He tūhono i ngā puoro o uki ki ngā puoro o te anamata - koirā te whāinga nui a Shakaiah Perez, arā ko DJ Lady Shaka mō āna mahi whakatangitangi puoro.
“Ko tōku mea tino nui kia tango i ngā oro o ngā mātua tīpuna - ngā oro Māori, ngā oro Samoa, ngā oro Tahiti - me te whakawhitiwhiti, te whakahonohono ki ngā oro electronic, ngā oro pēnā ki te drum and bass, pēnā ki te techno,” te kī a Perez.
“Kia whakawhiti i ngā ao e rua, kia [hangāia] he ao anō mō tātau Ngāi Māori, Ngāi Tangata Pasifika hoki.”
Tōna waru tau a Perez (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Rangi) e noho ana ki Rānana, whakatangi pūoro ai.
“He kaikanikani au i tēnā wā, engari pīrangi au te whakatangi pūoro, pīrangi au te haere ki runga i te atamira me te [tuku] i te mauri, te mana ki ngā tāngata e haramai [ana] ki tāwāhi.”
Ko ngā tātai whakapapa o Perez, i heke anō i a Tahiti, Hāmoa, Tokelau me Cabo Verde ki te uru o Awherika.
“Ko tōku mea nunui kia hono i ōku ahurea katoa ki roto i ōku nei mahinga, ki roto i tōku nei tuakiri, ki roto i [ōku] āhuatanga katoa.”
From West Auckland to the world stage
The Whanganui-born, West Auckland-raised artist describes her style as ‘pasifika club’. The DJ and music producer has taken her talents to stages across the globe, performing for the online broadcaster Boiler Room.
Lady Shaka is passionate about nurturing local talent, providing DJ workshops in Rarotonga last year, and incorporating te reo and ahurea Māori within her sets.
Last week, Lady Shaka played a set at the Waitangi Forum Tent during a break in Aotearoa.
“Harikoa ana tōku ngākau [ki] te hoki mai ki te kāinga,” she says.
“Ia wā ka hoki au ki te kāinga, ka papai rawa ngā wheako.”
Music also runs deep in her whakapapa, as Perez reminisces on her koroua who was a bandmaster in the infamous brass band, Ngā Reo o Rātana in the 1940s. She also acknowledges her whanaunga Seth and Caleb Haapu, both of whom are accomplished artists in their own right.
“[He] papai rawa ki a au te noho ki roto i tētahi whānau, ko te puoro te mea nunui,” she says.
“Ko tōku mea nunui kia hoki ki te kāinga, kia whai i ngā [hononga] o tōku [whānau].”
Whāia te iti kahurangi
Ko te whāinga nui a Perez ināianei, he whāngai i ana mātauranga ki te hunga nō te kāinga e aru ana i ēnei mahi.
“Kia akiaki, kia manaaki i ngā DJ’s me ngā [kaiwhakatangi puoro] nō ōku nei whenua kia haere ki runga - kia eke ki ngā taumata tiketike ki roto i ngā mahinga katoa.”
“Kia mōhio marika mai te ao katoa ko wai mātau o te moana.”
