The hip-hop group taking Māori and P.I to the world
If you go to Spotify right now, type in Risera and play the track ‘Invade’, you’re going to know exactly what Risera are about. Ranui Marz goes for the queen saying “Your royal family is nothing but a motherfuckin lie, Colonising my property / Prophecy / Living in Poverty / Democracy has been playing my life like it’s a game”
From the Waikato to the Westside, from Aitutaki to Avondale, and from Rānui to Rewa, hip-hop collective Risera make sure to incorporate their culture and put on for the communities that have shaped who they are. Historically resilient and unapologetically Māori, Risera gives us some insight into how their culture informs their music, how their streets have shaped who the people they are now, and the part they played in organising the Reclamation festival at Ihumātao.
Tell me your name, where you’re from and where you whakapapa to.
LSJ: Ko Tuhoea Tuteao toku ingoa, he uri no Waikato, ko Ngāti Mahuta ki te Hauāuru te hapū, e tipu ake ahau ki Ngāruawāhia, e noho ana au ki Waitakere. My blood is Waikato through and through, I whakapapa back to Auaukiteranga, father of Hotorua, captain of the Tainui Waka that came from Hawaiki, in this day my people reside on the West Coast of the Waikato, ko Kawhia Moana toku ukaipo.
Ranuimarz: My name is Te Maramatanga Nathan a.k.a. Ranuimarz. I hail from the iwi of Ngā Puhi and I’m from Matauri Bay/Wainui.
Brandn Shiraz: My name is Brandon Rangi Dixon. I was born in Otahuhu and raised all over Auckland (briefly living in Raro as a child).
Soufsyde P: My name is Angus Pemberton but most people call me Gus. No Motukiore ahau, i tupu ake ahau ki Manurewa, i naianei ka noho ahau ki Waiuku.
What was your connection with music growing up? What artists were you drawn to?
LSJ: I spent my primary school years in a small town in the heart of the Waikato called Ngāruawāhia, [which was] a majority Māori town. Growing up around my cousins and relations, I would say Gangsta Rap was the biggest influence to us, the hood culture was pretty prevalent there and everyone wanted to be hard so we listened to rappers like Tupac, Eazy-E, 50-Cent, all the 90’s/early 2000’s shit. At home I was influenced a lot by my dad’s taste, he loved Pac, Snoop etc. and played them a lot in the car but he also listened to a lot of rock/jazz from his era in the 70’s like Steely Dan and Pink Floyd. Also my uncle played a lot of Reggae like Kora, Katchafire, Herbs etc.
Ranuimarz: I give credit to my old man who really introduced me to music. He was a musician himself who loved to play guitar. I had been drawn to the likes of rock and reggae. I listened to pretty much everything my old man listened to from artists like Stevie Ray Vaughn, Eric Clapton, and Bob Marley. Rock bands too like ACDC/Guns & Roses, The Beatles, and so much more, as far as hip hop, I wasn’t drawn to it ‘til I was about 13 years of age. It was a time where I needed something to endure this pain and that’s when I came to know hip hop.
Brandn Shiraz: Some of the earliest songs I can remember are Island jams from the 90’s/00’s. There were some big hits during the time we were living in Raro and we had all these Kuki and Tahitian CDs that we brought with us when we moved back to NZ. Me and Tuhoea were real music nerds in school, we’d go to record stores and dig for hours. When it came to doing my own music, my reality is that I’m a Cook Islander living in Aotearoa. It’s important for me to push that, plus the more I looked into my peoples history and the songs I remember as a child, it’s like everything came full circle.
Soufsyde P: Hip hop is my life soundtrack. Growing up in primary I had a discman so I would tax any CDs I could find: Eminem, Dr Dre, Scribe, NWA, and a bunch of mixes. The oldies always had sound banging when they were on it but ‘cos they didn’t play hip hop much I held it a bit closer than their old head music until I got older.
Tell me about performing at Ihumātao.
LSJ and Ranuimarz: Playing at Ihumātao back in early 2019 was our first Risera gig. Me and Marz helped put together the Reclamation Festival there to raise funds for the kaupapa and was able to get us a slot on the line-up. Me and Marz actually came up with the name Risera because we needed a stage name to play the show. That was a mean experience for us. We played right before Che-Fu and Tigilau Ness. A year on, when the occupation kicked off, we stayed there for months. Marz and I were both working at the airport at the time which was practically down the road. We had a camp setup between five or so of us and spent our nights playing guitar and singing waiata, sharing kōrero and unwinding from whatever the events of that day were. Aside from the stormy winter nights, those are some of the best memories I have. Later on during the invasion of Ihumātao, they held another concert day which was mean. Especially performing after Damn Native, that’s something I will never forget.
How did the members of Risera meet? How did the concept of Risera come about?
