Hauwhenua Thomas Tainui Kirkwood (Tainui) also known as ENZIE recently shared a rap video to Facebook which has received a lot of traction online.
The video was uploaded yesterday morning and already has over 4.8 thousand likes and at least 2,130 shares.
Enzie is based in Brisbane, Australia and in his video he uses a sample from the Kiwi classic “Slice of Heaven” by Dave Dobbyn, to highlight various cities and towns in Aotearoa, like Whangārei, Whanganui, Rotorua, Huntly, Auckland, Wellington, and Taupō.
When asked why he chose New Zealand towns and cities as the subject of his rap, Enzie says, “I just love and miss home, and I know with New Zealand’s best yet there’s others out there that also feel the same, and I just wanted to give that pride back, hit people's soft spot because home for me is like no other! Hence, why I changed my name to Enzie!”
Since sharing his video, the feedback has been positive.
“Awesome response! A lot of love, I appreciate all of it!” says Enzie.
The 21-year-old grew up in Whanganui and has been rapping for four years.
Enzie says he has always looked up to New Zealand artists and hopes to build a career around his passion for rap.
“It’s my dream! It’s all I’ve ever wanted, my whole life I've looked up to our NZ pioneers! The NZ music scene back then was crazy! Everyone was poppin’! I want to bring that back because I know there’s soooo much talent back home.”
So, in the wake of all the positive online attention, what is next for the aspiring rapper?
“Just tracks on tracks and we’ll see where it goes from there!”
To see more of the talented Māori rapper, go to his Facebook page here.