(GENTLE MUSIC) - Oh, I like this. It's fitting. It's very metaphorical, cos I've had to fight to be here. I've had to fight to be who I am. I'm the youngest of three brothers. My oldest brother, Tenari Luafutu, and my middle brother, Julian Luafutu. My brother Julian, he was born with cerebral palsy and severe epilepsy. I wouldn't say that my mum didn't want me, but she didn't plan on having me. And she was on the injection and the Pill, and much her surprise when she found out she was pregnant. So, you know, I fought hard to be here. - When I carried him, it's like no smoking, nor drinking, no anything. You know? It was like, I just wanted him to have the best possibility of developing more so when I was using with the two older boys. He was born with all his legs and arms, and he was a healthy baby. - When Marlo was born, I was in jail. I was about, mm, six months into my leg. - My dad's a heroin dealer, original member of the King Cobra Gang. I met him when I was 5. - I requested to go out and visit him when he was born, and I was able to do that. I walked over to see the baby, and one of the screws that was handcuffed to me says, 'My, he's got a lot of hair.' (CHUCKLES SOFTLY) That's what I remember about him. But, yeah, I was sad for Carol and sad about my situation. - So, here we are in Aranui, Christchurch, on the east side. This is where I grew up. This house is where most of my childhood was and most of the trauma, really, that I sustained and my brother and my mother. Everyone on the street had it hard. And all our dads got along. And they were all users and drinkers and... gang affiliates. - We were really close growing up. We only lived, like, maybe a street away. - Wainoni or Carisbrooke St, Aranui. It was a pretty close-knit community. - It was poor. Like, none of us were rich. And there wasn't a lot of brown people. - Growing up in Christchurch as just a brown person was dangerous. - There's always been a bit of an undertone of casual racism. - You had these crazy, fully grown skinhead guys with swastikas and cars and dogs hunting us down daily. - It was after to school one day, and he came running in home because these two skinheads were chasing him. - Unfortunately, I lost one of my best friends, Matiu Kuiti. He was killed by a skinhead when we were teenagers. - Mm. - He got killed in the park and` - He was my friend's son. - I remember the night of his funeral, we paraded down Colombo St, and we wreaked havoc. Him being murdered was the catalyst for us going hundie. - He didn't view the world as innocent like he used to. - There used to be a swastika flag in that window over there. And I remember when I was little not knowing what that flag meant until I got a little bit older. Had my first confrontation with them over there. It all happened right here. I had a fight with a kid on this hill. This hill used to be, like, a mountain. I can't believe how small it is. I think I was 8. My brother was... He would've been 11. - One time my brother was being chased by skinheads through the park, and he came running over the hill. - And my dad had this sawn-off shotgun, and my brother grabbed the shotgun. He's like, 'Here, let's go.' And it was loaded too. - I didn't... have a second thought. That's all I knew is my brother was in trouble, so... I grabbed the gun and ran and met them. - We were standing here, facing that alleyway. And these three fully grown skinheads with swastikas came out of the alley. - And they were grown men, and they had this dog. - They came up` right up to the bottom of the thing, and my brother pulled the shotgun on them, pointed at them, and they just stood there. They were like, 'You fuckin' niggers!' - He said, 'Oh, what, it's only a two-shot?' And I said, 'Well, I'll shoot the dog first.' - Me and my brother sit there, and I just thought, looked up at my brother, like, 'You're the toughest.' - I think that came down to when dad went to prison and sort of told me to look after the family and the house, and from what I'd learnt and seen, I just thought, you know, that was the way. - RAPS: # Yeah. Flashback to '86. # Come at me, younger me. # White socks and kung-fu kicks. # One strap on my dungarees. # Was not like the other kids, # cos I never swung from trees. # Yeah, me and my brother did all the craziest shit you would not believe. # When he was 10, I was 6. # We were stealing my father's weed. # We were sellin' it to the teens. # Cos, boy, we was hungry. # Straight through the east, running free. # Ain't nobody's daddy rich. # My cousins live up the street. # You know, Spex fam' and Ladi6. # Eh! I went to school with Ladi6 and her sisters and her brothers and my brother. And we were like the family of the school. We were like the Partridge Family of the school. My teacher, Dame Aroha Reriti-Crofts and Terry Whitley, they really pushed us to the forefront, to be performers. So, from a very young age, I really loved singing. - He could do Elvis. You could just sing, tell jokes. - You know, he was always an actor and always an entertainer. He used to take this comb, and he used to do, like, the moonwalk and then, like, comb his sides of his