King Kapisi

{{More citations needed|date=May 2024}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2021}} {{Use New Zealand English|date=November 2012}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Bill Urale | honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=NZL|MNZM|size=100%}} | image = Bill Urale MNZM (cropped).jpg | alt = | caption = Urale in 2024 | birth_name = Bill Rangi Urale | native_name = | native_name_lang = | alias = | birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1974}} | birth_place = [[Wellington]], New Zealand | origin = [[Wellington]], New Zealand | genre = Rap, reggae, roots, soul, funk | occupations = [[Musician|Rapper]], [[Disc Jockey|DJ]], [[Record Producer|producer]], [[clothing designer]], [[screen printing|screenprinter]], [[music video director]], [[television presenter]] | instruments = [[Singing|Vocals]], [[Disc Jockey|turntables]], [[Electronic Keyboard|keyboards]], [[Bass guitar|bass]], [[guitar]], [[drum]]s | years_active = 1997–present | label = [[Festival Mushroom Records]] Quabax Wax | associated_acts = [[Che Fu]], [[Teremoana Rapley]] | website = {{URL|kingkapisi.net}} }}

[[File:King Kapisi - Raise Up (Official Video).webm|thumb|King Kapisi (Bill Urale) performing "Raise Up".]]

'''Bill Rangi Urale''' {{post-nominals|country=NZL|MNZM}} (born 1974), known by his stage name '''King Kapisi''', is a New Zealand [[hip hop]] recording artist. He was the first hip hop artist in New Zealand to receive the Silver Scroll Award at the [[APRA Awards (New Zealand)|APRA Awards]] for Songwriter of the Year for his single ''Reverse Resistance'' in 1999.

== Career == King Kapisi signed as an artist with Festival Mushroom Records (NZ). In 2000 he released his critically acclaimed debut album ''Savage Thoughts'', followed by a second album, ''2nd Round Testament'', released in New Zealand and Australia in 2003. Local sales for both albums hit the gold status mark. King Kapisi also achieved gold with his single ''U Can't Resist Us'', featuring New Zealand hip hop icon [[Che Fu]] in 2003. ==International acts== King Kapisi has performed alongside [[Afrika Bambaata]], [[Janet Jackson]], [[Moby]], [[The Black Eyed Peas]], [[Beastie Boys]], Michael Franti and [[Michael Franti|Spearhead]], [[Red Hot Chili Peppers]] and many more. He has performed at almost every major music festival and event in New Zealand as well as tours to [[Australia]], [[Japan]], [[Fiji]], [[Hawaii]], [[Tonga]], [[New York City]], [[London]], [[Toronto]], [[Germany]], [[Ireland]], [[France]] and [[Norway]].

In 2003, King Kapisi represented New Zealand at the [[Central Park]] birthday celebrations in New York City where he was also invited to play at the first old school hip hop reunion in [[Crotona Park]], South Bronx. He played alongside legends such as [[The Furious Five]], [[Cold Crush Brothers]], [[Jazzy Jay]] and The Rocksteady Crew. King Kapisi was also given the opportunity to record a track with the legendary Kay Gee from the Cold Crush Brothers. The European leg of his 2003 overseas trip saw him perform a showcase at the international music conference POPKOMM in Cologne, Germany. He also spent time in Kaiserslautern, Germany recording with Germany-based American producer, Smitty K.

In 2004, Kapisi was invited by the German government as part of its new initiative scheme to promote cultural exchanges between New Zealand and Germany. Having supported German rap star MC Clueso in a New Zealand tour, Kapisi headed back to Germany to attend the POPKOMM music conference for a second time with Goethe-Institute playing host. Kapisi had the opportunity to record two tracks with German music producers Trickski and Slope from the Sonar Kollectiv record company. Kapisi also produced tracks for various local hip hop artists in Berlin, Amsterdam, Dublin, Toronto and Sydney.

