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Tom Scott and Haz Beats (Photo: @timdfilm)
Tom Scott and Haz Beats (Photo: @timdfilm)

Pop CultureAugust 1, 2018

‘I should write about stuff like this night right here’: An oral history of Home Brew’s Last Week EP

Tom Scott and Haz Beats (Photo: @timdfilm)
Tom Scott and Haz Beats (Photo: @timdfilm)

Home Brew’s needle-shifting Last Week EP was released 10 years ago in October. Sam Wicks talks to the people who brought the unapologetically local project to life.

‘This is our 7 track EP we wrote last week about the shit we did last week. We call it Last Week.’

With those unadorned words, Tom Scott announced a record that would introduce Home Brew to New Zealand and inspire a new generation of hip-hop artists to favour Kiwi vowels over tired Americanisms. Drip-fed via the hub that was hiphopnz.com, Last Week presented a bog-standard week in exquisite detail. Here’s how Home Brew found beauty in the mundane.

Tom Scott (Avantdale Bowling Club, Home Brew, Average Rap Band, @Peace, YGB): I guess it started in Avondale with me and Shaun Hopkins (SoulChef) doing our little rap thing. We would drop CDs in people’s letterboxes and that. Try to take it up to Beat Merchants to give it to Sir-Vere and he’d be like, ‘yeah, yeah, I’ll listen’. We weren’t getting anywhere with our shit.

Eventually, I was like, fuck this, I’m going to go study. I went down to Dunedin to study neuroscience and I was full into it. But every week I’d go to Real Groovy and spend my course-related costs. I found this album by Jean Grae called This Week and I was like, wow, this must be about every day of her week! I took it home and it wasn’t that, but the concept stuck.

Haz ‘Haz Beats’ Huavi (Home Brew, Team Dynamite, YGB): I met Tom on hiphopnz.com and then he found my MySpace. I don’t know how he did it, but he ripped my music from there and was recording to it. It wasn’t till like a month later when I started listening that I was like, ‘wow, this guy’s actually got content that I want to listen to’.

I began sending him music through the internet. We hadn’t met yet, but he had [Last Week] planned out. Because he already had a plan, I was just a vehicle for him to spit his rhymes over.

Tom Scott: In those days everyone was trying to be Premier and everything was real regimented. Haz’s stuff was soulful and off-kilter. There was something about his drums, they just swung differently.

Haz Huavi: It was like I had been friends with Tom for years, to be honest. When I first heard his rhymes I was like, how is he not one of my friends? How have we not crossed paths and created music together? By the time him and Lui [Silk] moved to Aroha Ave in Sandringham, I used to go there all the time.

Tom Scott in The Shack (Photo: @timdfilm)

Lance ‘Lucky Lance’ Fepuleai (Team Dynamite, YGB): The Shack, that’s where it all began. It was a tiny shed at the back of Tom and Lui’s place. It was filled with egg cartons, a washing machine and a bench. I don’t know how we fit in there. It was tiny, but it was the shit.

Tom Scott: Haz was also making music with Lucky Lance and Tony Tz, Team Dynamite. Saia from Usual Suspects would come around to rhyme, Christoph El’ Truento would be making beats with Brandon Haru. It was just like our little studio, a piece of shit washhouse that we made into our little hub.

Lui ‘Lui Silk’ Gumaka (Home Brew, YGB): I came home from work and Tom, Haz and some really tall guy were in The Shack drinking and freestyling. That was the day I met Lucky Lance.

We kept drinking for a while and then Tom went to bed, and then I borrowed our flatmate’s bike to go and buy some smokes. I rode down the road drunk, that’s all I remember. The police report says I came out of a side street and the courier van didn’t see me, ran me over and then called an ambulance. I woke up in hospital thinking it was some warped dream.

Lance Fepuleai: The next day, me and Haz were heading into town on the bus and Tom called and was like, ‘fah, Lui Silk got run over by a courier van last night’. All that shit was true and it became part of ‘Wednesday’ on the Last Week EP. The whole idea was Tom’s and I remember thinking, ‘what a fuckin’ mean idea’.

Tom Scott: I wrote ‘Wednesday’ in one sitting and I was like, shit, I remember that idea I had for an EP. And so the next day I wrote about what happened to us Thursday, and then the Friday, till we had this whole week’s worth of work. I told Haz what we were going to do and he basically sent me a beat for every day of the week after that.

It just so happened that everything we were living at the time found its way into the music – things like us sitting in our shitty little shack, drinking and freestyling all night, BBQing in the summer, just average shit.

Lui Gumaka: It just worked, it never sounded forced or like it had to be made to suit. Tom and Haz have this thing where they both know how to meet in the middle of a track and have it sound natural. Last Week just sounds like any other week we were living back then.

Tom Scott: We wrote it all in The Shack but Glen [Davison] had this apartment with a mic in the city and we recorded it up there. He was like our Yoda, he was a bit older and he looked out for us.

The Shack (Photo: @timdfilm)

Glen ‘DJ Substance’ Davison (host of Urbanology on George FM): I was kind of like the de facto Breakin Wreckwordz DJ. I’d been around local rappers and I knew Home Brew was a fresh sound.

