Charting da rhythm and money blues

By HELEN TUNNAH

Hip-hop artist King Kapisi is nervous.

"I can stand up in front of thousands of people, but in front of you, whoa," he says.

The King - real name Bill Urale - was at the Otara Arts and Music Centre, a small hall filled with artistic hopefuls hanging on his every word.

They were at a free seminar hosted by the Music Industry Commission as part of New Zealand Music Month, aimed at showing people what they had to do to break into the music scene.

About 80 people braved the cold and rain to listen to a panel of speakers, keen to learn about contracts, getting their music on air, and, as one entertainment lawyer told them, how not to get screwed.

A career in music is now a serious notion in South Auckland, with a flood of quality acts following the South Pacific hip hop flavour of Pauly Fuemana's How Bizarre, a chat-topper in New Zealand, Australia, Canada and Sweden.

Domestic recognition of the unique styles being encouraged and released by local labels such as Dawn Raid has given new impetus to the push for a local music quota.

So yesterday they came to hear how it could be done.

"I've been doing this for 12 years," says King Kapisi, who received widespread praise last year for his debut album, Savage Thoughts.

"And in those years I've had eight managers and none of them was worth it.

"Some were just plain useless.

"There's a lot of bad cats out there."

King Kapisi decided he would manage himself.

If his career took a nosedive because of a mistake, he wanted it to be his mistake. He didn't want to be some manager's guinea-pig.

He believes he is now one of the easiest artists to book.

"If they ring and say, 'Do you wanna do this gig?' I look at my diary, and yeah, I want to do it."

He had some staunch advice for the young, and not-so-young, musicians in the room: get a manager you can trust, get a lawyer, and get a decent sound system if touring.

"I turned up to one gig and they had stereo speakers. I said I could shout louder than those."

He told them make their own videos - original clips, not stereotypes.

"I don't want to be driving around the 'hood in a car. It's been done to death, guys."

Kapisi and his sister made his first video in his home town of Wellington. It cost $7000.

His last two videos were filmed in his native Samoa - a good idea, because if the video didn't work, at least he'd see family and have a holiday.

But most of all, King Kapisi said, anyone wanting to write and perform music should do what he or she wanted.

He said commercial music was okay, but he urged his followers not to make that music just to please the record companies and radio stations.

"I've sold 10,000 records and gone gold and I can't get played on commercial radio.

"I don't know what it is - well, I think I know what it is," he says referring to his at-times explicit lyrics.

"But don't write a song that's going to be just another radio song.

"Put your heart in it - write what's in your heart.

"Be honest."