Some of New Zealand’s best-known musicians and rappers are paying tribute to South Auckland hip-hop legend Ermehn. Herman Loto Sakaria is his real name. News of his death has been met with disbelief and shock among friends and fans after the news broke earlier today. It is understood that he died overnight in Australia, where he lived with his young family, but his cause of death has not been made public. Writing on Facebook, Nesian Mystik’s Donald McNulty paid tribute: “Damn. Lose a true Otara OG today. Godfather and pioneer of South Auckland Hip Hop.” Of South Auckland hip hop group Deceptikonz, rapper Mareko said, “Fly high, big use.”
Ermehn, a former member of the Otara Millionaires Club, grew up in Otara and is often referred to as the godfather of South Auckland hip hop, having originally joined OMC as a “hardcore” rap group alongside Pauly Fuemana, another South Auckland music legend. industry, which died in 2010. In particular, Fuemana and OMC achieved great success with the global hit song: How Bizzare. Ermehn’s solo career often saw him wearing an ie lavalava and wielding a machete as he rapped about his firsthand experience of gang life. The Path of Blood, one of his albums, was named after his Samoan roots and his last name: Lealaiauloto.
He worked with several other well known Pacific and Kiwi artists and musicians including Dei Hamo, Chong Nee, DLT and the Cydel group. In the opening scenes of the 1994 New Zealand film: Once Were Warriors, Ermehn also makes a cameo appearance. A young Ermehn can be seen working the DJ turntables as a rapper, none other than King Kapisi, yells, “Tasi, lua, tolu, fa!” as the camera pans to show downtown Otara. In the early to mid-2000s, Ermehn spent four years as a patch-up member of the prominent Auckland gang The King Cobras, which sealed his notoriety as “the public face of gangster rap in New Zealand”. In 2012, he spoke to RNZ about living a different life and staying clean. He created a security company and became heavily involved in mixed martial arts and Muay Thai boxing, which one of his sons participated in. Ermehn and his family moved to Tasman, where his eldest son Lukhan Salakaia-Loto plays for the kangaroos.
Rhyme “The Rage” Loto, another son is a combat sports fighter and has represented New Zealand in Muat Thai, Australia in Kickboxing and Samoa in boxing.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn