TAIAHA
New Zealand / Australia
A Maori artist living in Aldinga, south of Adelaide, Taiaha Ngawiki, AKA ‘The Weapon’, is bringing personal/political hip-hop to the new era. Drawn to music from a young age - writing, freestyling and busking – he has been influenced by both hip-hop artists and the iconic artists that hip-hop has sampled, such as Otis Redding, Ray Charles and Nina Simone. The soulful singer-guitarist-rapper began his local music career as one half of the genre-bending duo TIL The Break, who played over a hundred shows in five years. TAIAHA has supported the late Archie Roach, Chris Finnen and Allday and, in 2021, released his debut solo album, Rubbah Dubs.