4/4 Pacific Music + Arts Volume 2:2 Oct 2017 | Page 39

NTROducing
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Writer: P. Togi-Sa'ena
Artist Name: 9-5ers
Ethnicity: Tongan, Samoan, Maori, British
Ages: 30’s
Living: Grey Lynn, CBD and Onehunga.
Debut single: ‘Talking to You feat Tyra Hammond’
Debut EP/album:
Close to Home (March 2017),
Happy Hour (Sept 2017)
Website: www.9-5ers.com
9-5ers - Happy Hour EP listen here
9-5ers - Future watch here
9-5ers - Future (download here)
For this profi le we talk with Feleti Strickson-Pua, to
learn more about the new unit that is the 9-5ers. The
four members bring together years of experience
with previous projects including Nesian Mystik, Usual
Suspects, Midnight Gallery and Eddie Numbers. As
their group clearly states, they all have day jobs and
responsibilities, which they have chosen to maintain
while they collectively create their music.
What are your individual names?
SFT is Saia’s initials, Heefhakaboogie... is a play on
his name and the term the old show bands would use,
Edgar is his real name and Sabe is a shorten form of my
original MC name, which was based on the sword which
biblically was used to symbolise the gift and curse of the
tongue.
How long have you been making music and what
motivates you to create?
We have been making music since we were teenagers.
We are motivated by our life experiences and the hunger
to express ourselves, it truly is a daily part of life.... it’s as
necessary as a cell phone for communication.
Was there a particular moment in your life –
which confi rmed you had to make music?
The day I went to careers expo and couldn’t see one
occupation that was more exciting than making music,
the second day was the night King Kapisi won the APRA
Silver Scroll Award and for the fi rst time I thought of rap
and hip hop being a respected art.
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