hair. I just thought he was the coolest` the coolest kid out. - And he was always witty. I remember one time, we're in the car, and I said, 'Hey, bro, do you know you're adopted?' He turned and goes, 'Hey, do you Dad's your real dad?' And I got so upset. (CHUCKLES) - Back when I was little, my older brother, he was, like,... he was, like, my hero. Yeah, he was` He was like my father to me. We went on many adventures. I remember my brother putting me through a window and saying, 'Oh, I've gotta mow their lawns. Like, he's supposed to leave the key out. Can you open up the door?' So he put me through this window, and I open up the door, and my brother robbed the house. And we went and played video games all afternoon. It was one of the best days of my life. And we got home and, of course` We got home, and everyone knew. And, you know, my brother really copped a lot of the violence, you know. Like, he took a lot of violence for me, to protect me. - You know, he never told on his brother, just in case his brother got into trouble with his dad. - The hidings that we got were` you get a hiding, you wake up in the bath, like, no clothes on, stinging. Like, those are the kind of hidings we go ` they last for hours; they last all day. It's not a, like, controlled kind of thing. But, of course, my father, he's, you know, he was coming off heroin, and he had a lot of rage. - I remember hearing of really terrible hidings that Tenari and Malo would get as kids, and, you know, stories about them getting sent home while we were at primary school and just stuff like that that I'd be like, I knew that that was happening, but then, you know, also, it was happening to everybody in our neighbourhood. - The funny thing is, everyone around here knew about the kind of hidings that we got, so they never really went after my brother, cos they knew my dad was gonna already punish him. So even though he stole from them and he stole from this neighbour too, they were just like, 'You little shit!' But they felt sorry for him, because of the violence that would be inflicted on him that they knew about. (VEHICLE APPROACHES) (HORN TOOTS) Judy, oh my goodness! - (CHUCKLES) Hi. How are you? - Hello. Oh, I'm so good. BOTH: Oh! - Oh. Haven't seen you for years. - I know. This is Judy. So this is my old neighbour when I lived here. - Oh, don't take note of the 'old'. - She still lives here, Judy. So, I really love this lady here ` and her daughters. They were really nice to us. Cos Dad was a bit of a ratbag back then. - That's right. - (CHUCKLES) - All the dads were ratbags back then. - Yeah, they were. They were. - Sometimes he'd come wandering over and jump into bed with me. (BOTH LAUGH) - Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. - You must have been about` all of about 2. - Yeah. - Yeah, no. And I was very good friends with his mum and dad and that. - Yes. - No, we were just all great ` looked out for one another and... OK. - Mwah. OK. - OK, darlin'. You take care. - Give my love to Kerry and Lara. - And we'll see you soon. - OK. Bye. - Take care. Bye, now. - This was a very sad house to live in, but she was fuckin' awesome. Like she said, I used to get in bed with her when I was 2, like, walk over and jump in bed with her. That tells you what kind of lady she meant to me and how safe I felt going next door. So, um... That was really awesome to see her. I feel a bit teary. (LOW-KEY HIP-HOP MUSIC) - He was quite independent, you know, cos of the way me and John's lifestyle was too, you know. Um, mm... Probably, nowadays, they'd probably call that neglect. (CHUCKLES) - How I view (SIGHS) my upbringing... Yeah, there are parts of it that weren't ideal, um, and that hurt a lot. I think, for me and my brother, every time we took a knock, we could get up easier. - Even though there was a lot of darkness, I also remember the light. And I think, you know, the darkest place is where you see the light most prevalent. RAPS: # To my older bro, no matter what, I just hope, you know ` # you will never be alone. If you ever need me, just pick up that phone. # I'll come through like I always do. # I remember since I was about 2, funny how we grew up and I blew up, # but all my life, I wanted to be just like you. # And I stuck like glue, like gum to your shoe. # I know it was uncool to have your little bro always hanging around you # when you're tryin' to mack on girls that you knew from school. # But they don't know you like I do and what life was for me and you. # And Juju, too. If you weren't there to wipe my tears, I know I never would've made it through. # Mum and Dad would go out all night, come home and start to fight. # I got scared. You would let me sleep in your bed, telling me it's gonna be all right. # Remember that day Dad was so mad and we were gonna get the bash after school? # If someone didn't know, we would both get it, but I knew that it was me, and you said that it was you. # But that's what true brothers do. # That night you got stabbed in town, I didn't eat, I didn't sleep, # me and Shane hit the street and turned the city upside down. # And I miss when it was you. We ain't close as we used to be.