Tipene’s lifeblood:People, culture, music

Flaxmere’s Tipene Harmer can pinpoint the exact moment he fell in love with music, and the age he knew he would be a rapper.

The first moment was at school in Flaxmere. At Kimi Ora School (now Te Kura o Kimi Ora) they didn’t use bells to signal break times or call the kids back to class – they used music.

Tipene has a clear memory, at about age ten, of hearing the classic . . . ‘come, mister tally man, tally me banana; daylight come and me wanna go home’. “The ‘bell’ wasn’t a dominant sound; it was a happy sound.”

Everything music had him hooked, particularly singing and kapa haka. At age 11, he knew he was going to be a rapper. But it was a whole pile of things that have got him to the place he is today; one of Aotearoa’s leading bilingual hip-hop artists with lyrics deeply rooted in Te Ao Māori.

Over 15 years he quietly amassed a huge following and very many awards. He has a fourth album due out in September, put together in his new Hastings space called ‘Poutama Studio’.

One of the pillars for Tipene (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Porou and Ngāti Kahu) is family. “My dad was a good man; hard-working, honest and would help anybody. He taught me to give without expecting to receive, and to see things through – finish what I started.

"My mum was a singer and saw something in me that I didn’t realise until later in life; she was my number one fan.”

Education was also important – even if the road was bumpy at times. “I loved Kimi Ora, it felt like my school. It’s where I got my first love for music.”

At Flaxmere College he went through teenage and family stuff and very nearly bailed at 16. But his older siblings (he’s the middle child of 13) sat him down and talked through their regrets at not having finished school, and got him back on track.

He admits that the subjects that might have been useful in his coming music career – English and computers – weren’t his thing, but his good attitude got him to seventh form and saw him named one of the head prefects. And something clicked – after a 14-year stint in the meat works he went on to higher learning to train to be a teacher and then studied for a social worker qualification.

In fact, he started a new job supporting men on their healing journeys this month. He says while he loves music, he needs more than that to fill his bucket.

“My songs are about life – We no muck around is about the things my dad taught me; West side Hori is about growing up in Flaxmere. To write songs, I need to be out in the world experiencing life.”

And family remains at the heart of everything. You won’t see Tipene touring extensively overseas – that would mean missing out too much on family time.

“I want to see my children grow up – not through photos or a screen. That’s really important to me.”

Back living in Heretaunga-Hastings for four months now, after eight years away in Auckland, Waikato and Coromandel, Tipene is focused on family, music, his new job, and mentoring young musicians. He is busy, but last week took time out to visit Omahū School for a photo with students on a story about replacing the school’s library, severely damaged in Cyclone Gabrielle (which he donated the proceeds of a gig to). His natural ‘teacher’ instantly appeared – what was going to be a quick photo turned into a hugely fun learning experience – rapping their pepeha with Aotearoa’s king of hip hop. They might not have known exactly who he was, but they knew his music and lapped up his infectious enthusiasm.

Tipene Harmer - one of our many Flaxmere heroes!