The Hip-hop culture in Aotearoa New Zealand is similar to other countries where reclamation of identity has been achieved using music. Is Hip-hop a backlash of the colonisation process? Discuss the Hip-hop culture as a medium for expressiveness and a way of defining identity.
             Hip-hop has emerged as a significant musical genre in Aotearoa New Zealand creating an awareness of cultural diversity and ethnic identity and is similar to other countries where reclamation of identity has been achieved using music. Hip-hop has long been seen as the voice for the disenfranchised. The New Zealand Hip-hop scene began in the 1980's when artists such as Upper Hutt Posse began recording and gained recognition for lyrics relating to tino rangatiratanga, Maori Sovereignty. Is the success of Hip-hop in New Zealand the backlash of the colonisation process? New Zealand has a colourful past in terms of race relations, which has contributed to Maori and Pacific Islanders, amongst other minority groups, sense of disenfranchisement. The Hip-hop culture has provided a medium for young people to channel their talents and have a voice about their place in society. Exploring the character of youth subcultures such as Hip-hop provides an opportunity for better understanding of the role that popular music has for youth as they endeavour to construct ideas about their own individualism and their place within the social world. Particular attention has been given to a local High School in Christchurch as an example of flexibility and resourcefulness with tailor made courses specifically aimed to appeal to students from diverse musical backgrounds. In addition to the exploration of Hip-hop youth culture, further exploration of the relationships found between the social world, the cultural creators, objects and the receivers of the cultural objects is made drawing on the larger influences that create such connections.
             What is this global musical force ...