Rap to me has always been a window into different communities and stuff. I don’t want to hear a guy from Compton rapping like someone from the Bronx because it’s not authentic.

Haz Huavi: Everyone at that time was still Americanised and no one was talking about everyday topics in New Zealand. Tom was writing about stuff like being on the benefit or being broke, and I think that’s what people related to.

Tom Scott: I just wanted to write about average, normal New Zealand shit because the culture that my generation of hip-hop is from is about ‘keep it real’. You’d get called out if you were claiming to be someone you weren’t, so I was trying to be myself as much as possible.

Lance Fepuleai: On the track ‘Friday’ Tom shouts out a roll call of local DJs like Manuel Bundy and Julien Dyne. I thought that was the smartest thing ever. As time went on, I started to become friends with guys like Chip Matthews and all these people in the song and I was like, ‘Tom was on to it before I even knew what the fuck was going on’.

Tom Scott: I think ‘Sunday’ was the last track that I wrote for it. I would have been thinking about a conclusion from the get-go. When I went around to my girlfriend-at-the-time’s place for dinner, I was sitting around watching what was happening like, yeah, this is material. It’s moments like that that make you think, you know what, this is actually it.

Glen Davison: Home Brew were saying the shit that we say and getting over that culture cringe of, ‘I have to rap as if I’m from New York or from somewhere that I’m not’. Tom even says it on ‘Sunday’ – ‘That’s when I sparked up my bright idea / I should write about stuff like this night right here.’

Tom Scott and Lui Silk in The Shack (Photo: @timdfilm)

Tom Scott: When I look back at it now I cringe because it’s so raw. That EP was us without enough time to make anything special, just whatever was on our mind that day. We wrote it in seven days, put it out I think a week later after we mixed and mastered it, just because we wanted the current events to be in it – Manu Vatuvei dropping the ball and all those kind of things that were timestamps.

I think the beauty of the poet is they find something interesting in the mundane. I’m not saying I did that with this record, but I need to remind myself 10 years on that it’s still the recipe for good music.

Glen Davison: We had the concept of releasing a song a day through hiphopnz.com. It was filled with keyboard warriors, so anybody who didn’t like it was perfectly happy to say so. That was cool though because it was a barometer of truth for what it’s worth.

Haz Huavi: Tom got us to post the songs up on social media; it was us doing promo without even knowing it. It was on Bebo, it was on MySpace, it was on hiphopnz.com, and the rest was just word of mouth. That’s what killed everybody ’cause people were like, these guys actually use social media to promote their shit. That’s how people do it now but back then no one was doing it.

Tom Scott: I was desperate for acceptance on hiphopnz.com. It was make it or break it, they were ruthless. Everyone was able to hide behind their screen and say whatever. I think that sharpened a lot of people on there. I remember checking the feedback and it being good and being stoked.

Glen Davison: When I started getting jaded industry people or people who aren’t rap fans asking me ‘where’s my song today?’, I knew we were on to something.

Haz Huavi: I didn’t know what to expect at first but once I saw people commenting – there were over 1000 comments with people asking, ‘who the fuck are these guys?’, ‘this guy’s voice is so good’, ‘I didn’t know Haz was working with people’.

Lance Fepuleai: I remember it blew up. I just remember thinking, ‘man, I’m glad I’m on ‘Wednesday’’. Everyone was lapping it up because there was nothing like it before. It was hori but it was sophisticated at the same time. It wasn’t like being a mongrel, it was being a well-spoken mongrel.

The Shack (Photo: @timdfilm)

Tom Scott: To be honest, I never thought that I would be recognised, I never thought New Zealand hip-hop would let us in. We never had dreams of being around for the Boost Mobile tour or anything. We didn’t have baggy white T-shirts. Even on the first EP, I said, ‘I’ll never be as cool as Con Psy’. I never thought our shit would fit into that. It still bugs me out.

People just started relating to it and I guess it was because it was unfiltered and it was relatable. We were just telling our story and in doing so accidently telling everyone else’s.

Haz Huavi: Last Week brought so many people in from the darkness, from sitting in their bedrooms and thinking they can’t do it. So many people have told me that EP made them become a musician. We flew that flag and everyone else followed through. Tom rapped about our surroundings and now everyone else is sort of following suit. People used to be ashamed about rapping about being broke, nowadays they love it. It’s like being broke is the new cool thing.

Lance Fepuleai: It’s definitely up there as a classic. After that, a lot of people felt like it’s okay to be from New Zealand. They got that if you could say something that the people can relate to, that’s going to get you further than just trying to act cool. If you can figure out how to express the struggle that everyone’s going through, shit, you’re on a goldmine.

Tom Scott: My bro Christoph El’ Truento once said to me you can’t be ahead of your time and timeless. I know for damn sure that to my ear Last Week is not timeless, but at the same time, I know that it was something that hadn’t been done before. When I look back at it, I just tell myself that’s how fearless you should be, that’s how honest you should be.

Keep going!
Just a few of the varied games on Kickstarter – and ones you probably haven’t heard of.
Just a few of the varied games on Kickstarter – and ones you probably haven’t heard of.

