo from Nelson, composed of Georgia Josiena Nott on lead vocals, with older brother and multi-instrumentalist Caleb Allan Joseph Nott on production and backing vocals. They released the single "Bridges", which went to No. 8 on the New Zealand singles chart, and signed with Capitol and Polydor Records. They released their self-titled debut EP, Broods, on 30 January 2014, which was followed by a full-length album, Evergreen, on 22 August 2014. The band has toured with Ellie Goulding, Haim, Sam Smith, Tove Lo and Taylor Swift. They have won ten New Zealand Music Awards. On 24 June 2016, Broods released their second album, Conscious. They released their third album Don't Feed the Pop Monster on 1 February 2019.
"Ringa Linga" is a song recorded by South Korean singer Taeyang. It was released as a digital single on November 8, 2013, through YG Entertainment. Later, it became the first single to be released from his second studio album Rise (2014). It was written and composed by Big Bang bandmate G-Dragon and Shockbit.
Born to Dance is a 2015 New Zealand feature film. It was written by Steve Barr, Hone Kouka and Casey Whelan and is the feature film direction debut by Tammy Davis, best known for his role as Munter in Outrageous Fortune. The film was released on 24 September 2015 in New Zealand. Born to Dance is choreographed by Parris Goebel, who has worked with Jennifer Lopez and Cirque du Soleil, as well as recently acting and co-choreographing in the fifth installment of the Step Up franchise.
Parris Renee Goebel, also known professionally as Parris, is a New Zealand choreographer, dancer, singer, director and actress. She is the founder and main choreographer of the dance school "The Palace Dance Studio", which has produced groups such as ReQuest, Sorority, Bubblegum, and The Royal Family. The latter has won the World Hip Hop Dance Championship three times in a row, becoming the first group in history to achieve it.
"Level Up" is a song by American singer-songwriter Ciara released on July 17, 2018 by Beauty Marks Entertainment.
JaQuel Knight is an American choreographer and dancer. Born in North Carolina and raised in Atlanta, he has worked with Beyoncé on many of her most notable dances, including on "Single Ladies", "Formation" and the historic Coachella performances which she headlined.
Michael Earl Parmenter is a New Zealand choreographer and dancer of contemporary dance.
Daniel Alexander Belton is a New Zealand dancer, choreographer and film-maker based in Dunedin. He is the co-founder and artistic director of Good Company Arts (GCA). He is an Arts Foundation of New Zealand Laureate. His works have been shown in America, Europe, South America, Asia and the Pacific.
Russell Ian Kerr was a New Zealand ballet dancer, choreographer, and producer. After spending the 1950s dancing in Europe, he returned to New Zealand where he was instrumental in the development of the New Zealand Ballet Company and ballet as an art form in New Zealand. He was recognised as one of New Zealand's most significant living artists in 2005 with an Icon Award from the Arts Foundation of New Zealand.
Louise Mary Potiki Bryant is a New Zealand choreographer, dancer and video artist of Māori descent. She has choreographed a number of award-winning performances, and is a founding member of Atamira Dance Company. She designs, produces and edits videos of performances for music videos, dance films and video art installations, and her works are frequently accompanied by music composed by her husband, musician Paddy Free. She often collaborates with other artists, including clay sculptor Paerau Corneal, singer-songwriter Ariana Tikao, scholar Te Ahukaramū Charles Royal and Canadian multidisciplinary artist Santee Smith. She was made an Arts Foundation of New Zealand Laureate in 2019.
