NZ Hip Hop Stand Up (2020) Sheelahroc 'If I Gave U Th’ Mic'
When New Zealand’s first all-female hip hop crew, Sheelahroc, dropped their track ‘If I Gave U Th’ Mic’ in 2000, they were propelled onto the national stage. The crew consisted of three members: Ladi6, Voodoo Child, and Tyra Hammond. They were rappers, writers, performers, singers, and MCs. In short, they were, as hip hop artist Randa describes them, “dope, talented woman.” Voodoo Child thinks back to the birth of Sheelahroc: “everyone else that was MCing the time that I was around were all male. But I heard from somebody else that there was another chick in Christchurch who was also writing raps.” That chick was Ladi6. They joined forces, and soon after Sheelahroc picked up their third member, Ladi’s cousin, Tyra. The teenagers treated their band like a business, holding weekly meetings and even keeping minutes. The vision was clear. Ladi saw all-female rap crews overseas and wanted that same representation here in New Zealand. “There are definitely attitudes out there that women should be a certain way,” Randa says, “like, gentle or low key. But when you see a woman with mad skills, you cannot deny the power there.”
Unearthing the stories behind some of the most influential tracks in Aotearoa hip hop.
Primary Title
- NZ Hip Hop Stand Up
Episode Title
- Sheelahroc 'If I Gave U Th’ Mic'
Date Broadcast
- Thursday 23 July 2020
Release Year
- 2020
Duration
- 08:00
Series
- 1
Episode
- 4
Channel
- RNZ Podcasts & Series
Broadcaster
- Radio New Zealand
Programme Description
- Unearthing the stories behind some of the most influential tracks in Aotearoa hip hop.
Episode Description
- When New Zealand’s first all-female hip hop crew, Sheelahroc, dropped their track ‘If I Gave U Th’ Mic’ in 2000, they were propelled onto the national stage. The crew consisted of three members: Ladi6, Voodoo Child, and Tyra Hammond. They were rappers, writers, performers, singers, and MCs. In short, they were, as hip hop artist Randa describes them, “dope, talented woman.” Voodoo Child thinks back to the birth of Sheelahroc: “everyone else that was MCing the time that I was around were all male. But I heard from somebody else that there was another chick in Christchurch who was also writing raps.” That chick was Ladi6. They joined forces, and soon after Sheelahroc picked up their third member, Ladi’s cousin, Tyra. The teenagers treated their band like a business, holding weekly meetings and even keeping minutes. The vision was clear. Ladi saw all-female rap crews overseas and wanted that same representation here in New Zealand. “There are definitely attitudes out there that women should be a certain way,” Randa says, “like, gentle or low key. But when you see a woman with mad skills, you cannot deny the power there.”
Classification
- Unknown
Owning Collection
- Chapman Archive
Broadcast Platform
- Television
Languages
- English
Captions
Live Broadcast
- No
Rights Statement
- Made available for the University of Auckland's educational use as permitted by the Screenrights Licensing Agreement.
Subjects
- Rap (Music)--New Zealand
- Hip-hop--New Zealand
- Music--New Zealand
- Documentary television programs--New Zealand
Genres
- Documentary
- History
- Interview
- Music
Contributors
- Chris Graham (Director)
- Clayton Carpinter (Director of Photography)
- Thom Watts (Editor)
- Nigel McCulloch (Producer)
- The Down Low Concept (Production Unit)
- Radio New Zealand (Funder)
- NZ On Air (Funder)
- Karoline Fuarose Park-Tamati (Subject)
- Sarah Tamaira (Subject)
- Tyra Hammond (Subject)
- Malo Ioane Luafutu (Interviewee)
- Teremoana Rapley (Interviewee)
- Peter Wadams (Interviewee)
Subjects
- Rap (Music)--New Zealand
- Hip-hop--New Zealand
- Music--New Zealand
- Documentary television programs--New Zealand