Good group of emcees, varied history, all friends. Get a taste of their debut album "Elimination" on the link provided, it's out now and they also make guest appearances on dj sirvere and p-moneys latest albums.

[ http://www.dawnraid.co.nz ]

I used to curse the fact that my Japanese import car's stereo could only pick up ZB or Mai FM. But if it weren't for having it tuned to Mai for the past couple of months I would probably have not heard the Deceptikonz.

The first time I heard "Fallen Angels" I just assumed it was an American group. Then I listened a few more times, heard a few familliar vowels and consonants, the line about kiwis flying and I realised, with absolute delight that the Deceptikonz were a New Zealand group.

I saw them performing at Pasifika and it was just the right thing for that laid back afternoon. I remember being impressed by the rhyming of "South Auckland" with "extortion".

And tonight (the inspiration for this post) I saw the video for "Fallen Angels". It's brilliant. Not a cent of the NZonAir grant wasted. It looks beautiful and goes so well with the song.

When I can scrape together enough cash I shall head down to my local music store and buy "Elimination". I feel proud to be a New Zealander when good, good music like this is being made here.

[ http://www.secret-passage.com/ ]

Mareko wins Auckland MC Battle for Supremacy for the fourth time.

"Well this has got to have been the closest battle out of all four held and the quality of emcee tonight was impressive. The rookies showed they had guts and some means punchlines but they learnt the hard way that the veterans are by no means push overs.

I caught the battle mid way throught the first round of qualifiers, just got the tail end of Milans battle - keep trying bro, build on this and enter every battle you can.

In my opionion I felt Koers was hard done by and he had the edge over Third Eye which was evident by the time the quater finals came around and Tyna humbly accepted Third Eye's surrender - you two got the whole club all teary eyed...

Billy Fluid fronted up in the first round and although he lost this kid will only get better - Hot Knives (?) proved his worth and it'll be good to see these guys develop their skills further.

In the quater finals Tyna took out Third Eye, and Mareko gave a demonstration on how to psyh out an opponent by going to sleep on stage while they do their verse - samurai had some mean lines but what are you gonna do when you're opponent ignores you?

Abbot was an unstoppable force and ripped his opposition to pieces with punchlines so hard they caused me to forget the name of the guy he was up against

T-Minus was a veteran of the previous battle for supremacy and this guys has a nice flow, he used it to blow away Spooksta but not before the spooky one delivered a few good verbal barbs of his own.

The semifinals were worth the $10 paid for at the door and Mareko had to dig deep to smack down the rampant T-Minus, it's been a long time between battles and it was showing for Mareko who slipped up on his last vers but covered with a killer punchline to shatter T-Minus and ensure a spot in the finals. T-Minus might have helped himself if he had kept the focus on his opposition and not the crowd, not a good move against a veteran of four emcee battles and horsed spokesman for..."the deceptikonz new album Elimination - do yourself a favour an cop this album..."

Tyna and Abbott, Abbott and Tyna - this battle was the shit, no doubt about it, these two went at it toe to toe and when the dust settled - everybody was dead. Tyna's flow and lyrical attack was ferocious and against anyone else would have had them on their knees BUT abbott was in the zone and with the crowd behind him took everything Tyna had to throw at him and rammed it straight back at the Ambassador for Tolaga Bay. In my opinion the battle was won after 2 rounds by Abbott (that P-money line had the crowd screaming - ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh! )

But they went to sudden death drop a topic and Abbott sealed it with a kiss and hug - both these guys were absolutely........good.

The final was called and all in attendance were waiting to see if the reigning champ had anything left, would he fall to the challenger who was an unstoppable force. It was going to be one round of pure punchlines and then 2 rounds of topic dropping - the topics being Afghanistan and Insects-don't ask.

Keeping in tradition with the theme of the night Mareko lost the coin flip and was up first. He did his thing and left no doubt that he wasn't reigning champ cos he was bigger than most of the other emcees. Although later disputed he kept the battle focused and although the crowd was mostly behind the challenger he showed how wiley a compettitor he is. Abbott came fast and hit hard but Mareko's experience and stage antics again upstaged the would be champ - it was incredible - for almost most of the lines Abbott spit, Mareko would mouth the exact punchline along with him. This antic would carry on to the next two rounds and showed how a battle is played on more than one field of combat - the mind of the opponent and the mind of the audience. No disrespect to the Abbott who was looking cetrtain to add the scalp of the reigning champ to his impressive collection, this guy comes to peel back fakes with extreme prejudice.

I would have to say that by the time the final winner was announced the close nature of the battles was evident in the fact that it was a mixed crowd that muttered amongst themselves as to who had won - to some the king was dead and a new champ was about to be crowned.

Winner and still MC Supreme - Mareko.

Props to JC for organising a tight event and respect to the man for silencing his critics by staying off the battle floor - you were itching to go for it man "

[ http://www.hiphopnz.com ]

Deceptikonz are going to be big. I got money on it. It's a sure thing coz they are so gooood :)

I like all the comments made on the deceptikonz.... well i guess yous are all right... they made hell of a good job with out the help of NZ on AIR Grant.... well good on ya guys... I love the head stone at the end... he was a good guy but god just had to call him for certain reasons right... Deceptikonz.. yous are the stars.... I havent heard any other of your songs just Fallen Angels cos its got my cousins head stone on it... lol but yeah keep it up
peace out
MISSY_18
South Auckland Represent

Is that directed at the deceptikonz? because if it is your wandering into slander land. If it's aimed at another party leave it there - this is a public forum and as such you can say what you want but when you drop a blanket statement with no explanation in a forum about a particuar group people will jump to conclusions - the wrong ones. If you have a problem with Dawn Raid or Danny in particular take it up with that party.

