Upper Hutt Posse

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Upper Hutt Posse
Origin Wellington, New Zealand
Genre(s) Reggae/Rap
Years active 1985–2003
Label(s) Jayrem Records
Southside Records
Kia Kaha Productions

The Upper Hutt Posse is a musical band named after the city of Upper Hutt in Wellington, New Zealand. They were the most prominent Maori rap group in th late 1980s and early 1990s. The group was influenced by Public Enemy's hardcore rap, and had a impact on both New Zealand and Australia.

Upper Hutt Posse formed as a four-piece reggae band in 1985. Since their inception, Dean Hapeta, aka D Word, aka Te Kupu and the Posse have been fighting racial injustice through their music. In 1988 they released New Zealand's first rap record and their first 12-inch hip-hop record, E Tū through Jayrem Records, which is New Zealand's first rap record label. The song combined African American revolutionary rehetoric with an explicitly Maori frame of reference. It pays homage to the rebel Maori warrior chiefs of Aotearoa's colonial history, Hone Heke, Te Kooti, and Te Rauparaha. [1]

Releasing their debut album, Against The Flow in 1989 through Southside Records, they toured Australia and America the following year. The album consisted of songs that were delivered in a mixture of Kiwi and American accents, and displayed an overriding ambition to emulate U.S.hip-hop styles.

In 1990, the group toured maraes (Maori community centers), toured with Public Enemy when they were in New Zealand, and performed with the ragga artist, Macca B. and the Zimbabwean group the Bhundu Boys in Australia. [2]

October 1992 saw the creation of a documentary, Solidarity, showing the Upper Hutt Posse's visit to America. The documentary was aired on TV ONE's Marae.

Upon the release of the movie, Once Were Warriors, the group's single, "Ragga Girl" appeared on the soundtrack.

After the group took a break in the late 1990s, Darryl Thompson went on to become DLT, Dean Hapeta formed Kia Kaha Productions Ltd and now performs under the guise of Te Kupu. Teremoana Rapley and Bennett Pomana "MC B-Ware" went on to become mainstay co-hosts on television series, Mai Time. Teremoana was also a member of Moana and the Moahunters

Their album, 'Movement In Demand', mixes their signature hip-hop style with their reggae roots, and adding the distinctive raggamuffin rap of Wiya. [3]

After the group disbanded, Darryl Thompson went on to become DLT, Dean Hapeta formed Kia Kaha Productions Ltd and now performs under the guise of Te Kupu and Teremoana Rapley became one of the hosts of Mai Time. [4]

Contents

[edit] Members

  • Dean Hapeta (D-Word)
  • Matt Hapeta (Wiya)
  • Steve Rameka (Acid Dread)
  • Darryl Thompson (DLT)
  • Teremoana Rapley (Tere)
  • Bennett Pomana (MC B-Ware)

[edit] Discography

Date of Release Title Label Charted Certification Catalog Number
Albums
1988 Against The Flow - -
1995 Movement In Demand - -
1998 Te Reo Maori Remixes - -
2000 Ma Te Wa - -
2004 Dedicated '88-'91 - -
2005 Legacy - -

[edit] Singles

Year Single Album NZ Singles Chart Certification
1998 "E Tū" - -
"Ragga Girl" - -

[edit] References

  1. ^ Mitchell, Tony. "Kia Kaha! (Be Strong!): Maori and Pacific Islander Hip-hop in Aotearoa-New Zealand." In Global Noise: Rap and Hip-Hop Outside the USA, ed. Tony Mitchell, 280-305. Middletown: Wesleyan University Press, 2001.
  2. ^ Mitchell, Tony. "Kia Kaha! (Be Strong!): Maori and Pacific Islander Hip-hop in Aotearoa-New Zealand." In Global Noise: Rap and Hip-Hop Outside the USA, ed. Tony Mitchell, 280-305. Middletown: Wesleyan University Press, 2001.
  3. ^ Upperhuttposse
  4. ^ Upper Hutt Posse | Artists at muzic.net.nz

[edit] External links

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