Franz Ferdinand, Iggy, Common... there’s a lot to look forward to in the international line-up at January’s Big Day Out. The local roll call – notably South Auckland hip-hop label Dawn Raid’s plethora of acts – is similarly exciting. ALEXANDER BISLEY meets Brotha D, the independent label’s co-CEO/creative guru, one of the most influential and respected men in South AK.


“MAN, lessons to life are found in the most awkward places/ Just when you thought things were really basic/ Well man tries to rearrange God’s plan/ The gap between the poor and rich expands/I live humble, even though I’m on the broke side/Against all odds we kiwis do fly.”

Fallen Angels, by Deceptikonz, Dawn Raid’s star group, is a powerful and cathartic song, with incisive lyrics. Against all odds we kiwis do fly, but the rust-like forces of darkness remain a real threat. In the 1970s, National Prime Minister Robert Muldoon’s government indiscriminately targeted the Polynesian communities in Auckland with Dawn Raids. Families were rudely awakened as the police boorishly searched for “overstayers”. It was a hurtful, hard to understand experience for Brotha D, aka Danny Leaosavaii. “It’s something that happened to my family back in the 70s, it happened to me when I was a little kid, it’s something I remember. When I had the opportunity to find out what it really was I did, I held on to that. When I had the opportunity to start a company with a good friend of mine [co-CEO Y.D.N.A aka Andy Murnane]… he understood and that’s why we have the name Dawn Raid. Absolutely, hook into it [the Dawn Raids] as much as we can, it is there [our name] for that reason. Just a reminder to the younger generation there was a time in our history this happened with the Muldoon government and all... We’re survivors from the Dawn Raid days. We’ve all moved on... Look at us now. We’re successful.” Brotha D may be the godfather of New Zealand hip-hop, but, like his top artist, Mareko aka Mark Kolani Sagapolutele, he’s humble, relaxed and very likeable when I interview him.

Fast-forward to 2004, and Don Brash is reviving immigrant bashing from Muldoon’s dark ages. Then there’s all National’s bile about “hip-hop tours”, channelled by the media, which has disturbing racist undertones. What does Brotha D think about all this? “Pretty shocking. They only seem to like to take the bad out of us.” The Brashian elements of the Nats fail to recognise that whether they like it or not, hip-hop is the new New Zealand. Brotha D has long been a hugely influential and respected man, before the likes of The Listener’s November 2005 power list acknowledged it. In early 2004, the cover of the debuting Polynesian magazine Spasifik was emblazoned “Dawn of an era”. It featured a group of Polynesian hip-hop artists, who are all signed to Dawn Raid (Deceptikonz) or part of the whanau (DJ Sir Vere). Hip-hop is a major culture force in New Zealand, the music is very popular with New Zealanders of all ethnicities and streams – possibly even Nat voters! – as anyone whose been to a Dawn Raid gig knows.

Dawn Raid challenges racism by celebrating what a great, diverse place NZ is. Brotha D pays tribute to the Labour government’s support of New Zealand music, and is critical of Don Brash. “I’ve never seen Don Brash turn to up to any of our music conferences. I’ve never seen Don Brash support anything to do with New Zealand music. The National government never even raised the quotas on New Zealand music.”

King Kapisi, who publishes under the label Overstayer (also the name of his clothing business), is another who has imaginatively reclaimed the language/culture from racism. American heavyweight rapper Mobb Deep (rightly) describes Dawn Raid as the label that runs New Zealand hip-hop. How does Brotha D find being the boss? “Honestly, I don’t try and think about it as much as people would like to think. I just be me, you know what I mean. I don’t proclaim to be this, I don’t proclaim to be that. I love hip-hop. I saw there was a massive gap in the NZ industry, the NZ music industry.”

The genesis for Dawn Raid was when Brotha D and Y.D.N.A met at a business course at the Manukau Polytech in Otara. Brotha D had been a rapper in hip-hop group The Lost Tribe, who recorded the hit single Summa in Da Winter in 1996. The experience had made him realise being independent was the way to go. The duo began working on the label from 1997, the first album Southside Story was recorded in 1999 – its first track live from Waikeria Prison – and released in April 2000. It established Dawn Raid as a fresh, sharp, important voice. Southside Story2:International followed in May 2001, before Deceptikonz’s Elimination in March 2002. The group features Mareko, Savage, aka Demetrius Savelio, Devolo and Alphrisk. The album featured the outstanding singles Beware, Broken Home, Elimination and Fallen Angels. “I live humble, even though I’m on the broke side/Against all odds we kiwis do fly.”

Ill Semantics’ Theory of Meaning was next in November, before Mareko’s White Sunday (July 2003), soulful R&B singers Adeaze’s Always and For Real (May 2004) and the charismatic Savage’s swinging Moonshine (April 2005). Moonshine’s highlights included party tracks like If You Love Savage and Tear the Roof Off alongside conscious rap like Everyday Hustle and the Locked Up remix (with Akon). Set Me Free is an evocative, moving song about youth suicide, importantly discussing something macho Kiwi culture still has great difficulty in responding to.


