Warrant to arrest Kiwi rapper Scribe issued again after fourth court no-show

Kiwi rapper Scribe has posted a cryptic quote to Instagram after a warrant was issued for his arrest today when he failed to show up in court for a fourth time.

The chart-topping hip-hop artist, whose real name is Malo Ioane Luafutu, is facing weapon and drug charges.

He was scheduled to appear at Christchurch District Court this afternoon but didn't turn up.

Defence counsel Elizabeth Bulger said she received a text from Luafutu this morning, saying that he'd missed his flight from Wellington and couldn't get another one to Christchurch to make court on time.

She asked that if police sought a warrant for his arrest today - which they did - that Judge Tony Couch allow it to lie in court until 10am Friday to let Luafutu make it to court by then.

Judge Couch issued the warrant to arrest but was "not inclined to give this defendant any more leniency".

"This would be the fourth occasion in which he has failed to appear," the judge said.

This evening the rapper posted a quote on his social media page that said: "For a seed to achieve its greatest expression, it must come completely undone. The shell cracks, its insides come out and everything changes. To someone who doesn't understand growth, it would look like complete destruction."

He followed up the post with a "No comment".

The quote is believed to come from self-help guru Cynthia Occelli's book, Resurrecting Venus: Embrace Your Feminine Power.

Canterbury police made a Facebook appeal last month for the public's help in locating Luafutu.

He contacted police himself later that afternoon and agreed to appear at Porirua District Court where he was bailed to appear in Christchurch at a later date. An earlier appearance was adjourned until today.

Father-of-four Luafutu faces three charges relating to April 2 this year.

Police allege that he was found with an offensive weapon, namely a bat, on Ollivers Rd in the Phillipstown area of Christchurch, and had the Class A controlled drug amphetamine and a pipe in his possession.

The rapper's star began to rise when he released his debut album The Crusader - a nod to the Canterbury rugby team - in 2003.

Luafutu is the cousin of musicians Ladi6, real name Karolyn Tamati, and Tyra Hammond from the band Opensouls.