KIA ORA! HOW HAS YOUR 2021 BEEN SO FAR?
Mālō e lelei! 2021 for me has been a good year. I’ve met a lot of great people, made a lot of great music and with the lockdown happening right now, it has given me time to grow and catch up with life while the world around me is moving slowly.
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SO WHO IS IAC? TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF.
My name is Iasinito Manu Jr. I am 23 years old. I got the name Iac (Music) from the first part of my name (Iasi). Growing up people would always have difficulty trying to pronounce it. I thought I would take that and make it me. I currently stay in Glen Eden West Auckland but I was born and raised in Avondale.
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HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN CREATING MUSIC FOR? ACCORDING TO SPOTIFY, YOU ONLY STARTED RELEASING MUSIC LAST YEAR.
I have been creating music for a while now. I started making music back in school (2014). I was always writing/freestyling with the boys. It took me a while to realise I could do something more than that. There was a time when NZ hip hop was quiet and I thought to myself that I couldn’t do it. Years after that, Melodownz and Rizvan hit the radar. I know they’ve probably made music for a while before then but just listening to their music gave me hope and I wanted to give it a go. The only thing that was in my way was that I had no one around me who was like-minded, so I gave up. I continued writing though. In 2019 I decided that I didn’t want to live my life with regrets and that I wanted to do music. I reached out to the Navigators program who held weekly workshops around Auckland. One night they had a session in Onehunga which was close to my work. I decided I needed to take the first step so I quickly finished loading my truck at work and went to the session. I met a lot of great people, had a great time and for once I felt like I could really make this dream become a reality. When I got back to work I got in trouble for leaving for too long, but it was worth it.
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HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR MUSIC TO SOMEONE?
As a global category, I would say Polynesian Hip Hop – Hip Hop but with a Polynesian twist.
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DO YOU PRODUCE YOUR OWN MUSIC AND DO YOU FIND THE SOUNDS COME BEFORE OR AFTER THE LYRICS?
No, I don’t make my own beats and I find the sound comes before the lyrics for sure. I usually mumble how it would sound first, then think of something I want to write about and start writing from there.
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WHERE DO YOU FIND INSPIRATION OR WHAT ARE THINGS THAT MOTIVATE YOU TO WRITE?
I find inspiration from my family, friends, my past and Avondale. My family are the people who will always support me. They give me my ‘why’. My purpose. My friends are like-minded people, in the same waka. Seeing them grow and shine as artists and human beings inspires me to be better. Through music I’ve met a lot of different people from different walks of life who are now my close friends. I’ve had people tell me my music helps them get through the day. That inspires me to keep going. My past experiences and the struggles I have gone through growing up as a PI have taught me to appreciate the things that I do have and not worry too much about the things that I don’t have. Lastly, Avondale inspires me a lot because I’m a strong believer in wherever you come from, that place helps mould you into who you are. This is the place where I have experienced and learned the highs and lows of life.
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YOU JUST RELEASED YOUR EP ‘self mADe’! HOW HAS THE RELEASE OF YOUR EP BEEN?
The release of my EP ‘self mADe’ has been really overwhelming. I have had a lot of great feedback from people I know and from people I don’t know. I’m just really happy that my music is finally out there for Aotearoa to hear.
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I AM ASSUMING THE CAPITAL ‘AD’ IN mADe IS A REFERENCE TO THE EP ART AND AVONDALE? HOW IMPORTANT WAS IT, FOR YOU, TO HAVE THAT ALL INCORPORATED THAT WAY?
During the process of creating the EP, I thought deeply about my sense of belonging in this music scene. Where am I from? Where do I want to be? It was done purposefully not only to let the listener know that I am from Avondale, West Auckland, but most importantly to let them know that I was self made in my own way, in AD. AD helped make me.
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YOU HAND-DELIVERED PHYSICAL COPIES OF THE EP (WHICH ARE SOLD OUT FOR NOW), WAS THAT BECAUSE IT WAS JUST EASIER? OR DID YOU WANT TO JUST PERSONALLY DO IT? AS I SAW THEY ALSO HAD THANK YOU NOTES IN THEM AS WELL.
Yes, I delivered the hard copies personally because I wanted to meet some of the people who supported me and my music journey and make a connection with them. It was a great experience driving around Auckland and it took me about 4 hours to get it done. That 4 hours I will always cherish, just reminiscing on how far I have come with this and never thinking that within a short span of time it would reach out to all 4 sides of Auckland. I also have a copy going out to the US soon. This is all surreal.
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HOW WAS YOUR 2020 AND WHAT WAS THE PROGRESS LIKE FROM THE SINGLE RELEASES TO YOUR EP THIS YEAR?
2020 for me was a roller coaster ride. Highs and lows. Especially working late hours and waking up early to go to the studio the next day. I knew that it wasn’t going to be easy but I was willing to accept the challenge because that is what I have always dreamed of doing. I am glad that I have found my balance, with it all resulting in the EP being released according to plan. I definitely have seen growth in my sound and my craft. From the beginning of my journey to where I was at the end of the EP, my confidence and belief in myself has grown tenfold.
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DO YOU HAVE MUCH PLANNED FOR THE REST OF THIS YEAR (AS MUCH AS PLANNING CAN BE A BIT HARD WITH EVERYTHING) OR ARE YOU JUST GOING WITH THE FLOW?
I plan on releasing 1 more song for this upcoming Summer and hopefully shooting a music video for my song ‘BROWN MAN’ from my ‘self mADe’ EP after lockdown. I am currently working on a lot of new content for next year, laying out demos and perfecting them. New features. New sound. Just growing.
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SOME FUN QUESTIONS:
FAVE SNACK?
I love eating fruit’s aye. I just want to be able to say that I’ve tried every fruit in the world.
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OVERUSED PHRASE?
Lesssssshhhhhgooooooo
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IF YOU COULD START A RUMOUR ABOUT YOURSELF, WHAT WOULD IT BE AND WHY?
That Tupac’s my Dad and Jcole’s my Uncle because they both have cool music.