Hip Hop
SWIDT: 'Crying is a form of healing' | Eating Fried Chicken in the Shower
“We probably do a better job of looking after the community than the cops do.”
Four life lessons we can learn from the fall of hip-hop giants Dawn Raid
We speak to Oscar Kightley, the director of 'Dawn Raid', a doco about the legendary NZ hip hop label.
Rapper Mo Muse didn’t feel belonging in Aotearoa until he found Hip Hop | The Outliers
When Mo Muse was young, kids used to tell him “you’re not one of us.” Now the Somali refugee rapper is selling out gigs in Aotearoa…
A 64 Bars debut from Ranuimarz that’s “full of mana”
“When they hear Ranuimarz, they know exactly where I’m from.”
Ranuimarz and fellow West Aucklander Melodownz meet up ahead of Ranuimarz’s explosive 64 Bars debut at Red…
20-year-old Shiraz is “the most underrated MC in the country”
Shiraz used to keep his rapping a secret. Now, he’s being called the most underrated rapper in New Zealand by one of his inspirations, Dirty. Shiraz…
Waguan raps about social justice while making you dance
“We out here talking about social justice and twerking.”
Making people dance while rapping about social justice can seem like an unlikely combo. But for Waguan, like…
Muslim rapper Abrzy travels to Bangladesh to make sense of his home in Aotearoa | The Outliers
Abid Rahman - stage name Abrzy - is a rapper living in Wellington. We travel with him to the city he was born in, Dhaka, Bangladesh,…
Winston Peters on how fish heads are the secret to youthful skin | Church and State
19-year-old musician and first-time voter Church, from Church & AP, speaks to Winston Peters.
Melodownz shows us how to make his banana pancakes | Party Trick
Hip hop artist and hot sauce maker Melodownz shows us his banana panikeke recipe.
Watch out for NZ rap competition winner RAAJ
Meet RAAJ, an upcoming talent in our underground hip hop scene. The Red Bull Next winner joins Church and Smoke in the studio to cook up…
Revealed: New Zealand's top five underground rappers, judged by Smoke and Church
Red Bull is searching for the next big thing in New Zealand hip hop. Here's an exclusive look at the five finalists chosen by Church (Church and…
Black New Zealanders on how hip hop finally gave them a place to belong
“When I was growing up in primary school, they weren’t used to the African face or the African features. The only people I saw who looked…
How to make a beat with SWIDT producer Smokeygotbeatz
Whether it's some snare drums or a packet of Yum Yum noodles, SWIDT producer Smokeygotbeatz knows how to use sounds to create a bouncy, catchy beat.…
Sound Check: Randa rejects the productivity myth
And they talk gender identity, and dealing with OCD before and during Covid.
Melodownz turned self-affirmations into a catchy hook
During a rough time in his life, Melodownz repeated positive affirmations to himself in the mirror. Then he realised the mantras made a pretty sweet hook.…
5 things we learnt about JessB in our IG live chat
It's NZ Music Month and we're having lunchtime chats on the gram with NZ artists! First up, we talk durags from AliExpress and being creative during…
Release of the Week: Auckland rapper Hans. takes us into his dreamy $5 music video
This week, Hans. released ‘Getby’, our first peek into his new project Tango Hue.
Hans. has a knack for transforming everyday motifs into something special. In the…
Re:hearsal Room: Mazbou Q
Mazbou Q (formerly Unchained XL) talks tapping into Pan-Africanism in his music, being united against imperialism and, really, just being a dope rapper.
Re:hearsal Room: Swizl Jager
Swizl Jager is all about using as much te reo in his music as he can. He talks about "keeping it reo" and the joys of…
Re:hearsal Room: Raiza Biza
What's it like to move to NZ and feel the pressure to fulfill the classic immigrant's tale? That is: get educated, make lots of money and…
School of Beatbox
When she was in high school, Hope saw Ladi6 beatboxing and that was it for her; "that signed and sealed it." Hope knew she was going…
Tonga’s hip hop group, The Onion Squad
Say malo e lelei to The Onion Squad! This self-taught hip hop crew have been adopted by Aotearoa so their dancing careers can continue to thrive.…
The Bradas
The Bradas are taking the world of New Zealand dance global.
They've won back to back at the 2016/2017 World Hip Hop Championships and impressed J.Lo…
Randa
Randa took some time out from being incredible to talk identity, fashion and artistic processes over a coffee served in a pastry shell ☕️
SWIDT
Meet SWIDT, the rap group from Onehunga with more nominations than Lorde at this year's Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards. Find out how they'd spend $10…
Rapper JessB in a live performance of Set It Off | Re.cord
JessB's Facebook bio says "JUST YO FAVORITE FEMALE FLAME SPITTA" and we couldn't agree more ???
Re.cord Volume 4: Melodownz
Bronson AKA Melodownz is an artist, poet, rapper and gentle Polynesian panther.