7 September 2020 – Native Tongues
Written by Admin on September 10, 2020
On this weeks Native Tongues, we put the spotlight on some new artists and play some new releases from Base favourites Gibbeethevisionary, Xeno Ra, Uts, Diaz Grimm and more…
First up are the Woolyboyz with their brand new single ‘Get Down’. The Woolyboyz are two brothers Jayrad and Benji who are originally from Hamilton, currently living in Mount Maunganui. They started recording in a woolshed on their parents farm in Glenview Hamilton, so that’s why they’re called the Woolyboyz. “My parents sold the farm and everything’s all bowled down now but we’re keeping the legacy going.”
Diaz Grimm has released his next single, ‘Legalize X Æ A-12’ from his upcoming EP titled YUNG NEWZEALAND which is set for release later this year.
Diaz says, “Legalize X Æ A-12 is a commentary on the world around us becoming more and more dominated by the digital and tech world. We’re slowly
becoming dependant on devices we created as luxuries. I’ve taken the point of view of how fun it is to watch and experience it all in real time.”
Hailing from the small town of Cambridge, Grimm released his debut album, OSIRIS, in 2015 and it was a soundtrack to the end of the world. A post-apocalyptic sonic journey that resonated with audiences and critics alike. The success of OSIRIS saw Grimm nominated for Best Urban/Hip-Hop Album at the New Zealand Music Awards that year. The album topped the NZ iTunes hip-hop charts, reached the official NZ Top 20 album charts and became the most upvoted self-posted album in the history of the Reddit/hip-hop heads forum.
Following the success of the album, Grimm in 2016 became the first self-managed, unsigned artist from New Zealand to ever be invited to play SXSW. Grimm made it to Austin, Texas for SXSW2016 where he began a three-month journey alone around America hoping to build his knowledge and network in the music industry. During the trip, he met the likes of Chance The Rapper, A$AP Rocky, Alan Kingdom and was invited to meet with major hip-hop blog, HotNewHipHop.
Grimm worked on his single ‘Foreigners’ with Grammy award-winning producer and songwriter Mike Elizondo who also produced Eminem’s ‘Real Slim Shady’, 50 cent’s ‘In Da Club’ and The Game’s ‘How We Do’. ‘Foreigners’ debuted at #16 on the NZ singles charts and was the only unsigned, self-managed artist in the charts that week as well as becoming the only Kiwi on the front page of the NZ Top 40 the week of release.
The upcoming new YUNG NEWZEALAND EP is a long-anticipated return from the celebrated Aotearoa rapper with a lot of new exciting music on the way.
Eizark is an MC hailing from Flaxmere. He released a full album ‘X Files’ in 2016 and has released a few singles already this year. On the show we featured ‘Where You at ?’. Check him out on all streaming platforms.
Auckland based artist Gibbeethevisionary is back with a new single ‘RIDE’. He was one of our winners for the Base FM Turn It Up competition and had his track ‘Dotted Lines’ with BXGGA sitting nicely on the compilation. 
Check out his album PISCEAN CHRONICLES which was released earlier this year.
‘Alright’ is by another one of our favourites, Māori-Samoan artist/beat maker from Kaitaia – Uts. He arrived on the scene in January 2020 and has been on a straight hustle since. He’s been releasing tracks regularly throughout the year and has been gaining many followers and supporters along the way.
Another artist who featured on the Base FM Turn It Up Compilation is West Auckland MC, songwriter and producer Xeno Ra. On this weeks show we feature ‘Lex Talionis feat. Leeda Libra’ and ‘Rush’.
Leejun is an up and coming Christchurch hip hop artist, co-founder of the PDSTL Collective and top tier lyricist. His project the “GOATLIFE” EP is out now on all streaming platforms. Featured on this show is ‘Breathe feat. Sun’ and ‘Maybe One Day’.
Caleb Rawson is ‘just a kid from the Norty Norf’ with a new single ‘Butterfly City’.
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19 year old Wellington based artist Meg Theron is another new find and she sounds absolutely amazing so this week we featured 3 tracks from her, ‘Lonely Ghost feat. Aidan Fine’, ‘Take Flight’ and ‘Away’. Check out her music on Spotify.
Last but not least is Auckland soulstress alayna. Following on from her latest EP ‘Tender‘ (which is such a dream to listen to), is her latest single ‘Tender (Please Wait) Remix’. 
Over the course of a year, alayna wrote songs as she traveled from Auckland to London, and it was in Cuba where she reached a blissful high point in a relationship that’d soon come to an end – landing in Los Angeles for a month she began to pour her heart out, confronting her deepest emotions and putting them on paper. She didn’t know it at the time, but the singer-songwriter was doing what she does best, telling her story and 
crafting a time capsule of this relationship, bottling up everything she’d experienced along the way. From opener “How To Swim” to standout-single “Glowing,” the emotion cuts through and the lyrics are as raw as they could be. alayna details the excitement of diving head first into love and being completely enamoured by how someone makes you feel, but “Tender” is the turning point in the story as alayna realizes she’s lost in this relationship, now mourning the missing parts of her. She becomes hardened by hurt, wishing she could go back to her essence – softness and innocence.
Native Tongues is a one hour show of new music from local artists curated and hosted by Yannika. Big thanks to NZ On Air Music. Tune in live every Monday 3pm-4pm.
Launched in late 2011, Native Tongues is a 1 hour show dedicated to uncovering the freshest in underground music from Aotearoa. From bedroom producers who are just starting out through to artists with multiple releases on international labels, Native Tongues showcases the true sound of the underground.
Native Tongues highlights new music & new artists to the show each week, focusing more on emcees, beat makers, producers & electronic music.