Leave the deceptikonz out of it and if you want take issue with the video containing a dedication to Danny's brother that's Danny's business and as performers under the Dawn Raid label the deceptikonz are also Danny and Andy's business, one I might add that is putting into the community in more ways than you have ever done.

Pull your head out of your arse and leave the deceptikonz out of your vendetta.

Jiz wana say dat, dis song iz da shiznit!!Much love to yall.xxx..Keep it rel coz itz pumpin dwn ma wayz..we b liztnin to it 24/7& da album ov cors,*~Go Hard~*P*E*A*C*E*

Congrats on the squeeze TV award.

DIS SONG IS DA SHIT!!!!!!

PEACE

i saw space on tv a couple nitez ago + mareko preformed w. ill semantics! he did so well, so did ill semantics ...but how cud they screw up they r all so talented... more than meets the eye iz ma fav deceptikonz song, deceptikonz kick ass!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

~nz music goin worldwide~

is that one of the deceptikonz boys voicing the vodafone "bootie" add???

...word is they are in the studio recording their next album with mareko also working on his solo album as well, be prepared for some nice suprises on his album. 2003 is going to be another good year for NZ HipHop.

It is mareko on the vodafone ad, if you are at the BDO you will see them performing with the Dawn Raid showcase and they feature on Major Flavas 3 and the special giveaway at the event is Major Flavas 3.5 with freestyle goodnes from memebers of the crew.

Deceptikonz ,what can i say the name sumz up everything to do with this group anyway,the style they use to tell there story is prolific ,it is really hard to belive that they are home grown .i've just recently heard their album i got it when i went to N.Z a few months ago , i've been wanting to get it for age's now .but sadly the hype of deceptikonz does not desend to across tha tasmen ,to where i live now ,Australia ,let alone any nz artist .but back to the obvious ,deceptikonz keep serving the people with that original sound man ,NZ hiphop to tha fullest .prosper .OUT!

I knew this boy was special...

Congrats to Mareko, he's well deserving.

On a side note their sound with Blindspott is pretty cool...

[ external link ]

Mareko is on Space this Friday. He'll be talking about his trip to NY and maybe performing two songs... The album 'White Sunday' is the most anticipated album in the History of NZ hip-hop. You should check him out, the best emcee in the country.

He lived in Harlem for a month, worked in the same studio in Queens as KRS-1 and with a producer whose credits go back to Salt N Pepa and Kid N Play, signed to the HRH label in New York (labelmates are Beatnuts, Big Daddy Kane and Non Fiction), and soaked up the vibe. Getting there meant his first international flight and, although nervous, he loved it. He was living his dream.

from the www.nzherald.co.nz

Mareko has been signed in the US to a US label.

Jane Yee's bit on Mareko

Mareko

Things have been busy for Dawn Raid - not only have the Deceptikonz been working on a new album, but one of the Deceptikonz MCs - Mareko - has been putting together his debut solo album, which has seen him working closely with some of our top producers locally, and also some huge names in international hip hop in New York.

To the CEOs of Dawn Raid, Andy 'YDNA' Murnane and Danny 'Brotha D' Leaosavaii, Mareko (Mark Sagapolutele) was an obvious choice as the first of the Deceptikonz to tackle a solo album. It started in New Zealand where the plan was for Mareko to record most of the tracks for the album with P-Money, J. Chong Nee, and DJ Shan. The rest of tracks were to be recorded in New York, but it went so well Mareko ended up with 10 completed tracks from his trip - all of which have made it onto 'White Sunday' (which is the name of children's day in Samoa).

While in New York, Mareko collaborated with The Alkoholiks, The UK's Creator's, Psycho Les of the Beatnuts, Roc Raida from the X-Ecutioners, Inspectah Deck from the Wu Tang Clan, Scram Jones, and Beatminerz. YDNA and Brotha D had spent a long time hooking up these connections, working closely with ex-pat Kirk Harding who is involved with Know The Ledge consulting agency. While in New York, Mareko sorted out a deal with HRH Records which will see the distribution of two twelve inch singles in the US.

That's a whole lot of action going on for a debut album, and naturally these things have created quite a stir in the local music media. Mareko's time will no doubt be in high demand over the next little while, but that doesn't mean his commitment to the Deceptikonz will be compromised. Although the release of his solo album has delayed work on the Deceptikonz second album, Mareko insists that he always have time for the Deceptikonz. Talented, successful, humble and only 22 years old - does it get any better than this? Mareko will be heading back to the States later this year to find out.

[ http://www.squeezetv.co.nz ]

I got white sunday, tight album, some of the best Hip Hop to come out of New Zealand ever.
There is one really dope track on this album, it's called "City Line", its mint, peep this shit as it's one of the best NZ Hip Hop tracks ive heard in awhile.