Out of the corner and into the light

4 Corners, from left DJ Omega B, Koma and Hepaklypz, know they probably won't get rich from hip-hop but are glad they can perform live.

When Hohepa Morgan first started rapping in the mid-90s he thought he'd be able to get rich from the hip-hop game.

"But realistically," he says, "you've got to have a back-up plan and a job on the side to survive."

The MC and songwriter for Hamilton group 4 Corners, who goes by the name Hepaklypz, says they make hip-hop music purely for the love of it. "Which is a good thing because if people just came out trying to be rich then there's going to be a lot of rubbish," he says.

To celebrate the release of their debut album, The Foundations, 4 Corners play three gigs today starting at 6pm with a free performance at Real Groovy on Queen St, followed by an all-ages show at Youthtown in Nelson St at 8pm, and at the Rising Sun on K Rd at 10pm.

These guys - also made up of MC/songwriter Koma (real name Ngakoma Conner) and DJ Omega B (real name Brett Wagner) - are used to working hard. Not only do they juggle their musical commitments with part-time jobs, they all have young families.

And when 4 Corners, who formed in 1998, play gigs in Auckland, they almost always drive home to Hamilton afterwards so they are there in the morning when their children wake up.

"We come up to Auckland to do business because this is where it's all happening, " says Wagner.

For them, hip-hop is a lifestyle. "I don't know if it's a living, but it's definitely a passion and we love it," says Wagner. "We're probably still surviving on the bones of our arse really, but our dream when we first started was to perform on stage, and that's what we're doing."

The Foundations, which is released by independent record label and Auckland hip-hop empire, Disruptiv, has been eight years in the making and the group are just glad to have it out.

It's a diverse album. There's the love song By My Side (featuring Maia Rata); there are eerie and issues-based hip-hop tracks like Urban Maori and Walk Right; there's a club banger Get Back Down (featuring Tyra Hammond from Open Souls); and last year's poppy single, On the Downlow, sounds like a Rocky theme song.

"We make songs that we think cater for the girls ... to the ladies," smirks Morgan cheekily.

That's the thing about 4 Corners, there's very little bravado - an all-too common trait in hip-hop circles. Their songs are about their neighbourhood, where they grew up, and what they think of issues to do with land rights and youth, but there's hardly any posturing.

"We're not talking about shooting people and all that sort of thing," says Conner, "and that's the good thing about the hip-hop lifestyle that we've chosen. You can choose to do this, and stay out of trouble. Or you can choose to get a job and hammer into that sort of living. Or there's the gang aspect which is easy to get into when you grow up in state houses."

Morgan continues: "We just try and speak honestly and be true to your word, because otherwise a few years from now we're going to look back and regret it."


Performance

* Who: 4 Corners, Hamilton hip-hop crew
* Where and when: Tonight 6pm, free in-store at Real Groovy, Queen St; 8pm, all-ages show, Youthtown, 68 Nelson St; 10pm, R18 show, Rising Sun, K Rd.
* Album: The Foundations, out now on Disruptiv