Mareko’s great album, better than Scribe’s The Crusader, is the jewel in Dawn Raid’s crown, maybe the best New Zealand hip-hop album ever. Smokecds.com proclaimed it “The finest hip hop album our country has produced... Expect this album to become a classic and open the doors for NZ hip- hop worldwide.” While The Listener enthused “White Sunday [is] the first local release to truly speak the global language. And glorious it sounds, too, as Mareko trades uncompromised verses, soaked in New Zealand culture, with international hotshots.”

Every self-respecting New Zealand hip-hop fan should have a copy of White Sunday, recorded in New York, which features an impressive roll-call of significant and major names in American hip-hop. The Beatnuts’ Psycho Les – best known for A Musical Massacre – raps on Oh Shit; Inspectah Deck of the legendary Wu-Tang Clan – the crew behind the essential masterpiece Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) – raps on Street Rap; Roc Raida – the grandmaster DJ – performs on Don’t Need Protection; and Sadat X raps on Major Flavour. Then there are contributions by Celph Titled, Tha Liks and Scram Jones. Mareko, an MC with supreme mic skills – exceptional presence, flow, and delivery – holds his own against all these cats, even showing some of them up.

“My walkman’s essential when I catch the bus/It calms me down, even when I’m standing up cos’ it’s packed as fuck.” City Line is about a long, tedious bus ride to a crap job with an obnoxious boss; from South Auckland into town. It’s comprehensively, beautifully observed and scribed with a delightful sense of humour. Then there’s Stop, Drop and Roll, an infectious, incendiary, good-natured cut, featuring the Deceptikonz. I don’t dance – cos’ I float like a fridge – but something this incendiary gets the groove-less like myself moving. A collectors’ edition of White Sunday featuring instrumental versions of the tracks, and two bonus songs, including the amusing Crunch! Other artists signed to Dawn Raid include DJ CXL, R.E.S (Red Eye Society) and K.A.O.S. Aaradhna, the attractive First Lady of Dawn Raid, who impressed on Savage’s single They Don’t Know, has her debut soul album coming soon.

Beyond Dawn Raid’s success, fellow New Zealand rappers including Scribe, P-Money, Nesian Mystik and Che Fu – whose passionate performance at the Labour Party’s campaign launch in 2004 represented the general feeling amongst Aotearoa artists – have won the hearts and wallets of New Zealanders. Hip-hop makes a great, underrated contribution to New Zealand. As well as entertaining, hip-hip provides Polynesians – and all New Zealanders – with a sense of identity, belonging and pride.

Brotha D and YDNA have created a burgeoning business empire. Clothes generate most of their profits. Dawn Raid has a clothing label, a clothing factory, a clothing/music shop, a barbershop, a graphic design business and a promo/print business. And then there’s the Dawn Raid Community Trust. The Trust teaches music courses to young Polynesian teenagers from the streets or other disadvantaged backgrounds – which have empowered and given the participants confidence. Str8 From the Streets compilations – albums with fine, important songs such as Otara State of Mind – performed, recorded and produced by these kids are one result. The limited media coverage of Str8 From the Streets is as sad as it is predictable.


Building the community has always been one of Dawn Raid’s goals. “We never really done Dawn Raid to be high-profile, you know what I mean, it’s just grown into that. Dawn Raid for me was always for the community, by the community, you know what I mean. That’s where we started from... If music can change a person’s life, why shouldn’t it?”

“In our society today there’s too much negativity out there. I just want to be positive. Everyone around me’s positive, the whole hip-hop movement’s positive. It’s never about one artist. It’s never about Scribe or Mareko or whatever. Its about the whole movement in itself... It’s about creating a community. Its about celebrating New Zealand... this is a great place.” Undeniably, there’s a real sense of community among New Zealand hip-hop artists as illustrated by Scribe’s Stand Up and Not Many: the Remix video; confirmed by talking to any artist in the industry.

Misconceived attitudes about hip-hop are too prevalent in New Zealand. On the 2004 Boost Mobile National Hook-Up Tour (sponsored by Telecom, organised and emceed by Brotha D, featuring Dawn Raiders and other heavyweights such as Scribe), a brilliantly incisive example arose. When the bus turned up at their Christchurch hotel, the owner took one look at Scribe and said she wasn’t sure about having these types in their parts. “Later she conceded she had never come across a better-behaved group of people,” The Herald reported.

Brotha D confirms that hip-hop is a tough industry, lots of hard work. “Hell yeah. People look at me and they go ‘fuck, Dawn Raid’s got it all sewn up’. I only keep pushing it because I believe through the example of Dawn Raid there’ll be a lot of other Dawn Raids. Others will be inspired to be what they want to be.” It must be cool that Dawn Raid’s work is getting such endorsement – from major names such as Mobb Depp and Wu-Tang Clan to diverse local communities? Brotha D beams a big smile: “It’s a dream to us. I live my dream everyday.”