ABSTRACT
This chapter explores how Wellington artists live hip hop culture in ways that explicitly and implicitly resonate with local indigenous Pacific cultures. Wellington, the small harbor-hugging capital, holds a singular place in this history. It was home to this first hip hop dancer, as well as the first DJs to regularly spin hip hop music in nightclubs and the country's first regular hip hop-devoted radio program. A core group of Wellington artists have persisted in teaching the foundations of their craft to aspiring artists and the public. Over the past fifteen years, positive exchanges with a number of visiting US hip hop artists have bolstered Wellington artists' confidence. Wellington artists hear such statements, and observe themselves the value of their specific cultural context when opportunities for comparison arise. Wellington artists also feel like they possess much to offer back to hip hop and to international artists.
