If you spent your lockdown days bingeing the new TVNZ series The Panthers then chances are you were left with two burning questions. How New Zealanders can ever really make amends for such a dark chapter in the nation's history and who is the enigmatic rapper who regularly appears, his visceral rhymes punctuating the powerful narrative?
If you haven't watched it yet, The Panthers is a six-part series available through TVNZ OnDemand. The series, set in 1974, explores a dark time in New Zealand's history when Polynesian immigrants were racially targeted by police, leading to mass arrests and deportations. The story is largely told from the point of view of the Polynesian Panthers, a group of outspoken young Polynesians working together to protest the racially driven mistreatment of their people.
The Panthers opens with a profile shot of Kiwi music legend Troy Kingi singing the opening refrain to My Heart Never Sleeps, a song written specifically for the series. The powerful theme song was co-written with Diggy Dupé, the inspiring rapper in question and produced by ChoiceVaughan.