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Sunday Star★Times November 15, 2009 C2 COVER STORY ate the label. Ermehn, an Otara-bred musician who was the country’s first gangster rapper, describes the footage: ‘‘[Founder] Brotha D was pretty much begging not to get a hiding. [Co- founder] YDNA was like a headless chicken,’’ he says. ‘‘Dawn Raid shut THE KING their shops up for a week. They lost face, people seeing them drop their nuts like that.’’ News of the trouble reached as high as Dawn Raid’s corpor- ate backer, South Pacific Pictures head John Barnett. (Says YDNA, also known as Andy Murnane: ‘‘As far as I’m con- cerned there was no real incident.’’) OF STING The episode only bolstered the Killer Beez’ status, strengthening its claim as a strident new voice of one of From Focus, C1 the country’s most influential youth subcultures, in one of its traditional His promise of a hustling, hedonistic strongholds. The real sound of Manu- lifestyle proved nearly irresistible to kau’s streets, they said, was gangster many from disadvantaged back- hip-hop; few dared argue with them. grounds who sought a richer source of They launched their album in tri- identity and income than they could umphant fashion, popping champagne derive from a blue collar job. Masters at a bar at Auckland’s Viaduct. A few embodied the naked, unpalatable days later the Operation Leo raids reality of the appeal of gang member- were executed. Operation head Detec- ship: that by aligning with a bullying, tive Inspector John Tims called it ‘‘a antisocial mob, those with limited good day for New Zealand’’.
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