The rise and fall of Kiwi rapper Scribe

New Zealand hip-hop artist Scribe has fallen from grace after being wanted by Canterbury Police on drug charges.

Malo Ioane Luafutu, better known as Scribe, has several warrants to arrest for various drug related offences and failing to appear in court.

It is the latest incident in the rapper's career after bursting on to the New Zealand music scene with his smash hits Stand Up and Not Many.

The Christchurch rapper captured the hearts of New Zealanders when his debut album The Crusader was released in 2003 where it went gold within hours and platinum after just a few days.

His hit Stand Up was awarded Single of the Year at the 2004 New Zealand Music Awards.

He also received two number one singles before releasing Dreaming in 2004 which went straight to number one.

The artist became a popular figure in New Zealand with many children and aspiring musicians idolising the rapper and the positive messages in his lyrics.

In 2007, Scribe released his second album Rhyme Book which included collaborations with his cousin Tyra Hammond and New York hip-hop artist Talib Kweli.

Scribe's success was short-lived after revealing in 2011 he suffered from drug, alcohol and gambling addictions.

In the same year, Scribe revealed he had got clean, after racking up more than $5000 in debt to Christchurch pawnbroker Shane Lilley, who had sold several of the rapper's awards - taken as security for a personal loan - on Trade Me.

Scribe said he had become involved with Lilley after his family "cut me off from money" to stop him living a lifestyle of drugs, gambling, and alcohol.

The wake-up call came when his girlfriend left for Australia with their two children. He said he gave up that lifestyle and "I got my family back".

"If it wasn't for my family and my kids I would still be caught in that rut . . . I'm much wiser, much stronger and I know how to handle things better," he said in 2011.

NHp-hop artist Scribe headlined the 2005 NZ Music Awards, now he's wanted by police. Photo / Getty / NZ Police

The Canterbury rapper was back in the public's good books when he released a remix of his single Not Many to show support for the victims of the 2011 Christchurch earthquakes.

Not Many Cities features Scribe rapping in different parts of the CBD's red zone, with altered lyrics such as "I don't know any city", instead of "I don't know anybody". The rapper's remix received a lot of positive feedback.

However, in November 2011 Scribe was arrested in Wellington for disorder and released after being formally warned. While he described his arrest as illegal, he admitted he was "dissing" the police but that "their ego couldn't handle it".

"Just got out of the cells..Pfffft F*** the police," he wrote on Twitter.

"I got illegally arrested & released without charge..Wow I expected it from CHCH but racist police in Welli! Wow ... !!!!

"I got arrested for freestyling in Cuba Mall ... If it wasn't for my Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and extensive knowledge of the LAW I might still be there..''

In 2013 Scribe created controversy when he suggested cricket star Jesse Ryder was responsible for an attack in Christchurch that left the former Black Cap in intensive care

Taking to twitter Scribe wrote: "I'd like to know what Jesse Ryder did or said. Cantabrians don't beat people up for no reason #Crusader.

"But if you come to chch and act a certain way and are not humble and start looking for trouble .. u will find it."

His life has been punctuated by addiction, gangs, violence and crime - issues he put on the stage with his brother and father in their play The White Guitar which premiered in 2015.

"I left school at 15, I was in gangs and a homeless junkie by the age of 17," the five-times platinum-selling artist told the Gisborne Herald last year.

"Not many people know that about me.

"It's difficult [acting in the play] because it's all real, and for me it feels like it happened just yesterday."

The White Guitar tells the story of the Luafutu family's migration from Samoa to New Zealand.

Luafutu's brother Matthias and father John also star in the play, which revisited a family life fraught with family violence and guilt.

Scribe said creating the play had been an incredible journey for himself, his father and brother.

"We've become even closer as a family as we've been bringing our story to the stage. We haven't shed away from the truth of our lives."

The 38-year-old has since fallen back into hard times when in March 2017 he posted he'd returned to rehab.

Taking to Instagram the rapper thanked supporters, writing: "For the next three months I will be in a rehabilitation facility with no contact with the outside world, no phones, no computer.

"Addiction is a symptom, not a choice for me . . . I've overcome many trials and tribulations by embracing the truth, no matter how humiliating or shameful it may be.

"I'm now embarking on the greatest and most hardest crusade ever.

"I will be back a better and stronger me to take this world by storm.

Today Canterbury police issued an appeal for information about the 38-year-old's whereabouts.

The Herald can now reveal that Luafutu was due to appear in the Christchurch District Court on July 25.

He is facing a raft of charges including possession of an offensive weapon, procuring or possessing methamphetamine, possession or use of methamphetamine utensils and two charges of failing to answer district court bail.