Deceptikonz are quick to deliver the verbal serves

By STEPHEN DOWLING

The old saying about sticks and stones couldn't be further from the truth when it comes to South Auckland hip-hoppers Deceptikonz, whose bark - as their debut album Elimination demonstrates - is as bad as their bite.

"You could say this is the one case where actions do not speak louder than words," laughs Mark "Mareko" Sagapolutele when I speak to him and Daniel "Alphrisk" Maoate before the pair join fellow Deceptikonz - David "Devolo" Puniani and Demi "Savage" Savelio - on stage at The Main Event, a showcase put together by their label, Dawn Raid.

Deceptikonz started in 1996 as school friends from Manurewa, says Sagapolutele. "I had to shift schools because the original school I was at failed me as unfit to continue my learning there. So I went to another school, Papakura High, which is just down the road from me. That's where I met Alphrisk and Devolo. We got our thing going, we started doing demos and writing rhymes together. As that progressed, we picked up our fourth member, Savage - who's my cousin - and from there we thought this is our strongest crew. We cover all the bases of MC-ing from controlling the mike to stage presence and freestyling."

Deceptikonz' roots lie in MC battling, an activity in which rival rappers test their skills by exchanging improvised verbal salvos.

"It's just a natural ability," says Maoate. "You have to practise if you want to be an MC. We'll hang round together and someone will drop some verses or lay down a beat. It's freestyling. You make it up on the spot."

But Sagapolutele admits that making music is very different to just spitting out words, and attributes Elimination's polished production to the support provided by the Papatoetoe-based Dawn Raid.

"Dawn Raid showed us how to work a 32-backing track desk, how to use pro-tools. That was one of the advantages of being with Dawn Raid, the creative control they gave us. They taught us to help ourselves."

Deceptikonz' name, the spelling of which is altered for legal reasons, comes from the popular toy and cartoon series, Transformers. "We wanted to be original," says Sagapolutele. "The Decepticons are from space and are futuristic robots, which suits us because of our futuristic rhymes. I grew up reading a lot of AD 2000 comics and those influences show in my rhymes.

"I also like to incorporate everyday influences into my rhymes so that people can relate to it more. We use a lot of New Zealand references like All Black players and politicians."

Such as former All Black Norm Hewitt, who is referred to on Verbal Abuse as crying in public after a drunken night. "He's clever enough not to ruin his career by picking on little old me," says Sagapolutele.

But Deceptikonz are not just about swapping insults. Broken Home, for example, is a brutally honest lament about an absent father. "That was Savage's story," says Maoate. "That's how he was brought up, and what he says on that is all true. That's his feelings, so if people think we're just battle MCs - that we can't write deep songs - then listen to Broken Home and tell us otherwise."

Fallen Angel, meanwhile, features backing vocals from the Auckland Polynesian Choir. "The concept came from Devolo, who's a pastor's son," says Sagapolutele. "It's about being at a point in your life, where you have options. You're at a crossroads. You can either take the angel path or fall."

Is it difficult combining hip-hop with church? "Devolo has enough support from his family for what he's doing," says Sagapolutele. "Being Polynesian, naturally we're religious people. Every time I go home, my mum tells me to thank the Lord. Coming from a religious background doesn't really get in the way."Stephen Dowling

* Elimination is out February 28. Deceptikonz play Hip Hop 2002 at the St James on March 1.