Tyree says he's the voice of his generation

Tyree

You've heard the story countless times. Hip-hop rescues young South Auckland male from poverty and lawlessness. Why should we care about another one?

"Everyone's been through hardships but I'm the voice to speak for the lot of them," says Tyree, who could be the first New Zealand rapper since Scribe with a chance for mainstream stardom.

"It's good to see it from a young dude's frame of mind," he says. "I'm 21, I've got a lot to offer, and my story's real."

The diamond in his left ear is not real. But the stocky rapper - who is taking a solo sidestep from his South Auckland hip-hop crew Smashproof - is cheeky enough to say he's already moved out of Papatoetoe and into a multi-storey mansion in Manukau Heights.

"I want the little dude going to primary to love my stuff," he says. "I want the dude going to work in the morning to love my stuff. I want the people in the clubs to dance to my stuff. I want it to be everywhere."

His debut album, Now Or Never, isn't out until September 11, but his dream is already coming true. The Australasian remix of Chamillionaire's Ridin, on which Tyree unleashes his cutthroat flow, is at number two on the charts this week, and he says it's already given him fans "in Hawaii and Texas".

The autobiographical My Time confirms his ambitions: "I'm looking for more than a buzz, more than the clubs, something that will last longer than blazing the bud."

The fact he can sing should help to endear him to pop fans as well as broadening his scope - he's also working on an R&B album for his Smashproof bandmate Deach. And with the backing of Kirk Harding, the New-York based Kiwi music exec working at Universal-Motown, it's feasible he could find an audience offshore.

Tyree's producer, Juse, was working on his own album in New York when he played Harding Tyree's demos. Harding was so impressed that he and Juse set up local hip-hop label Move the Crowd so they could sign him.

The resulting album is as seductive as it is slick, with lady-pleasers such as I Need A Girl and Would You Mind: "I ain't gassing ya, yeah I wanna hit the sack wit ya and take my time 'cuz you ain't [expletive] with a amateur ... "

Sex appeal is really important, Tyree says. "I mean if you were the ugliest rapper on earth with the baddest sound you'd lose sales."

About time artists got honest and listened to their mums talk about putting food on the table - Tyree is the first to admit he wants to "get paid". He even thought about changing the lyrics in Now Or Never from "This is my name" to "game" in the hope Nike might come calling. He gets a dreamy look as he visualises the ad itself. It's a world away from his South Auckland upbringing, living in a poor household with 13 other children.

"It's not that I wasn't a bright dude at school, but I put all my eggs in the one basket," he says.

"During exams I would be constantly thinking about music.

"I was just one of those naughty little boys who didn't come home when he was supposed to. My mum and dad always had to come down to the principal's office."

None of which makes him as notorious as 50 Cent, but Tyree insists he has plenty of directionless peers he relates to.

"I'm the voice for this generation.

"I know dudes that don't work and they're only criminals because they have no sense of direction, y'know? I'm telling the same story because I've found my way out. If it wasn't for music I'd be on the same track as them."

Lowdown

Who: Tyree
Age: 21
Releases: Chamillionaire Australasian remix of Ridin' (2006), David Banner's Australasian remix of Ain't Got Nothing and Now Or Never (2006)
Launch party: On September 14 at the Met/Code Bar.