Cultural Self-Esteem
Always represent for my people
Footsouljahs
There are heaps of different races living anywhere in the world, so now their cultures don’t apply as they were designed for the people…so anywhere in the world you had to create… a new culture… that could survive…1
By 2001, the Pacific Island and Asian communities in Aotearoa each reached around a quarter of a million people. About half of the 231,800 Pacific Islanders were Samoan. The next largest groups were Cook Island Māori (52,600) and Tongan (40,700). Many more Cook Island Māori, Niueans and Tokelauans live in Aotearoa than on their home islands. More than half the Pacific Islanders are born in Aotearoa. The population is young and concentrated in the Auckland region.
At the same time, between 1991 and 2001, the proportion of Asians in Aotearoa almost doubled. By 2001, Asians made up 6.6% of the population. Chinese form the largest group, followed by Indians. Some of the people in these communities have lived here for several generations.2
While the early U.S. Hip Hop artists were very ‘place’ specific – shouting out to suburbs, neighbourhoods, gangs and even streets – with the flow of people around the world, it’s not necessarily about identifing to the place of your ancestors. In these cases Hip Hop has been used as a way of forging new links to the new lands migrated to - like the Pacific Islanders in Aotearoa - giving youth the opportunity to express their unique views on this link to Aotearoa.
This sense of ‘reclaiming’ cultural identity is going on in immigrant populations all around the world, in an attempt to break free of the dominant culture, in order to assert their own. The effects from inequality due to colonisation have similarities to those of ‘displaced’ immigrant groups, who often bear the brunt of social backlash and prejudice. They need a way to boost ‘self-esteem’ – of valuing themselves and believing they are worthy of respect. However, it also needs to be pointed out that, despite these similarities of social deprivation and low socio-economic backgrounds, there are fundamental differences between those people who have been colonised and those who are an ethnic minority in another land. For instance, Māori, who were colonised in Aotearoa, do not have the choice of another land to go to. Aotearoa is their homeland.
Recent Immigrants
I was born in New Zealand, but I’m not Māori so I’m not the indigenous people of the country.
King Kapisi3
Scribe4
There is often a tension between indigenous cultures, who are struggling for their own cultural self-esteem, and those of newer immigrant cultures. Recent immigrants are often ‘colonised’ by the thinking of the dominant culture – unaware that they are ‘buying into’ the very same prejudices that are working against their own communities. Indigenous groups are often concerned that the arrival of yet more immigrants will further weaken their own cultural stakes and opportunities. If the Māori version of the Treaty had been honoured, new immigrants would deal with Māori first on their arrival here – and possibly prevent this.
Journeying Towards Peace
The ability for groups to actively voice their thoughts and feelings, and give status to their unique cultural identities, is vital in any journey towards a more accepting, fair and peaceful society. Hip Hop, with its potential open access to all, can provide such a vehicle.
When I first arrived [from Samoa, aged 10] all I had in Samoan was a tape I brought with me. It connected the life I had here with the one I had in Samoa. There were no books with the Samoan language around, except the bible. I could feel my language slipping away from me. At home we were just taught to speak English because that’s the language at school. I began rhyming in English so when I switched to rapping in Samoan I found it comfortable…even if you don’t understand Samoan, you’re gonna nod your head to it and you’ll actually feel the lyrics hitting you.
Tha Feelstyle5
Pacific Island Influences
Several Pacific Island Hip Hop artists and crews are now successfully taking on the Hip Hop world. The pioneering group The Mau/Ruff Opinion have expressed support for the Samoan early/mid 20th Century anti-colonial Mau Movement (the term Mau meaning ‘opinion’ in Samoan). The group openly expressed the Mau Movement slogan ‘Samoa mo Samoa’ (Samoa for Samoans).
Scribe (Samoan/Chinese) engages themes of struggle, poverty and drug abuse in his lyrics, while The Fieldstyle Orator/Tha Feelstyle(MC) rhymes in both Samoan and English, promoting use of the Samoan language in rap. Alphrisk, of Deceptikonz (Rarotongan descent) proclaimed on the first track of his solo album: ‘It’s that cat from the fifteen islands!’ – an allusion to the Cook Islands.
The Footsouljahs Crew, most of Samoan descent, wrote the anthem ‘Represent for My People’ – which includes the chorus ‘Always represent for my peoples/Pacific islanders of foreign soil/style lethal/Take a look as we enter the next chapter/Flip the script/Polynesian is my flavour’.
