This article was first published by RNZ.
It still blows rapper Danny Haimona’s mind that Māori hip-hop collective Dam Native recorded the 1997 hit ‘Behold My Kool Style’ in just one take.
Haimona recorded Dam Native’s debut album Kaupapa Driven Rhymes Uplifted with producer-turned-Apple Music global creative director Zane Lowe and pioneering hip-hop DJ Manuel Bundy at Auckland music studio The Lab.
“Manuel just goes off, and me and Zane just look at each other, mouths open. ‘What just happened, you know what I mean? What the hell just happened?’ You put these three types of talent - Manuel Bundy, myself and Zane Lowe - on one track. Magic.”
To celebrate the recent re-release of Kaupapa Driven Rhymes Uplifted on vinyl, Haimona joined Kara Rickard on Music 101 to reflect on the album’s place in NZ hip-hop history.
Born in Wellington in 1971, Haimona was 10 when he discovered hip-hop music through breakdancing.
As a teen, although his dad thought rap artists like Grandmaster Flash and Melle Mel were absolute rubbish, Haimona was already “totally on this hip-hop thing”.
When this hip-hop-obsessed kid later took a “deep dive” into te reo Māori, the musical collective Dam Native was born.
Growing up in the ‘70s and ‘80s, Haimona says he wasn’t aware the social and political activism around him was part of a “Māori renaissance”.
“The renaissance really shaped me and I didn’t even know it. But when you come to learn about it you’re like, ‘Wow, I lived through that.’”
He says the celebration of Māori culture will always be central to his music and creativity.
“I will always uphold that. I don’t think of anything else. I don’t care what trends there are… I’m not that kid that put a few Māori words in my raps, that’s not me.
“Our tūpuna wrote that record - I just held the pen.”
Haimona wants to share credit for the success of Kaupapa Driven Rhymes Uplifted with everyone involved in making the record and also his fellow artists from Aotearoa’s “golden era of hip-hop”.
For him, the close friendships formed in the ‘90s with other “obsessed hip-hop kids” are the most significant part of the album’s legacy.
“I guarantee, 1000 percent, if I saw them all right now it’d be all hugs. It’s the most special thing for me.”
Zane Lowe - who gave Haimona the “absolutely wonderful” beat for his “Behold My Kool Style” lyrics - is a great guy, he says, and still a friend today.
“Awesome” is how Lowe has described “Behold My Kool Style” and many Kiwis agree.
To this day, Haimona still receives kind words and props about Kaupapa Driven Rhymes Uplifted and is honoured that it’s regarded as a New Zealand hip-hop classic.
“I must thank the people of Aotearoa and a lot of people around the globe who have shown nothing but love and support in regards to this record. It’s done its job and it continues to do its job.”
- RNZ
