DAT's the Way I Like It

Rip It Up, Issue 149, 1 December 1989, Page 16

DAT's the Way I Like It

Upper Hutt Posse

The Upper Hutt Posse formed in 1985 as a four-piece playing original reggae and rap, the latter gradually becoming the main musical force. The band’s early sound was decidedly rough.As D] Darryl Thompson puts it, “We sounded like Anthrax. People used to call us the black punks.” The refinement of the Posse began when they linked up with fellow Wellingtonian George Hubbard, who had experience with and access to a drum machine. [Hubbard also had a background of working with the arts, and soon had the band gigging extensively, making contacts that led to the Posse being signed to the newly formed Southside label early this year. The Posse played widely, the lineup extending to include female vocalist Tere Rapley, before moving to Auckland to try and crack a bigger market. “Wellington is really tight knit,” Darryl explains. “There’s about five bands playing a circuit, and we didn’t want to get stuck in that. Anyway, Auckland will hopefully just be a stepping stone to overseas, a stop-off before we catch the plane.” Lead vocalist Dean Hapetahasa similar view: “There’s not a really large scene in Wellington. The city is very compact, there was nowhere to play, really.” Being in Auckland also allowed the band to record their album Against The Flow. The record covers all the Poss¢’s musical territory; rap, reggac and even funk and soul on tracks like “T'rust’ and ‘Stormy Weather’, and through each track runs the strong political vein for which the band have become known. It seems

strange, therefore, that the first single ‘Do It Like This’ is one of the most apolitical tracks on the album. “Do It Like This’ was just the most commercial track on the LP,” Dean says straight-fowardly. “Our management was concerned with getting chart action and airplay, but I'm not worried about that. As long as Maori stations play it. I don’t give a fuck about 89FM or whatever, it’s not ourmarket.” ‘ International Sound One criticism that can be aimed at the album is that despite the strong songs, the sound itself is at times - under-produced. Itseems tobe a problem to find a producer in this country who understands how rap should really sound. Hubbard, who did most of the drum programming for the album, agrees: “There is alack of understanding. Most producers don’t realise how a 909 drum machine should sound, it’s ‘new territory. Also, there was no one producer on the album, which didn’t help things.” “The vocals and musical backing should be unified,” Dean agrees. “Sometimes they diverge, they don’t really come together as well as they should. But Terry Moore was really good, he did a great mix for ‘Dedicated’, which I think has international quality sound.” The diversity of style on the album isa real strong point, in particular the reggae influences, courtesy of Wiya and Acid Dread’s considerable toasting and vocal skills. As Darryl says, “It's good to prove rap is more than funky kids in tracksuits. It can be rastas, construction workers or whatever.” Dean also rates reggae as an

important part of the Posse’s heritage: : “Reggacis where we started. We sortof left it behind because we couldn’tafford the gearand we couldn’t shift what gear we had. It became easier to just put beats ona tape, then rap over that. But now we're starting to get back into the reggae stuff, especially when we play live.” . ' When the Posse has played live recently, Bennet Pomana, the other lead vocalist on the album, has been conspicuous by his absence. What’s happened there? “He went back to Gisbourne for a tangi,” says Darryl, “and just decided not to come back;, I guess. I don’t think he quite realised what he was getting himself into. He wasn’t ready to totally commit himself, and you've got to be totally into this because this iswhat we do. Still, it’s sort of made us stronger, having to cover up the hole he left.” : Dean has much the same attitude. “Bennet was a really good mouthpiece, on stage he was good, but he had no real commitment. We've got to keep the band , together, no matter what. Ifhe wasn’'t happy coming to Auckland, how would he handle going overseas? We're just going to have to make plans to cover his tracks. We're working on songs like ‘“Trust’ that have more singing, and we’ll be using Tere and the Dreads more. There’s plenty of strength still.” This sense of the Posse’s solidarity seems to have been further enhanced by the recent split with George Hubbard as their manager, as Dean explains: “It was sort of the same situation as with Bennet. He was heading in a different direction to the band, so that was it.” Hubbard himself sees the splitas a by-product of the band’s growing independence. “I started out with them because, having worked in the field, I was able to help,” he says, “but Ican’tlead the way always. The Posse needs to decide their own

fate. Dean is always talking about self-control and now they’re-ina position to take advantage ofit. I believe in them as a musical entity, and I'm always going to be able to help if I'm needed, but my job is finished really.” Poi Poi Twist Despite all these changes, the Posse have been busily working on their career. They've played recently in Auckland and are soon returning to Wellington as well as doing another National tour, this time of schools. How did their first tourof maraesgo?

