maitreya

Genre: Hip-Hop/Rap
Secondary Genre: Soul Auckland, Not Applicable New Zealand Contact

An artist with rare and unmistakable honesty. Powerful storytelling combined with Maori & English rhymes make for a flow that’s banana’s & 100% original. His LP Close To Home takes U on a journey thru sound into the life of an everyday hero who's taken his craft from NZ to stages across the globe.

Print Version

Artist Information

Biography

On June 4th, '07, maitreya became the first ever Hip Hop artist to raise US $50,000 from Believers on SellaBand.com to record his debut solo album Close To Home. SellaBand.com is a revolutionary music site that links unsigned artists with top-notch recording facilities. Close To Home was produced by maitreya & The Silence (UK) and mastered at Universal Mastering Studios New York by legendary Vlado Meller (Kanye West, Public Enemy, Run DMC...).

maitreya began his career as a founding member of live Hip Hop band, Nilstate, which gained a cult-like following around Christchurch, New Zealand, with a reputation for explosive performances. He moved to Auckland, New Zealand in '96 and joined the crew Dark Tower who took the nation by storm in the summer of '00, touring to sold-out venues throughout the country.

In '03, maitreya took his skills to the Mecca of Hip Hop, New York City, where he secured an internship at Roc-a-Fella Records (Jay-Z). For the next two years, he worked for Roc-a-Fella and immersed himself in New York's Open Mic scene, eventually getting his own show Illegal in and around the Lower East Side.

In '06 maitreya hit SellaBand.com with a fresh repertoire of songs, crowd-sourcing 50K in just 7 months. The result is the stunning debut Close To Home, an album that takes you on a journey into the life and times of a kid from Christchurch, NZ, who never gave up chasing the dream.

Since the album’s European release maitreya has toured and recorded extensively across the globe. He’s currently producing Portuguese band Nearfield’s debut album Time4War.

Instrumentation

maitreya (MC), Kilotone (DJ) Alvaro Lopez (Drums), George Green (MC)

Discography

1996: On The Beat N Track (Nilstate) LP
1999: The Baggy Trousers Project (Dark Tower) EP
2000: The New Outlook (Dark Tower) Single
2002: Lick-a-Lounge (maitreya) Single
2003: Coming 2 Amerika (maitreya) Mixtape LP
2005: Illegal Alien (maitreya) Mixtape LP
2008: Close To Home (maitreya) LP

Links

Audio

Video

WAITAHA

Photo Gallery

Press

Setlist

From 30 min to 1 hour 30 min. One or two sets. We do a Hip Hop show and a Drum N Bass show which includes traditional Maori performance elements.
WAITAHA
CHUR TO THE CHUR
BEEN AROUND
LOTALUV
SIN CITY
SO-LO
5 BUCKS
AMERICAN DREAMZ
LOOSE CHANGE
ALONE
CLOSE TO HOME
GETTIN THRU
EAST NY BROOKLYN
RED LINE

Basic Requirements


Calendar

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