| Ladi6 | |
|---|---|
Ladi6 at the Summerset Music Festival 2007 |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Karoline Tamati |
| Born | November 7, 1982 Christchurch, New Zealand |
| Genres | Hip hop, neo soul, funk, soul, R&B, reggae |
| Occupations | Singer-songwriter, Rapper |
| Years active | 1999[1]–present |
| Labels | Question Music,[2] BBE,[3] Eskapaden Records[4][5] |
| Website | www.ladi6.com |
Ladi6 (born Karoline Tamati,[6] November 7, 1982[3][7] in Christchurch, New Zealand,[8]) is a singer-songwriter/rapper of Samoan descent.[9] She is currently based in New Zealand,[6] although she spent six months living in Berlin and touring Europe in both 2010[9] and 2011.[6] Her debut album Time Is Not Much debuted at number 4 on the New Zealand Top 40 Album chart.[10] and her sophomore album The Liberation Of... debuted at number 6[11] and was certified gold.[8][12] Her single Like Water was certified platinum in June 2011.[13] She has won many awards, including Best Female Solo Artist and Best Urban Hip Hop Album at the 2011 New Zealand Music Awards and Best Urban/Hip Hop Album at the 2009 New Zealand Music Awards.[14] The current line-up of the wider Ladi6 group is Ladi6, her partner Parks (a.k.a. Brent Park) and Julien Dyne.[6] Ladi6 has been called "New Zealand's answer to Erykah Badu".[6]
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Ladi6 was born and raised in Christchurch, but her family moved to Africa for a year and a half when she was a teenager. This is where she says she first started to write and play music.[15] After she returned to Christchurch in the mid 90's, she started her entertainment career as a break dancer. When she was 16 she formed her first music group, Sheelahroc, with her cousin Tyra Hammond and Sarah Tamaira (a.k.a. Voodoo Child) in May 1999.[1][16] Sheelahroc released the hit single If I Gave U Th' Mic and won the award for Most Promising New Act at the 2001 bNet Music Awards.
After Sheelahroc broke up, Ladi6 went on to form Verse Two with Parks, Julien Dyne, Mark Vanilau and Matipi Turua, as well as a variety of guest musicians.[16] They released the singles Danger and Gold (featuring her cousin Scribe and produced by Mu of Fat Freddy's Drop).[17][18] Gold went to Number 1 on the NZ Alternative charts in its first week of play on the bNet stations and was the 5th most played song on the bNet stations in 2003.[18] Danger was re-issued as a bonus track on Time Is Not Much.[2] Ladi6 was nominated for Best Vocalist/MC at the 2003 bNet Awards[19] and Verse 2 won a bNet Award for Best New Act in 2004.[16] Verse Two supported international acts such as The Roots, De La Soul and 50 Cent.[20]
Ladi6's debut album Time Is Not Much was released independently in New Zealand in November 2008 and debuted at number 4 on the New Zealand Top 40 Album chart, staying in the top 40 albums for 10 weeks.[10] The album was mostly produced by Parks and was released throughout Europe by London label BBE Records in July 2010.[3][9]
Ladi6's second album, The Liberation Of... was released in New Zealand independently in November 2010, where it debuted at number six on the NZ Top 40 Album Chart. It spent 34 weeks in the top 40[11] and was certified gold in July 2011.[8][12] The single Like Water from this album peaked at number 9 on the NZ Top 40 Singles Chart, spent 22 weeks on the charts[19] and was certified platinum in June 2011.[13]
It was co-produced by Parks and Sebastian Weiss (a.k.a. DJ Sepalot) of the German hip hop group Blumentopf and features Myele Manzanza of Electric Wire Hustle, Toby Laing of Fat Freddy's Drop and German singer Esther Adams.[6][9][21]
The Liberation of... was released in Europe on German label Eskapaden Records in May 2011.[4][5] The single Jazmine D.L. has been in a big hit in Europe, reaching the 2nd most downloaded song in France and across all of Europe. The song is a tribute to her cousin, who passed away. In London, Metro Magazine said Ladi6 was "One to Watch". "She knows how to make an impression - including a recent wow-inducing support slot for Gil Scott-Heron at London's Southbank Centre".[6]
Aside from the two bNet awards she won as a member of Sheelahroc and Verse 2,[16] Ladi6 won Best Pacific Female Artist at the 2009 Pacific Music Awards,[22] Best Urban/Hip Hop Album at the 2009 New Zealand Music Awards,[14] the 2011 Taite Music Prize[23] and Best Urban Album and Best Female Artist at the 2011 Pacific Music Awards.[6] She was nominated for six awards at the 2011 New Zealand Music Awards[6] and won Best Female Solo Artist and Best Urban Hip Hop Album.[14]
Ladi6 has collaborated with many New Zealand musicians and bands, including Fat Freddy's Drop, Scribe, Shapeshifter, Jon Toogood, Solaa, 4Corners, The Opensouls, 50 Hz and Riki Gooch (a.k.a. Eru Dangerspiel) of TrinityRoots and Fly My Pretties.
As well as producing most of Ladi6's music, her partner Parks also provides backing vocals for many of her tracks. In 2004, Ladi6 and Parks had their first son, Philly. He is their only child.[21]
Ladi6 is a spokesperson for the Not Our Future anti-smoking campaign.[24]
She is the cousin of other prominent Samoan New Zealand musicians Scribe and Tyra Hammond of The Opensouls.[16]