A dream come true for a young Māori rapper. Rei McDougall's album 'A Place To Stand' will launch in both languages, Māori and English.
He’s a bartender turned rap artist.
McDougall says, "Hip-hop has always been a voice for the voiceless, it's been a voice for the minority, a voice for people who want change.”
He tested his music on his Ngati Raukawa family.
“I started when I was 13-years-old. I wrote this little EP for my whānau for xmas, I wrote about four or five songs and chucked it on a CD and gave it to a whānau for Christmas present.”
The album is called ‘A place to stand.’
“I'm proud to be from New Zealand, I’m proud to be from Wellington, I'm proud of my whakapapa, I'm proud of my Pākehā whakapapa, my Māori whakapapa, Ngāti Raukawa.”
His song writing ability comes easy.
“I don't really think about it writing songs, if it fits than it fits. Sometimes it's easier to say one thing in Māori than it is in English.”
'A place to stand' launched last month in Auckland.
Rei is currently working on a separate te reo Māori E.P. and bilingual versions of his tunes which will feature on iwi radio stations.