It's been 30 years since Upper Hutt Posse released New Zealand's first ever hip-hop record, 'E Tū'.
Since then they've become pioneers of the genre, and now they're finally being inducted into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame.
Founding member Dean Hapeta, aka Te Kupu, says 'E Tū' was inspired by his love of James Brown's classic song 'Say it Loud (I'm Black and I'm Proud)'.
"I was like 'man, we need a song like that here, no one's making a song like that.' And when rap came out it was like this was the right form for it."
Realising 'E Tū' would be the first, Te Kupu says it had to sound like it was from New Zealand, not America.
"We decided that from the get-go. I knew the best way to do that was to have some Māori lyrics in a song that's going to separate us immediately from the whole Americanisms."
It was that connection that gained Upper Hutt Posse a legion of fans.
"It was exhilarating, exciting to feel the response from the audience. They welcomed us, they took us on like they all knew us, like wow!" Te Kupu says.
On November 15 they'll be inducted into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame at the music awards - the first rap group to enter.
Te Kupu admits he was unsure about accepting, but realised it was a way to celebrate New Zealand hip-hop.
"No one in their right mind, if they're in the music industry, is going to go honouring any other MC no matter what fame they get. They'd have to come to Upper Hutt Posse first cause we brought out the first rap song, and we're still going," he says.
His lyrics called out police brutality, incarceration, and racism - issues Te Kupu says are still prevalent today. But he's proud he can use his music as a platform to address them.
"We're still doing it. We're still fighting against it. We just need to keep up the struggle, keep up the fight," he says.
"Without such a platform, I may have done something crazy!"
And while he hasn't finalised his acceptance speech - Te Kupu says he wants to acknowledge everyone that's ever been part of Upper Hutt Posse - a list of over sixty.
Newshub.