LSJ: Year 7 I was sent to boarding school in Auckland, that’s where I met Shiraz and Soufsyde P. Shiraz and I messed around with music for years and got involved with some of our older homies including Marz’ older brother Bryce, they had a studio on K’Road, they helped us throw gigs, sus releases, all sorts of shit. Those years getting into trouble, drinking, and making music everyday are crackup to look back on but basically how we formed the backbone for Risera before meeting Marz.
Marz and I became tight homies pretty much as soon as we met, we related on a personal level after sharing our struggles. A few days in and we made ‘You Don’t See’, the first song we made together back in 2017, all our boys were there crowded around my desk while I made the beat and Marz came in and went crazy, after that, Marz and I decided to start a crew and became dedicated to building on that style and spreading our message.
I want to ask you guys about Mana. When I hear Marz and Soufsyde rap, it’s powerful, not only in what they say, but in the delivery. Where do you think that Mana comes from? Was it growing up in the hood or a product of being grounded in your culture?
Ranuimarz: That Mana comes from the pain my ancestors had to go through in order for me to be present today. That Mana also comes from the hardship I had gone through as a kid and growing up in an environment I never want my kids to live in. The Mana definitely comes from culture no doubt it’s been carried down for years and it will be carried on for years to come.
Tell me about the areas that made you into who you are now: West Auckland, Southside, Aitutaki.
Ranuimarz: Ranui is home to me and many others. The environment wasn’t bad to grow up in—yeah there was murders, homicides, even suicides but there was more good to me then there were bad. As a young local Ranuian, everybody knows you, knows your family and where you live. That’s how tight knit our community was. I know kids used to come outside to play because they either had no food or there were domestics, but through the dark we somehow managed to have one of the best childhoods growing up in West Auckland. I will never forget Risera Drive—that street really shaped who I was.
Soufsyde P: I was born on the Shore but only remember living out South. First Papatoetoe, then Papakura, then Rewa—my mum still lives there now. Southside means everything to me, That’s where I was when all the important stuff happened in my life. It was ruckus but it molded me into who I am and I can never take it back, nor would I want to. Everything I write comes from a place of experience. Every artist has to draw from somewhere and Rewa is my fire, all the good, bad, and ugly help me paint a picture in hopes someone can relate in some sort of way.
Brandn Shiraz: My dad took me and my brother to Aitutaki when we were young which was crazy just seeing how the people live day to day over there. It’s very old school, not many shops, and mostly living off the land. My music draws a lot from my roots. I get inspired by different memories and songs that my grandparents use to sing in the garage.
How are you guys pulling all of this off? Is it all self-funded?
LSJ: Not a cent from the government haha. We self-fund all our promotion and music videos bar ‘Focus On Me’—that was crowdfunded—shout out to the Ranui community for the support. Shiraz and I also cut and edited a lot of our own promotional material and even some of our music videos, we do most of the background stuff for the crew. We’re also lucky to have some of the best photographers in Auckland as homies so shout out Luca Macioce, Tak Soropa, and Nicole Hunt for most of the classic shots of us.
Tell us about the importance of your culture in your music. How does it inform your art?
LSJ: I started to put my Māoritanga into my music after I met Te Maramatanga (Ranuimarz) back in 2016 when I was living with his older brother in Grey Lynn. Marz knew my music and was hungry to show me his skill on the mic. When I heard him freestyle I was instantly inspired. He rapped about being Māori, being from disadvantaged circumstances and his struggles with mental health. I resonated with the things he said. That’s pretty much when I started incorporating my culture into my music. It was something I always wanted to do before meeting Marz but hadn’t figured out how to yet, our chemistry working together just brought it out of me.
Soufsyde P: I do the music for the culture. I think it’s good that youth can hear our own voices on a song and feel that they can go do whatever they want. When I was a kid I thought rapping was a wasted dream, if it wasn’t for the other Risera boys I would probably just be jamming a 9-5 without any passion in anything and hopefully I can pass that awhi on.
I feel like Risera is more than a group, it’s a movement, with a central idea of uplifting/radicalising Māori and Pasifika to fight back against a system that has placed us in the lowest sections of society. Is there a desire to inspire others to fight against colonisation and understand the reality of what it has done to our people?
LSJ: Definitely, to voice our people’s struggle where we can while making it something you can also nod your head to in the car, I think has a strong influence, especially to our youth. I’m lucky to be strongly connected to my people and outside of music, I work closely alongside my iwi and hapū. Observing my peoples struggles, triumphs, trials, and tribulations inform how I want to portray that. I see music as a way I can create awareness and instill pride in our people.
Lastly, what’s the vision for the future?
Risera: The future? Definitely to stay creative, inspire our people to get outside and make shit happen, and to pursue more than just a 9 to 5, take Māori to the world and leave our mark as the heartiest Māori rap crew out of Aotearoa.
