Scribe wins Apra Silver Scroll for 'Not Many'

How many other dudes you know could get a Silver Scroll like this?

Not many. If any. Well none actually.

Scribe's trophy cabinet got that little bit more crowded last night when he and producer P Money took away the Apra Silver Scroll - the song of the year award as voted by songwriters - for Not Many.

The same track won the pair the songwriter of the year in Scribe's near clean-sweep at the recent Tui Awards.

Last night's ceremony in Wellington also honoured the work of composer John Psathas who won the Sounz Contemporary Award for his piano concerto and Hareruia Aperahama's E Tae won the Maioha Award for the best Maori waiata of the year.

Brooke Fraser's debut hit Better was recognised as "the most performed work" in New Zealand while Neil Finn's 1987 hit Don't Dream It's Over was again certified as the Kiwi song you'll still hear the most on overseas radio stations.

While Not Many was a certified hit, Apra says its commercial success wasn't part of the judges' deliberations.

Said one judge: "The winner was a stand-out, from the killer opening bars to the brattish bravado of the chorus. As songwriting goes, it ticks all the boxes: a hip-hop track that people who don't get hip hop have latched onto; a testosterone-laden sermon that girls love chanting; a young man's verbal diarrhoea that middle-agers rock to."

"It's not just hip-hop - it is a poetic spoken word celebration of youthful excitement. The answer to that question -'not many, if any' - has entered the New Zealand lexicon and will stay there for many, many years."

The Herald understands there are no more awards Scribe can win this year.