==Lyrics== King Kapisi's music and lyrics raise issues relevant to Pacific Island people living in New Zealand. He often challenges the role of [[Christianity]] and the church in contemporary Samoan [[society]] which is deeply devout. King Kapisi believes his music to be deeply connected to the culture of the Pacific people.<ref>[http://www.abc.net.au/arts/music/stories/s440020.htm The Space Music Feature: King Kapisi & the rise of Samoan hip hop]</ref>

King Kapisi attempts to keep his music "real" by rapping about his Pacific heritage and the hip hop scene. He uses hip hop to promote the message of "keeping it real" through your culture, learning your language, and knowing "where you are from."<ref>Zemke-White, Kirsten. 'How many dudes you know roll like this?': the re-presentation of hip hop tropes in New Zealand rap music' Issue 10. The Visualization of the Subaltern in World Music. On Musical Contestation Strategies (Part 1) http://www.imageandnarrative.be/worldmusica/kirstenzemkewhite.htm {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070813214219/http://www.imageandnarrative.be/worldmusica/kirstenzemkewhite.htm |date=13 August 2007 }}</ref> Kapisi's lyrics and imagery have explored his complex post-Diaspora Pacific immigrant identity. He is a prime example of how New Zealand MC's are able to rap about their Diasporic identity in the text of their rap lyrics. Kapisi is now reaching out to the bigger global market. The transfer of [[Samoan hip hop]] identity to the US is something that already exists with artists who have settled and embraced their cultural heritage.<ref>Henderson, April K. "Dancing Between Islands: Hip Hop and the Samoan Diaspora." In The Vinyl Ain’t Final: Hip Hop and the Globalization of Black Popular Culture, ed. by Dipannita Basu and Sidney J. Lemelle, 180-199. London; Ann Arbor, MI: Pluto Press, 200</ref>

==Samoa== King Kapisi is from [[Samoa]] and New Zealand. His extended family is from the island of [[Savaii]]. His family are from the villages of [[Fagamalo]], Matavai & Faletagaloa, [[Falealupo]] and Safaatoa in Lefaga district.

==Overstayer Label== In 2002, he started his own urban streetwear clothing label Overstayer Clothing. The name Overstayer refers to the infamous [[Dawn Raid]] era during the 1970s in New Zealand, when Pacific Islander overstayers were the prime target by the government using controversial means, even though the highest number of overstayers in the country at the time were Europeans. In 2003 and 2004, King Kapisi was awarded the Westfield Style Pasifika Designer Award giving the hip hop artist the opportunity to showcase his street label in the coveted international annual [[Air New Zealand Fashion Week]] in 2003. Overstayer Clothing was the first local street label to be sold in [[Farmers (department store)|Farmers]] in New Zealand. The label is now available through selected outlets and his web store, [http://www.plantationstore.co.nz/ The Plantation Store] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120117235557/http://www.plantationstore.co.nz/ |date=17 January 2012 }}.

== Discography ==

===Albums===

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" |- ! rowspan="2" | Year ! rowspan="2" | Title ! rowspan="2" | Details ! Peak chart positions |- ! [[RIANZ|NZ]] |- | 2000 | ''Savage Thoughts'' | * Released: 29 November 2000 * Label: [[Festival Records|FMR]] * Catalogue: D 32110 * Features: Overstayers from Kua (DJ Raw, Tha Feelstyle), Teremoana Rapley | align="center" | 9 |- | 2003 | ''2nd Round Testament'' | * Released: 5 June 2003 * Label: [[Festival Records|FMR]] * Catalogue: 336412 * Features: Che Fu, Spikey Tee | align="center" | 11 |- | 2005 | ''Dominant Species'' | * Released: 10 October 2005 * Label: [[Warner Music]] * Catalogue: 338765 * Features: Savage, Adeaze, Scribe, Open Thought, Ben Makisi | align="center" | — |- | align=center colspan=4 | "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that country. |- |}

===EPs===

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" |- ! rowspan="2" | Year ! rowspan="2" | Title ! rowspan="2" | Details ! Peak chart positions |- ! [[RIANZ|NZ]] |- | 2011 | ''Salvation'' | * Released: 27 February 2011 * Label: Quabax Wax * Features: The Mint Chicks, Luciano | align="center" | 9 |- | align=center colspan=4 | "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that country. |- |}

