Music
Red Bull Presents: Church & AP - NZ Tour
Strength to strength: The hip hop duo Church & AP embark on a five-date tour around New Zealand with Red Bull.
It's been a short but sensationally sweet ride for hip-hop duo Church & AP after bursting on to the scene over summer with their hit Ready or Not, and the rappers are moving from strength to strength in the aftermath.
Fresh off dropping their latest hit, Dandelion, the Auckland-born teens have announced they're taking on the world with their first international show in London on 17 June before embarking on a five-date tour around New Zealand, kicking off in August with a little help Red Bull.
Keen to make a statement internationally, emerging trailblazers Albert Purcell, 19, and Elijah Manu, 18, are unstoppable.
In just six months since letting Ready or Not be heard, they've made a name for themselves and are now recognised, admired and respected by music fans around New Zealand.
Manu (Church), and Purcell (AP) met on their first day of high school in 2013 and their bond has been unbreakable since quickly uniting their individual musical skill and creating together three years later.
Through high school they each had a tendency to sit in music class, or any other class with a computer, listening to music non-stop.
"I would spend a lot of time trying to figure out what I was into," Manu said.
"A lot of the time, I don't really listen to rap, I have my core rappers that I listen to all the time, but otherwise I try to find something outside of the genre because if everybody is taking influences from the same thing, you're all going to sound the same."
Manu was handpicked by David Dallas for Red Bull 64 Bars, a nod which meant so much to the rising star after being inspired by the Caught In A Daze singer growing up, cementing a unique relationship with the Red Bull family early on.
"David Dallas, he DMd me and asked if I wanted to be on 64 Bars and everything kind of snowballed from there so having that first look, and it coming from Red Bull always means that there's going to be a connection and that bit of appreciation."
Manu and Purcell want to take every opportunity they can to maximise their shot at breaking the boundaries of the local industry.
"Things that we never saw as possible are now very possible," says Purcell.
They credit the mentorship offered to them by Crescendo Trust of Aotearoa to upskill them with the business-savvy mindset they needed to know how to navigate through the industry so early.
"A lot of people don't really figure that out until five years down the line, so us going into it being 17-year-olds, we weren't really phased by it, and that was all from getting mentored by guys like Melodownz and Raiza Biza."
The Crescendo Trust also came through for Manu & Purcell by offering them a studio space for the guys to record.
Church & AP have been nominated for the Best Pacific Hip Hop Artist award.
© Graeme Murray
With their debut album almost complete, Manu and Purcell will return from the UK to have it ready to launch later in the year.
They take on their hectic few months with a Pacific Award Nomination for Best Pacific Song under their belt - a formal acknowledgment they're as good as their peers, some who were once their role models inspiring them to reach the coveted status in which they aim to land.
"It's probably the single biggest thing that's happened to us so far," says Manu.
"Seeing those other people be appreciated for the effort that we see, I think they're a lot more deserving than we are, sure, we're making good music but a lot of these people have been grinding for years in a scene that was completely different."
Artists such as Melodownz have offered guidance to the pair, much to the appreciation and gratitude of both who took on the lessons and understanding from someone exploring a parallel road.
"The goal is to be able to give back to others and do what our mentors did for us," says Purcell.
Manu & Purcell see no limits on where they land, wanting to take their music worldwide while recognising the chance to cement their status as committed artists in New Zealand as they grow.
"We're trying to just represent the whole country and even within that, just youth. We're speaking for the youth and we have the platform to do it, so we’re definitely aware that we have a lot of people looking at us."
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RED BULL PRESENTS: CHURCH & AP WITH SPECIAL GUESTS
Tickets on sale from 9am Tues 11th June.
Red Bull Presents: Church & AP.
© Red Bull
22 August – Christchurch – Foundry
28 August – Wellington - San Fran
Auckland show to be announced
Tickets go on sale from Just The Ticket, excluding Christchurch which is a MONO event.