“It was good,” says Dean, “although we got some strange responses doing rap because people hadn’t seen it before. But that’s good, we want to wake them up and show them there’s more to Maori music than just guitars.” Alotof early Maoribandshad much the same approach as that which you now use: taking American music (in their case, rock n’ roll ), and reinterpreting it witha New Zealand flavour. Something like Rim D Paul’s ‘Poi Poi Twist’ is a good, if somewhat lightweight, example. “There used to be alot of diversity to Maori bands, they used horn

sections, the whole lot. That all seems to be lost now.” Why weren’t there any Maori language songs on the album? “Well, Inever really got round to doing anything I liked. I'm okay with the history and the values but I just wasn't confident enough with the language. [The EP| E Tuworked because it was the right time for that song, but I want to do something like this properly, I don’t want to rush intoit.” The distinctly “New Zealand” sound that the Upper Hutt Posse possessesis one of the many things that sets them apart from the rest of the rap pack. Many local bands are trapped ina sort of reverse cultural imperialism whereby they force Americanisms upon themselves, but the Posse have retained their own roots. | “We’re not copying overseas sounds, but we’re relating to them,” Darryl puts it. “It’s the same with the reggae, it's about something that we've experienced, being ripped off orwhatever, it's something we see. 1 canrelate better to what Public Enemy or Gregory Isaacs have to say thanl canto John Farnham.” And what does the future hold? Dean s typically determined. ~ “Overseas, definitely,” he says. “When we started this thing we thought, ‘Well, we’ll do gigs, we'll do anLP,we'llgeton TV. We didn’t know exactly how, butstill we did it. It’s the same with going overseas, we don’t know how, but we’ll do it. We'll still keep NZ as a base ‘cause that's where our sound comes from, but it’s hard to say what will happen. But this is serious for us, this is what we are doing with our lives.” Somehow, 1 get the feeling that if anyone can make it in that big, ugly world of rock n’ roll, it’s going to be the Upper Hutt Posse, and I can’t think of anyone who deserves it more. » ¥

Kirk Gee

Summerinthecity, New York City, and the place smells. Hot times, an : expected high of 90today, and more than the back of my neck is dirty and gritty. The garbage is rotting, the subway trains are breaking down. The sanity of the citizens of Manhattanis under strain; they grittheir teethto stop turningintothe Sonof Sam. In Times Square, what you see is whatyou get. If the old ladies lining up for cheap Broadway tickets looked a bit harder they could see the drug supermarket in action just across the street. Pause a second at 42nd and Broadway and the hustle fortakeaways s slicker than McDonald's: Smoke, smoke? Coke, dope? Try before you buy...". Butthe B-Boys in their day glo sneakers and checkerboard flat-tops don'ttake any nofice either. Leather medallions -- maps of Africain green, yellow and red -- have replaced the gold chains round their necks, and determinationis on their faces. Yo! Where you goin’ with that briefcase in your hand. Tothe ; Marriot Hotel, for a summit meeting on Afrocentricity. Say what?

Prize Fight If'sthe 1989 New Music Seminar’s summit meeting on black consciousness. The hitmen of black culture are aboutto fight the power. The conference roomis packed with business-like B-boys, and onthe platform are their leaders: Chuck D of Public Enemy, Vernon Reid from Living Colour, black music journalists Nelson George and Harry Allen, “Afrostyling entrepreneur” Bill Lester, Lisa Williamson of the Committee for Racial Equality (and MCLyte’s manager), South African promoter and activist Duma N'dlavy Right Thing came out two weeks ago and eclipsed the impact of Batman. The room is edgy with anticipation, like Madison Square Garden before aprize fight. Nelson George, whose book The Death Of Rhythm & Blues was another significant eventinblack culture this year, opens proceedings with a quote from Sun Ra: “We've got a White House -- there hasto be a Black House.” He then sets the agenda. “All this talk about self-determination in Afro-American music, the African medallions -- is this just radical chic2 How do we keep the new consciousness?” The Hustle “Inthe 605," says George, “there

were the conflicting philosophies of Martin Luther King and the Black Panthers. Now, people are more into notidentifying with the mainstream. Inthe 70s, it was just about the Hustle indisco -- South Africa handn't

emerged as an issue. Butnow -- Jesse Jackson's campaign wasimportant, Louis Farrakhan isimportant, getting paidisimportant. :

“Folks are now more aware of economic realities. Now there must be away to live and also to embody black consciousness. Take what Vernon and Spike are doing. Now,