Samoan Original
King Kapisi (a New Zealand born Samoan) is well known for his criticism of Pacific Island churches and the legacy of Christian missionaries and their impact on the Pacific. His outspokenness has earned him a few critics within the Pacific community but King Kapisi is quick to point out that he raps to empower his people to find their identity.
Kapisi has reclaimed the terms ‘coconut’ and ‘overstayer’ from its original racist insult, and uses the terms with pride to turn round such negative meanings (much like ‘hori’ with Māori, and ‘nigga’ with African-Americans). He has used the term ‘overstayer’ to brand his own line of Pacific/Hip Hop inspired fashion label – adorned with slogans like ‘Samoan Original’, ‘Tongan 2 Da Bone’, and ‘Ruff Raro’.6
Dawn Raid Entertainment (who took their name from the dawn raids by immigration officials of the 1970s, in search of Pacific Islanders suspected of ‘overstaying’ their work visas) have moved from selling their own brand of tee-shirt at Otara Market, to become a successful record label, clothing company and education trust. Their philosophy is to empower the youth of South Auckland – a region crippled by poverty, unemployment, and negative reputation.
Che Fu 'Chains' the Bomb
Che Fu, of Niuean and Māori descent, uses a blend of Hip Hop and reggae to reflect a Polynesian perspective that speaks of his identity as both Niuean and tangata whenua. When he teamed up with DLT , their song ‘Chains’ commented on issues ranging from nuclear testing in the Pacific to urban life in Auckland City.
Come test me like a bomb straight from Mururoa/How come I got Cyclops fish in my water
A nation of Pacific lambs to the slaughter/ Three eyes for my son, another foot for my daughter.
DLT feat. Che Fu – ‘Chains’
German Connection
But it’s not only immigrant or minority groups in Aotearoa who have benefited from revival of identity through Hip Hop. In Germany, unification brought the strong American-based Hip Hop culture of West Germany to the East. German rap groups like Advanced Chemistry and Die Fantastischen began adapting Hip Hop to their own language and situation.
Within the scene, immigrant groups from Turkey and Morocco were also exploring Hip Hop culture, and using it as a way of voicing their own issues within the dominant German culture. Many had arrived as ‘guest workers’ – brought in as manual labourers, but treated like ‘outsiders’. With poor command of the German language they were labelled ‘second rate citizens’.7 The use of rap music was a way of distinguishing themselves as a proud and distinct culture.
Rapping in the Turkish language first appeared in 1991, but it wasn’t until 1995 that a compilation of mainly Turkish language rap groups was released and ‘Oriental Hip Hop’ was born. Recordings of traditional songs and music form the basis of Oriental Hip Hop – using rhythms and melodies learned or sampled from experimental cassettes, traditional Moroccan and Turkish music styles were successfully blended with African-American and Latino Hip Hop to produce a distinctive variation.8
- Approximately how many Pacific Islanders and Asians were living in Aotearoa by 2001?
- Why is it important for immigrant populations to ‘reclaim’ their cultural identity?
- Name four Hip Hop artists or crews from the Pacific Islands. Where does each artist come from?
- How has King Kapisi helped to turn around the negative meanings of some racist slurs against Pacific Islanders?
- What event did Dawn Raid Entertainment take their name from?
- What does the term ‘Oriental Hip Hop’ relate to?
Extend your thinking
Auckland is said to have the highest density of Pacific Island peoples in the whole of the Pacific. How do you think this has added to Auckland’s ‘flava’? What can you see as the advantages for such a melting pot of Pacific people? What might be the down side?
1. Jillski, 2003, personal interview for ‘The Next – an Impression of Hip Hop expression’ 2003.
2. Wilson, J. ‘Society’, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia Of New Zealand.
3. Kara. 2002. ‘Beats From Da Old Plantation’ – King Kapisi Interview, Rip It Up Magazine Issue 285.
4. Kara. ‘Spit it Out – Scribe interview’ Rip It Up Magazine Issue Aug/Sept 2003, p61.
5. Tha Feelstyle (Kas Futialo) ‘Feeling tha Style’ Interview with Gareth Shute, NZM Magazine Oct/Nov 2004.
6. Scott, J. Dec1999/Jan2000. ‘In the Court of The King’ NZ Musician Vol. 8, No.6.
7. Bennett, A. 1999, ‘Hip Hop am Mein’ – Media, Culture & Society, Vol. 16, No. 1, p83.
8. Ibid, p89.
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