KEY POINTS:
David Tsai remembers the wave of anti-Asian sentiment after the body of Chinese student Wan Biao was found folded into a suitcase and floating in the Waitemata Harbour last year.
This prejudice manifested itself in many ways, but Tsai mostly recalls the bad Asian jokes: "There were so
many jokes about the suitcase murder. They were meant to be ironic but, you know, you don't joke about that sort of thing." .
Since he came to New Zealand from Taiwan in 1990 the 24-year-old has seen varying levels of intolerance towards Asians and believes the triggers that set it off are based on fear.
"It fluctuates every year. There's highs, then lows, and then it disappears. But the suitcase murder made it go crazy again," says the student and rapper who goes by the hip-hop alias, DVrdict.
You might think gangland style killings and the seedier side of Asian life in Auckland would make good fodder for the stories he tells in his music. But his message is positive and focuses on creating social change and bringing cultures together.
And, despite the intermittent prejudice, he feels more at home in New Zealand - and indeed, he calls it home - than Taiwan.
Tsai and his mate Datto, a 20-year-old rapper who was born in Japan, are members of the Blocks crew, a collective of mainly Asian rappers and DJs who put on gigs in Auckland. We meet at a central Auckland cafe where the pair explain the concept behind Blocks - the blocks refers to the different countries the rappers and DJs come from - is "one love, one place, one unity".
The inaugural Blocks party was held late last year and TimeOut went along to check it out. Early in the night it had a tentative, school dance vibe to it, apart from the number of shots being consumed at the bar. However, midway through the night, around the time a breakdancing battle flared up in the middle of the venue, things started booming.
Dave, 34, from Japan, was there because it felt "comfortable" and he wants his homeland to have more of a presence in New Zealand.
Then there was Roy, a student from Hong Kong who lives in the inner city, who was there for "the nice chicks". Then, more seriously, he said: "It's all about having fun together and music is the key because you can understand it no matter where you come from."
That's what Blocks is all about - bringing different cultures together, be it Taiwanese, Japanese, Maori, or Pakeha. And although that first party was almost exclusively Asian, Tsai is keen to let people know that Blocks is for everyone.
The next party, called Back 2 School, is on March 9 at 4:20 on K' Rd and features DVrdict, 2 Pounds (made up of Man K.O., a Maori artist, and Jimmy Bong from Korea), and local hip-hop crew Definite and Bling. There will also be rappers and DJs from Thailand and Japan.
"It's interesting because you have a rapper rapping in Japanese, a Taiwanese rapping in Chinese, a Korean girl singing and a New Zealander rapping in English. You don't see that often. But it's still hip-hop," says Datto, who won't be at next week's gig because he's visiting Japan.
"We're trying to break barriers," says Tsai. "I rap about my goals and we try to sell our dreams and let everybody know who we are in the most positive way."
Datto agrees: "I like to make the world positive, around me at least, because I'd rather be smiling than angry."
His rapping style is throaty and abrasive and a striking contrast to his constant joking and sense of humour. During the last Blocks gig you couldn't help but chuckle when he asked "Where's the Japs in the house?" with a big smile on his face.
"I just want to show people that we love this country too and it doesn't matter where we're from," he beams.
He sounds just like one of the bros when he laughs and it's no surprise he grew up in Mt Wellington "eating fried taro" with his Pacific Island mates.
They both agree there were good and bad times growing up as a young Asian in New Zealand and admit to some "bad boy" antics during their high school years.
"High school was bad, you know. Being bad at high school was cool in New Zealand," says Datto. "But I still enjoyed it because I made a lot of friends that were non-Asian. New Zealand is a multicultural country so you can have friends from everywhere, you know - from the Islands, Samoa, Tonga. It's a great country."
Tsai reels off statistics that New Zealand will be around 40 per cent Asian by 2020 and Datto jokes that "that's an Asian invasion, man", but the bottom line for both of them is that they see themselves as New Zealanders.
"Yeah, I mean we talk just like we're from here," says Tsai. "And when I go back to Japan I don't feel like I'm home," adds Datto.
He gives the example of being squashed into a train in Japan with thousands of others on the daily commute.
"I'm like, 'I don't want this in the morning'. I just want to have a nice train ride. I love this country. How many times have I said that?" he laughs.
And Tsai, who recently returned from a trip to Taiwan, says he doesn't fit into his homeland very well either.
"But every time I come back to New Zealand it is home and there's a want and a comfort that nowhere else can provide."
LOWDOWN
What: Blocks Back 2 School, Asian hip-hop gig with artists from Taiwan, Japan, Thailand, Korea and New Zealand
Line-up: DVrdict, 2 Pounds (Man K.O. and Jimmy Bong), Definite & Bling, with DJs Amp, Beer, Nikki and guests
When & where: March 9 at 4:20, K' Rd. Doors open 10pm
