Graham Reid | | 2 min read
The Deceptikonz rap crew out of Manurewa helped define the sound and unique culture of South Auckland when signed to the Dawn Raid label in 2001.
If rap gives voice to the voiceless, Deceptikonz – Mareko, Savage, Frisko and Devolo – told their stories across three albums, Elimination in 02, Heavy Rotation (06) and their farewell Evolution: Past, Present and Beyond (10).
Through numerous collaborations and parallel solo albums, their presence was wide and influential.
Mareko's groundbreaking White Sunday (03) sprung the hit Stop Drop and Roll (featuring the other Decepticonz) and Savage's solo career has been illustrious. It includes the monster hit Swing from his 05 album Moonshine (58 million Spotify streams, remixes, used in the 07 American rom-com Knocked Up), the chart-topping Freaks with Timmy Trumpet (427 million streams, nominated for an Australian ARIA award as single of the year) with clubland hits at home, in Australia and the U.S., plus guest spots and other songs on soundtracks.
Prompted by Oscar Kightley's 2020 Dawn Raid documentary tracing that label from street to global success and then financial failure, the four – who have 20 children between them, businesses and separate lives with Mareko and Frisko based in Brisbane – reconnected, discussed their legacy and the platform they created for others.
Their new album In Perpetuity confirms their enduring talents, and that of contemporaries David Dallas, Che Fu, Swidt and their other guests.
The album was flagged by videos for Verbal Abuse 2.0 and the movingly autobiographical One Time which resonates with anyone who has lost a loved one.
That personal story-telling drives In Perpetuity, its title freighted with legal meaning by those who learned about copyright and contracts the hard way.
The opener Season of Change reflects on their Pasifika heritage and what they accomplished: “Just four kids with a dream to succeed and achieve what no others believed. . . parents came from the promised land, rap was never part of the plan, church raised . . . Tupac and Biggie fans, Bob Marley, old school jams, born and raised in the Southside . . .”
They repurpose some of their history here. Verbal Abuse 2.0 with Swidt more urgently updates Verbal Abuse – again with R.E.S. (Red Eye Society) – from Elimination with mentions of Uncle Bully and Grace, “not many if any” and other intertextual references to hip-hop and local culture as verses pass from one rapper to another.
The deep groove, downbeat Trouble in Paradise with Che Fu and his father, reggae legend Tigi Ness, takes a hard swipe at divisions brought about by the vaccination programme, social media (“nowadays privacy is public information”), the police, mainstream media, and “Parliament was never about the people”.
Rollin' is a slow-jam consciousness rap offering hard-won wisdom. Local soul star Thomas Stowers lifts the overly-familiar message of All or Nothing from street struggle to something more spiritual.
In Perpetuity – on Savage's own Savage Entertainment label – is thoughtful, contentious, provocative (“tryin' to discipline my kids, they call it abuse”), sometimes funny (Horsemen Family) and closes with the tellingly-titled Carry On (Pass the Torch).
The album is a fine coda to an extraordinary career.
“We weren't trying to make hit records or aim for a charting position,”says Savage. “We were just creating feel-good music that resonates with our people and has some sort of message.”
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In Perpetuity by Deceptikonz is available at Spotify here.
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