===Singles===

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" |- ! rowspan="2" width="1em" | Year ! rowspan="2" | Title ! width="3em" | Peak chart positions ! rowspan="2" | Album |- ! [[Recording Industry Association of New Zealand|NZ]] |- | rowspan=2 | 1998 | "Vertikal Sequels" | align="center" | — | Non-album single |- | "Sub-Cranium Feeling" | align="center" | 8 | Non-album single |- | 1999 | "Reverse Resistance" | align="center" | 21 | rowspan=4 | ''Savage Thoughts'' |- | rowspan=2 | 2000 | "Screams from da Old Plantation" | align="center" | — |- | "2nd Migration" | align="center" | 45 |- | 2001 | "Saboteur" | align="center" | — |- | rowspan=4 | 2003 | "U Can't Resist Us" feat. Che Fu | align="center" | 9 | rowspan=4 | ''2nd Round Testament'' |- | "Stomping" | align="center" | — |- | "Conversate" | align="center" | — |- | "Elemental Forces" | align="center" | — |- | rowspan=2 | 2005 | "Raise Up" | align="center" | 18 | rowspan=2 | ''Dominant Species'' |- | "Lollipop" | align="center" | — |- | rowspan=2 | 2009 | "Hip Hop 4 Life" | align="center" | — | Non-album single |- | "Stand" feat. Luciano | align="center" | — | Non-album single |- | rowspan=2 | 2010 | "Safari" feat. Dr Richard Nunns | align="center" | — | Non-album single |- | "Superhuman" feat. The Mint Chicks | align="center" | — | Non-album single |- | rowspan=3 | 2011 | "Salvation" | align="center" | — | ''Salvation'' EP |- | "Clap Ya Hands" | align="center" | — | Non-album single |- | "Won't Stop, Can't Stop" feat. Teremoana Rapley | align="center" | — | Non-album single |- | align=center colspan=4 | "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that country. |- |}

==Honours and awards==

{{awards table}} |- | 1999 | King Kapisi | NZ Music Awards: Most Promising Male Vocalist | {{nom}} |- | 1999 | "Sub Cranium Feeling" | NZ Music Awards: Best Music Video | {{nom}} |- | 1999 | King Kapisi | bNet Music Awards: Male Fox | {{won}} |- | 1999 | "Reverse Resistance" | APRA Silver Scroll | {{won}} |- | 2000 | "Reverse Resistance" | bNet Music Awards: Best hip hop/reggae/dub release | {{won}} |- | 2000 | "Reverse Resistance" | bNet Music Awards: Best song | {{won}} |- | 2001 | ''Savage Thoughts'' | bNet Music Awards: Best Cover Art | {{won}} |- | 2001 | "Screems from da Old Plantation" | bNet Music Awards: Best Music Video | {{won}} |- | 2001 | King Kapisi | bNet Music Awards: Best Live Act | {{won}} |- | 2001 | ''Savage Thoughts'' | bNet Music Awards: Best Hip Hop Release | {{won}} |- | 2001 | "Screems from da Old Plantation" | bNet Music Awards: Best Song | {{won}} |- | 2001 | Savage Thoughts | bNet Music Awards: Best Album | {{nom}} |- | 2004 | ''2nd Round Testament'' | NZ Music Awards: Best Urban/Hip Hop Album | {{nom}} |- | 2006 | ''Dominant Species'' | [[Pacific Music Awards]]: Best Pacific Male Artist | {{nom}} |- | 2006 | ''Dominant Species'' | [[Pacific Music Awards]]: Best Pacific Urban Artist | {{nom}} |- | 2014 | "Crush" | [[Pacific Music Awards]]: Best Pacific Music Video | {{won}} |- | 2014 | "Crush" | [[Pacific Music Awards]]: Best Pacific Urban Artist | {{nom}} |- | 2015 | "Welcome Back" | [[Pacific Music Awards]]: Best Pacific Male Artist | {{nom}} |- |}

In the [[2022 Birthday Honours (New Zealand)|2022 Queen's Birthday and Platinum Jubilee Honours]], Urale was appointed a [[Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit]], for services to music and the community.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/the-queens-birthday-and-platinum-jubilee-honours-list-2022/W53HWSV4TI7DGRF66KXQCTHB34/ |title=The Queen's Birthday and Platinum Jubilee Honours List 2022 |date=6 June 2022 |work=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |access-date=6 June 2022}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *[http://kingkapisi.net/ King Kapisi (official website)] *[https://www.facebook.com/pages/King-Kapisi/152005684879684 Facebook] *[https://twitter.com/kingkapisi Twitter] *[http://www.myspace.com/55782413 Myspace]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kapisi, King}} [[Category:APRA Award winners]] [[Category:New Zealand male rappers]] [[Category:New Zealand people of Samoan descent]] [[Category:Samoan artists]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:1974 births]] [[Category:People educated at Wellington High School, New Zealand]] [[Category:Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit]]