Hip-hop stars speak out on gang thuggery

A summer of senseless violence has prompted New Zealand's hip-hop fraternity to release a charity single urging people to make better decisions.

"Think Twice", by the Aotearoa Allstars, is the brainchild of Phil Bell, aka DJ Sir-Vere, and features Scribe, Che Fu, Mareko, Savage, and Nesian Mystik's Te Awanui Reeder, among others, collaborating over a P-Money beat. Proceeds from the song will go to Youthline.

Bell says the single was inspired by a spate of violence particularly in South Auckland, his home turf which had coincided with his son's 10th birthday.

"It got me thinking about how I could make a difference and I thought `what if I pulled together all the talented people I know and made a track?' Ultimately the cost of a human life is at an all-time low, and we are trying to say it's worth a whole lot more."

The alleged murder of 15-year-old tagger Pihema Cameron by 50-year-old Manurewa businessman Bruce Emery was a case in point the tragedy could have been avoided had both parties made better decisions, he said. "People don't seem to have that inherent ability to think about what they're doing."

Said singer Che Fu: "We're trying to say to our people: `We understand sometimes you get hit with situations and they get heated.' We're just trying to promote that idea of being able to walk away."

Deceptikonz rapper Mark "Mareko" Sagapolutele, a Manurewa local, said South Auckland's street violence was hitting "pretty close to home".

"I think it's suddenly become cool to join a gang. The whole environment points to glorifying gangsta stuff. The kids now are desensitised to stabbing someone."

Malo Luafutu, better known as Scribe, said hip-hop artists were troubled by what was happening on the streets, and felt compelled to use their influence to make a difference.

"It's hard to just sit there and watch it on the news and not do anything about it," he said.

"A lot of kids listen to hip-hop, it's really the music they relate to. They definitely look up to us as role models."

Bell said he felt rappers had, until now, done "very little personally" to demonstrate a social conscience: "You could even say that of the music industry in general."

He had made a deliberate attempt not to be "preachy" with the track.

"If any adult ever told me to do something, I would absolutely not do it. I knew that if we approached the song from a `don't do drugs, don't do alcohol, don't join gangs' angle, then it wouldn't work."