In their solo projects – also due out next year – Manu and Purcell will move in new directions beyond the defined parameters of Church & AP.Įlijah is now fronting the same kind of youth programmes that he once benefited from, encouraging kids to learn how to produce and express themselves through music. “But the more that we were doing music and gaining attention from other people, the more that they realised ‘oh, maybe they can do it’.” “Especially for Pacific Islanders, they want stability in a career, so my mum was always saying ‘make sure you have a Plan B’, ‘and ‘make sure you’re studying’,” says Purcell. Of course that support comes easier from their families now that the pair have proven music to be a legitimate job. They show up to as many shows as they can,” says Manu. Both assure me that their parents are not bothered by the gritty nature of their music and encourage them to express themselves freely. There is certainly an edge to Church & AP’s music, particularly in lyrics that delve into standard hip-hop themes of touring life and partying, which are contrasted by religious references and imagery contained in several songs and videos such as At Thy Feet and Ready or Not. “We have a responsibility to continue to uplift our own village and even with our music, to try to create a village in itself, where people can feel included in the same way that I do with my culture and my family.” ‘Make sure you have a Plan B’ “We come from big families and that influences the way that we conduct our own, for lack of a better word, family. “It’s good to have other people there to bounce ideas off,” says Manu.
It’s typical of the family and community spirit that continues to shape Church & AP’s work. Hanging out and working with friends at Stebbing Studios maintains the collaborative atmosphere of their regular writing and recording sessions at Meelan’s bedroom studio in Clendon. Together they form part of the Church & AP-led YKK Collective – a wide-ranging artistic ensemble that also includes fellow Auckland hip-hop outfit Deadforest, and graphic design comrade DNP – that encourages and merges their different creative threads under one banner. Their career path is shared by close friend and talented producer and engineer, Dera Meelan, who won a 2020 Aotearoa Music Award for his work on Teeth. Purcell, an aspiring creative designer, is more of the strong, silent type, equally thoughtful and considered, but more reserved than his creative partner. He has the gift of the gab, and already has experience conducting interviews from the other side of the voice recorder, joining the Fourth Estate last year to question New Zealand’s biggest political party leaders for an online video series, discussing white privilege with Judith Collins, the health benefits of eating fish heads with Winston Peters, and quizzing Jacinda Ardern about her favourite song of last year. He speaks of his admiration for Joni Mitchell’s music, and mentions film-making and journalism as potential career paths. Meeting pre-lockdown inside the plush 70s styled Stebbing Studios in Herne Bay, Auckland, where Church & AP are recording tracks for their upcoming solo projects, Manu certainly has plenty to talk about.Ī lover of film, he rattles off names of movies and directors he enjoys – including Wes Anderson, Brian De Palma, Charlie Kaufman, Richard Linklater, and Andrei Tarkovsky. We have a lot more to say than ‘I’m poor’.” Surprise package “But I have more ideas than just ‘how we can fix my neighbourhood’. It’s about trying to give an accurate reflection of what it means to live in Auckland, to look like us, in this part of the world,” he says. “There aren’t many perspectives of Samoan kids that are being put out into the mainstream. He has previously spoken of that being the most important verse he had written at that point in his career. In an early track, Bill$ Pt.2 Manu wrote about not wanting fame or money, and just wanting to do enough to be able to provide. Their lyrics detail the life experiences of young Polynesians growing up in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, and while they certainly possess a strong social conscience, they want it known they are qualified to comment on more than just life’s struggles. Together, 20-year-old Manu, who is Samoan, and 21-year-old Purcell, who is half Tongan and half Samoan, are challenging perceptions of what it means to be a young, brown rapper in Aotearoa.