Pop CultureAugust 1, 2018

The weird, the beautiful, the unfundable: A look at Kickstarter’s gaming section

Just a few of the varied games on Kickstarter – and ones you probably haven’t heard of.
Just a few of the varied games on Kickstarter – and ones you probably haven’t heard of.

Popular crowdfunding platform Kickstarter has been a boon for video game developers for a few years now. Sam Brooks investigates the less glamourous side of the platform.

Pillars of Eternity$3,986,929.Torment: Tides of Numenara, $4,188,927. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night$5,545,991. Shenmue 3$6,333,295. All video games funded through Kickstarter – and yes, all those commas are in exactly the right place.

These are the success stories of Kickstarter, and crowdfunding in general. These games probably wouldn’t exist in today’s marketplace without the crowdfunding platform, and the industry is a better off as a result. Should some of the best and most critically acclaimed games of the year only be possible because of crowdfunding? Maybe not! Should our industry be investing in these games rather than expecting fans to pre-invest them? Also maybe not!

But this is not that conversation. This is about the other side of Kickstarters – the weird games you don’t hear about, the beautiful ones that only super enthusiasts are super into, and the ones that you kind of hope never see the light of day again.

(I have retained the strange bolding and italics from people’s projects, because I find them as endearing as I find them frustrating.)

This is a lot of information in one picture.

The Super Patriotic Dating Simulator

What is it: “The Super Patriotic Dating Simulator is a satirical visual novel. Play as Elodie, a 19-year-old CIA super spy. As one of America’s most ruthless agents, you’ve been assigned a deadly solo mission: infiltrate and destroy I***.

Besides the whole “super spy” thing, you’re just a normal American girl… who’s really horny. Give these fuckers an American ass-kicking, and maybe learn a bit about your body on the way. Just remember the #1 rule of the CIA: always ask for consent.”

The goal: NZ $62,018.

Would I fund this: Kind of? I’m a fan of the visual novel style, and this seems to parody both that style and also be a genuine critique of Western attitudes towards Arabic people.

Essentially my life.

No Longer Home

What is it: No Longer Home is an episodic magical realist point and click adventure game. Drawing from the personal experiences of the two lead developers, the main characters Bo and Ao, two recent university graduates, prepare to move out of their flat and face the looming threat of adult life.”

The goal: NZ $48, 284.

Would I fund this: A mumeblecore point and click game about a quarter life crisis and existential dread? Sign me up!

An incredibly photorealistic depiction of space.

Space Station Continuum: A NASA Inspired Management Sim

What is it: “Beginning in the 1970’s at the height of NASA’s Apollo Applications Program, Space Station Continuum puts you in charge of your very own government funded space station.

You’ll design and launch new modules, manage power generation and heat dissipation, direct research into new technologies and more. All while your astronauts conduct experiments, produce goods, eat, drink, breathe, sleep, and exercise – as long as your station can provide everything they need!”

The goal: NZ $11,234

Would I fund this: Space-related admin? Lo-fi graphics? Put it in my veins!

All I see is Nemo.

unmemory: an interactive escape book game

What is it: unmemory is the story of the Killer Kittens, a band of classy cat burglars. Many are after their valuable loot but there is only one person in the world who knows where it is hidden: you. Everything would be fine if it wasn’t for a small detail: you don’t remember anything.

unmemory lives at the intersection of games and literature and might appeal to noir novel fans, interactive fiction readers, graphic adventure lovers and escape room players as well as to anyone who loves challenging puzzles.”

The goal: NZ $65,165

Would I help fund this: Totally! This is exactly the kind of game that Kickstarter exists to fund – the kind of game that might not have a core, market-researched kind of audience that a triple-A studio would dive at. But the fact that this game has funded about 80% of its goal already, for a fairly obscure concept in an even more obscure genre (or genres), is a great example of why crowdfunding does work.

… is fog.

Beyond Death

What is it: Beyond Death is a sandbox survival adventure, played in first person and made to be realistic as much as possible. Play alone or in group. Settle down and fortify or keep exploring. Fight or flight, hunt and farm: live your own way using the limitless gameplay mechanics which make Beyond Death totally unique. You will be able to discover what caused the infection and maybe find a solution for it.

The goal: NZ $85,744

Would I fund this: I have a general antipathy for any and all zombie games, largely because I think the whole genre is a convenient way to work a lot of violence into games while technically getting off the hook of shooting real-life people. There are a lot of projects on Kickstarter in this vein, all of which sound like mildly different takes on a genre that already exists.

Looks like these women have already hunted enough pantsu – why do they need more?

Pantsu Hunter: Adventure/Visual Novel

What is it:  “A mixture of visual novel and adventure game made in the anime style of the 80’s and 90’s.

The story is about a young man who values women’s beauty and especially the beauty of women’s underwear. He is a jack of all trades and knows thousands of ways to get into the house of beautiful girl. It’s not easy to find panties because decent girls don’t store them in conspicuous places and wouldn’t a strangers to take their underwear… unless they like him.”

The goal: NZ $1,719 (although it has been pledged well over $6000, so… take that, put it in your pipe, and set it on fire).

Would I fund this: What do you think.


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