Upper Hutt Posse
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Upper Hutt Posse | |
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Origin | Universal Music Kia Kaha Productions |
Members |
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Past members | |
Website |
Upper Hutt Posse (UHP) are a New Zealand
After signing to Jayrem Records, Upper Hutt Posse released their first single, 'E Tū', in 1988, which paid homage to Te Rauparaha and the Ngāti Toa heritage of the Hutt Valley. Their debut album Against The Flow was released the next year, which brought them international recognition. The group then became closely associated with Moana and The Moahunters, of whom their key member Teremoana was also part of. The group's single 'Ragga Girl' appeared on the soundtrack the film Once Were Warriors in 1994. A new lineup of live musicians produced the 1995 album Movement in Demand, mixing their signature Hiphop style with their reggae roots. Subsequent albums increasingly featured the Māori language, such as Mā Te Wā in 2000 and Te Reo Māori Remixes in 2002, for which they won a Tui Award. In 2007 another 'live' lineup was formed including Maaka McGregor (drums) who had performed live with the group at various gigs since 1995. In November 2018, Upper Hutt Posse were inducted into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame - Te Whare Taonga Puoro o Aotearoa.
History
UHP formed as a four-piece reggae band in 1985. Since their inception, Dean Hapeta (also known as D Word or Te Kupu) and the Posse have been fighting racial injustice through their music. In 1988 they released the first rap record and music-video in New Zealand, E Tū, through Jayrem Records. The song combined African American revolutionary rhetoric with an explicitly Māori frame of reference. It pays homage to Māori warrior chiefs resistant of British colonialism, Hōne Heke, Te Kooti, and Te Rauparaha.[1]
Releasing their debut album, Against The Flow in 1989 through
A new lineup in 1994 of live musicians produced the 1995 album Movement in Demand, mixing their signature Hiphop style with their reggae roots, and adding the distinctive raggamuffin rap of Wiya. In 2000 album Mā Te Wā saw the re-introduction of founding member Blue Dread, and also Katarina Kawana who had 'jammed' with the group in their formative years in the mid 1980s. Mā Te Wā is a digital reggae album completely in the Māori language. In 2002 UHP released Te Reo Māori Remixes, a 10-track album of earlier favourites remixed and featuring only Māori-language lyrics. This album received a Tui Award at the 2003 NZ Music Awards for 'Best Mana Māori Album'. In 2005, the group released a double album titled Legacy which includes two tracks performed by Te Kupu's daughter Ātaahua, notably a Māori-language version of The Greatest Love of All. Disc One, Ngāti is predominantly in English language, while Disc Two, Huia, is all in Māori.
In 2007 another 'live' lineup was formed including Maaka McGregor (drums) who had performed live with the group at various gigs since 1995, Dez Mallon (guitar) and Nathan Warren (bass),
In November 2018 Upper Hutt Posse were inducted into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame | Te Whare Taonga Puoro o Aotearoa. Te Kupu selected eighteen past and present band members, and additional musicians whose contributions to the group warranted their being recognised: Dean Hapeta, Matthew Hapeta, Aaron Thompson, Darryl Thomson, Bennet Pomana, Teremoana Rapley, Steve Rameka, George Hubbard, Earl Robertson, Kiki Marama, Taki Matete, Katarina Kawana, Ātaahua Hapeta-Taereau, Maaka McGregor, Emma Paki, Des Mallon, Jeff Henderson, Kevin Rangihuna.
In January 2019 the first recording session for the next UHP album is held with Earl Robertson drumming to music sequenced by Te Kupu, followed by further sessions with drummers Ruben Das Gonzales, and then Riki Gooch, as well as recording sessions held at Matakahi Studio with various live musicians pulled in by Te Kupu, who himself plays bass, guitars, piano, synthesizer, alto saxophone and percussion, creating what he says is probably "the most musically-realised UHP album yet." 2021 will see Say Do Don't Do People the first single released prior to the album.
Upper Hutt Posse lineups
Member + Guest Musicians | Founding members (1985) |
Against The Flow (1989) |
Movement in Demand (1995) |
Mā Te Wā (2000) |
Te Reo Māori Remixes (2002) |
Legacy (2005) |
Tohe (2010) |
Declaration of Resistance (2011) | |
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Dean Hapeta / D Word / Te Kupu | |||||||||
Matthew Hapeta / M.C. Wiya | |||||||||
Aaron Thompson | |||||||||
Darryl Thomson / DLT | |||||||||
Bennett Pomana | |||||||||
Teremoana Rapley | |||||||||
Steve Rameka | |||||||||
Kiki Marama | |||||||||
Taki Matete | |||||||||
Earl Robertson | |||||||||
Rhys Bell | |||||||||
Emma Paki | |||||||||
Katarina Kawana | |||||||||
Ataahua Hapeta-Taereau | |||||||||
Des Mallon | |||||||||
Jeff Henderson | |||||||||
Maaka McGregor | |||||||||
Kevin Rangihuna | |||||||||
Crete Haami | |||||||||
Nathan Warren | |||||||||
Jeremy Coubrough | |||||||||
Nigel Paterson |
Discography
Albums
Year | Title | Details | Peak chart positions |
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NZ
| |||
1989 | Against the Flow |
|
— |
1995 | Movement in Demand |
|
— |
2000 | Mā Te Wā |
|
— |
2002 | Te Reo Māori Remixes |
|
— |
2004 | Dedicated '88-'91 |
|
— |
2005 | Legacy |
|
— |
2010 | Tohe |
|
— |
2011 | Declaration of Resistance |
|
— |
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
Singles
Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Album |
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NZ[2]
| |||
1988 | "E Tu" | — | Non-album single |
1989 | "Do It Like This" | 33 | Against The Flow |
1990 | "Against the Flow / That's The Beat (remixes)" | 44 | Non-album single |
1991 | "Stormy Weather (remix)" | — | Non-album single |
1992 | "Ragga Girl" | 48 | Non-album single |
1995 | "Can't Get Away" | — | Movement in Demand |
1995 | "As the Blind See" | — | Movement in Demand |
2005 | "Overcome" | — | Legacy |
2008 | "Ka Whawhai Tonu Mātou" | — | Declaration of Resistance |
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
Awards
Aotearoa Music Awards
The
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1989 | Upper Hutt Posse | Most Promising Group | Nominated | [3] |
2003 | Upper Hutt Posse (Te Reo Maori Remixes) | Mana Māori | Won | |
2012 | Declaration of Resistance | Mana Māori | Nominated | |
2018 | Upper Hutt Posse | New Zealand Music Hall of Fame | inductee | [4] |
References
- ^ a b Mitchell, Tony. "Kia Kaha! (Be Strong!): Māori and Pacific Islander Hip-hop in Aotearoa-New Zealand." In Global Noise: Rap and Hip-Hop Outside the USA, ed. Tony Mitchell, 280-305. Middletown: Wesleyan University Press, 2001.
- ^ "DISCOGRAPHY UPPER HUTT POSSE". charts.nz. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
- ^ "Aotearoa Music Awards". aotearoamusicawards.nz. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
- ^ "HOME INDUCTEES". musichall.co.nz. Retrieved 16 August 2021.