We've been treated to a little peep back into NZ hip-hop history as footage of the legendary Scribe rapping over a clean DJ Ali beat has resurfaced.
The Mai Hot 1000 is currently going on, so since we're counting down the best tracks in hip-hop and R&B, we thought it would be nice to shine a light on some Kiwi rap history with this footage.
Posted to TikTok by Rare TV NZ, Scribe is performing ‘Soulde Out’. In 2013, Ali told Grindin that the song was going to be on Scribe’s ‘The Crusader’ album but got replaced by ‘Too Late’.
The performance was on an episode of ‘Space TV’ - an NZ music TV show.
Scribe told host Dominic Bowden that the track is all about staying true to yourself in the industry, ignoring the lure of money.
“It’s a concept me and Ali came up with,” he said. “The term ‘sell-out’, people crossing over to commercial markets, rhyming to cater for people with big bucks. Basically what we’re trying to say is we’re doing this for ourselves and there’s no chance of us crossing over.”
Commenters on the TikTok are reminiscing on that era and giving praise to Scribe’s talent.
“‘The Crusader’ was top tier man,” wrote one person. “Scribe easily top 3 New Zealand rappers of all time.”
“Scribe was my go-to growing up on my Walkman,” another said.
“This is incredible,” a third added. “Thank god this video exists - what a time to be alive!”
“Scribe was ahead of his time,” one more wrote.
During the Space TV interview, Bowden asked Scribe about the Aotearoa rap scene at the time and if there was any rivalry between the North and South Island, Scribe said there was, but only the good kind.
“It is healthy competition,” he answered. “The good thing about hip-hop in New Zealand is that there’s no beefing.”
“We’ve got a really tight-knit community and everyone just gets along. Everyone’s for the cause and positive.”
If you’re a fan of Scribe and voted for him in the Hot 1000, keep listening to Mai FM to see where his tracks end up ranking.
