''Proud: An Urban Pacific Streetsoul Compilation'' is a 1994 New Zealand hip hop and R&B compilation album. It was released in New Zealand by Second Nature Records and in Australia by
Volition Records
Volition Records was a Sydney, Australia-based record label specialising in electronic music styles such as house, techno, synthpop and trance. It was founded by Andrew Penhallow in the late 1980s, but folded in the late 1990s.
Amongst the ...
, and later rereleased in
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
by Huh! Records in 2000. ''Proud'' has been described as "one of the most important NZ releases in the past decades" by New Zealand music industry figure Simon Grigg.
Background
The album had its origins with the work of record producer Alan Jansson. In his Freemans Bay recording studio, Uptown Studios, he was impressed with the young hip hop and R&B acts from
South Auckland
South Auckland is an imprecisely defined urban area of Auckland, New Zealand, with a young population, a relatively large Polynesian and Māori demographic, and lower incomes than other parts of Auckland. The name ''South Auckland'', though n ...
and
West Auckland who were recording at the studio, and the initial success of the resulting singles. Encouraged by Andrew Penhallow of Australian label Volition Records, Jansson started work on a compilation album to showcase the new musical talent of Auckland.
While the album was based around hip hop and R&B music, Jansson's production emphasised the Pacific sounds of the songs - log drumming, ukuleles and 'Maori strumming', though some performers felt their songs did not sound American enough. Breaking from the urban styles of the rest of the album, the final two tracks featured acoustic log drumming ("Pacific Beats") and an
a cappella
''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...
version of the
New Zealand national anthem. The resulting album was received well in both New Zealand and Australia.
''Proud'' tour
In 1994,
Phil Fuemana organised the national ''Proud'' tour, in order to promote the acts featured on the album.
Fuemana described it as "like a modern version of Motown – taking the talent and travelling around the country with it." The tour included the Otara Millionaires Club (and singer Sina) and Sisters Underground. The tour lost money, but boosted the profile of the featured acts.
Legacy
The main breakout act from ''Proud'' was the Otara Millionaires Club. The following year, as the
OMC,
Pauly Fuemana
Paul Lawrence Fuemana (8 February 1969 – 31 January 2010) was a Niuean-New Zealand singer, songwriter and musician from Auckland. One of the first globally successful pioneers of his country's unique style of hip-hop, Fuemana was one of New ...
had a worldwide hit single with "
How Bizarre".
Hip hop duo
Sisters Underground
Sisters Underground was a New Zealand hip hop and R&B duo best known for their 1994 single "In the Neighbourhood".
Background
Group members Brenda Makamoeafi and Hassanah Iroegbu originally met aged 13, at Hillary College in Ōtara, South A ...
had two tracks on the album, including "
In the Neighbourhood
"In the Neighbourhood" is the 1994 debut single by the New Zealand hip hop duo Sisters Underground. The song peaked at #6 in the New Zealand singles charts and is now regarded as a landmark single both in the emerging South Auckland music scene ...
", which is now regarded as a landmark single for both in the emerging South Auckland music scene of the 1990s and for New Zealand music as a whole.
Musician and producer
Phil Fuemana made a heavy contribution to ''Proud'' and continued his work with the South Auckland music scene, developing the urban Pasifika sound. Hip hop performers Herman Loto (Ermehn) and Sani Sagala (
Dei Hamo
Sanerivi "Sani" Sagala (born 24 August 1974), better known by his stage name Dei Hamo, is a New Zealand hip hop artist, producer and director.
Dei Hamo, which can be translated as "The Samoan", has won various awards for his chart-topping music a ...
) later had local success with their solo work.
The album is now considered a hallmark of New Zealand music, and was one of the featured albums in music journalist Nick Bollinger's 2009 book ''100 Essential New Zealand Albums''.
In 2022 Alan Jansson won the
Taite Music Prize's Independent Music NZ Classic Record award for the album.
Charting singles
Two singles from the album charted in the New Zealand singles chart.
Track listing
References
{{Reflist, 30em
External links
''Proud'' listing at Discogs''Essential NZ Albums: Proud - An Urban-Pacific Streetsoul Compilation'' profile (Radio NZ National)
Compilation albums by New Zealand artists
1994 compilation albums
Hip hop compilation albums