Beyond Scribe: The Changing Sounds of New Zealand Hip-Hop

Ten years ago New Zealand hip-hop was riding high. Scribe, P-Money, Nesian Mystik, Savage, Che Fu, and King Kapisi were household names, a yearly hip-hop summit had grown big enough to be held at Auckland Town Hall and magazine covers were presenting artists as a unified force.

Since then it hasn't been as easy to discuss New Zealand hip-hop as a single, collective movement. And that of course is a good thing.

There was certainly a shift in 2007, when Scribe's second album Rhymebook fell well short of expectations. Whereas his debut The Crusader, managed 36-weeks on the Australian charts, its follow-up only managed four weeks. There was no third album and the Christchurch rapper later explained how his drinking, gambling and drug use had led him to pawn his music awards.

Savage, Scribe's closest competitor, hit the Australian top ten with "Moonshine" but the progress was stymied when his label Dawn Raid, was placed into voluntary liquidation after over-extending in trying to crack the Australian market.

For a moment it felt like New Zealand's appetite for local hip-hop was waning. Instead, rappers and producers adapted and found new avenues to succeed and in the last decade most number one hits by hip-hop acts have incorporated other musical genres. Scribe appeared on J Williams' r&b track "You Got Me", P-Money produced his own dance track "Everything" and when Smashproof hooked up with rock/pop singer Gin to create "Brother", it topped the charts for eleven weeks (the longest ever for a local act).

Savage eventually found international success when his 2005 song "Swing" featured on the romantic comedy Knocked Up. It was later used as menu music for the film's DVD and became a slow-burning hit that surpassed 1.5 million paid downloads. He then made his own crossover when "Swing" was remixed by electro house producer Joel Fletcher and he guested on Timmy Trumpet's dance track "Freaks".

This genre-mixing continues. Wellington MC Young Tapz recently guested on a hit single by EDM act Hermitude which helped give rise to his own track "Killa". Co-produced by fellow Zimbabwe-born NZ rapper, Mzwètwo, it has gained over a million plays on Spotify. Tapz has since scored a management deal with GOOD (an offshoot of Kanye's label of the same name).

As it's become increasingly difficult to identify what constitutes a hip-hop track, the style continues to influence other forms of music. Lorde's worldwide smash, "Royals" rode a hip-hop beat and though the current best-selling local single "Don't Worry Bout It" by Kings features rapping it was inspired by Norwegian house producer Kygo.

There are now multitude routes to hip-hop success and less need to push the image of a unified local scene. Instead, young rappers can immediately tap into an already existing audience through specific such as AYEBRO then build their following online.

Auckland crew Home Brew accompanied a run of free-to-download Bandcamp EPs with humorous and cheeky YouTube videos that included copious amounts of alcohol and weed. Their subsequent album hit number one and they've retained a loyal audience through their other musical projects such as @peace and Average Rap Band.

Though this approach isn't likely to make an act a household name (even if it scores airplay on Mai FM), that kind of acclaim is no longer needed to be a considered a success. Even many of the old school acts have diversified - Scribe guests on underground tracks and has written a critically acclaimed play; Louie Knuxx is as gritty as ever and does a popular podcast with slacker-rapper, Tourettes who who has turned his side interest in poetry into a core part of his creative work.

The hyped, glory days of local hip-hop may have passed, but it's now appearing in more interesting places and influencing just as many people. That New Zealand indie group The Veils go to Run The Jewels' El-P to produce their new record is a good indication of hip-hop's reach in the current music scene. And while the big name, front page stars of the late 2000s may be done, New Zealand hip-hop is just as integral to the local music scene. It may be a little more difficult to pin down, but New Zealand hip-hop has never been stronger.