Urban Pasifika
Urban Pacifika (also known as Urban Pacific) is a subgenre of hip hop which combines American style hip hop or R&B rhyming and beats with Pacific Island or Māori instrumentation (such as ukulele samples) and Pacific Island or Māori language singing/rapping.
History
The roots of the sound, and the genre's name, however go back to the album Proud, created by Alan Jansson in 1993-94, where Jansson merged hip-hop beats with acoustic instruments. [1]
The sound developed further in 1998 with the release of the album Urban Pacifika Records - Pioneers of a Pacifikan Frontier on an Auckland based record label started by Phillip Fuemana called Urban Pasifika Records.
Phillip Fuemana
Phillip Fuemana's influence on NZ music was significant, he started a music movement that continues today, he on worked and produced a large number of albums and singles and directed a number of music videos. He was also influential in the development of the independent South Auckland label Dawn Raid Entertainment.
Phillip was one of the founders of the band OMC. Phil started OMC as an outlet for his instrumentals but passed it on to his younger brother Pauly Fuemana who then went on to work with Alan Jansson, as a partner, creating the song How Bizarre. OMC went on to sell over 4 million records. [2]
Urban Pacifika Records is now defunct.
Main artists active in this subgenre include:
