‘I was flabbergasted’: Award recognises career of a lifetime

“I was flabbergasted.”

That’s how award-winning hip-hop artist, musician, presenter, and producer, Teremoana Rapley, reacted after being named the recipient of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2024 Pacific Music Awards.

Of Kiribati, Cook Islands - Aitutaki, Rarotonga, and Mangaia - and Jamaican heritage, Teremoana has been a powerful force on the New Zealand music scene for more than three decades.

Also known as Tere Veronica Rapley MNZM and inducted into the Aotearoa Music Hall of Fame, she says the news was a complete surprise because she was “not expecting it at all”.

Rapley was a judge in the inaugural stages of the PMAs, but has never won any of their awards.

She told Will Terite on Pacific Mornings it is a full circle moment.

“I thought it was a fantastic initiative when it first kicked off and I’ve attended many awards as well.

“I don’t know what it is, I’ve been going to award shows since I was 16, 17-years-old and whenever I go to a Pacific award show I’m always excited to see all of our people there, dressed up to the nines, enjoying themselves, and celebrating each other.”

“It’s a different slant. It’s a different energy that goes on at our awards.”

Though this is her first claim to a PMA, Rapley has been granted recognition twice from the New Zealand Cook Islands community through the annual Te Maeva Nui NZ Festival.

Always representing Upper Hutt, Auckland-based Rapley has been a trailblazer in reggae and rap fusion and her extensive contributions to Pacific and Māori music in Aotearoa have left an indelible mark on the industry.

She joined the pioneering hip-hop group Upper Hutt Posse at just 14-years-old before linking up with Moana and the Moa Hunters. Her early career paths brought international exposure and success, an incredible career that has spanned 37 years.

“The success that I encountered at a young age, I didn’t understand that that was success. I didn’t have peers my age at that time to compare what was happening with me.

“I was, as I can recall it, the only female rapper that was travelling Aotearoa and then I had the opportunity to go to Australia, New York, New Orleans, and so forth, from about 16, 17-years-old.

“I didn’t know that that was success. They were just things that I did. You asked me to rap when I was 14 and I would rap. Asked me to sing and I would sing. So it was just something that I really love to do and enjoy.”

When it all clicked

Rapley says interviewing with singer-songwriter Coco Solid some five years back, enlightened her to the gravitas of her music career.

“I have four sons and so my role as mum has been to put a roof over the heads of my children and put food into my children’s bellies.

“You do that by getting a job and making money, so that’s what I’ve done. And then apparently it’s like a ‘career’.

“There’s been no solid plan about how I wanted to do things.”

Pacific Music Awards Trust spokesperson Reverend Mua Strickson-Pua says Rapley is a “true pioneer in Pacific music and culture”.

“A Taonga, a treasure who humbly challenges, inspires and nurtures the spiritual, cultural, and political development of Pasifika people hence all people.

“Her music is about Alofa, Aroha, Aloha for our family of humanity, our Ngati Human Tribe, thus Tu’ufa’atasi Kotahitanga unity and peace.

“Her unwavering commitment to her art and community has made a profound impact, and we are honoured to recognise her contributions with this Lifetime Achievement Award.

“Her journey is a testament to the power of music and storytelling in shaping and preserving our cultural identity.”

Future of NZ music - Is pure talent enough?

New Zealand’s music industry has developed and broadened over the years and there has been a surge in emerging artists across multiple genres.

Being in the technological era, often newbies on the block come as a complete package with multiple skills as producers, musicians, editors, and performers.

Rapley believes it is relevantly easier for rising stars with deep pockets backing them to crack today’s “marketing machine about maximising engagement”.

“It's an interesting space right now. Music, in terms of how you release it, how it’s consumed has definitely changed from when I first stepped into the music industry.”

She says money talks when it comes to distribution, but success translates differently for each artist, and it comes down to the intention of their craft.

“The industry has definitely changed, it’s ramped up how you are able to reach people. There’s a plethora of music out there nowadays, I can barely keep up.”

Family first

For the humbly successful Pacific artist, she said her dream as a 14-year-old was to be a Mathematician.

She said that although her journey veered off track from that, she has applied her inquisitive nature and thirst for knowledge to every aspect of her life.

Māori Day Out/ Christmas Show in the square, Aotea Centre 1994/5 (first-born of 4). Photo/Facebook

It seems Rapley is still coming to terms with her mountain of accomplishments, but her most proudest achievement of all - her children.

“People probably don’t think that’s a career achievement but as a mum it is.

“Being able to raise four young boys into good men has always been my focus.

“Now I actually have grandchildren, being able to spend time with them is one of the definite highlights of my life anyway.”

The PMAs celebrates its 20th anniversary on Thursday, 6:30pm at the Due Drops Events Centre in Manukau, Tāmaki Makaurau.