RNZŌ’s Authenticity Is Helping Him Stand Out in ANZ Hip-Hop

This interview is part of our Future of Music 2026 series. Follow all the coverage here.

Aotearoa hip-hop isn’t struggling for top talent right now, from Melodownz still dropping the bangers to MOKOMOKAI impressing on Australian stages and Brandn Shiraz gaining notice through his Caru collab, so it’s even more impressive that RNZŌ is standing out from the pack.

The youngest performer at Laneway 2025 previously featured in our Up-And-Coming Aotearoa Artists series, which came ahead of the drop of his debut full-length album, RNZŌ SZN.

RNZŌ’s 2025 record received rave reviews from RNZ, Sniffers, and us thanks to the rapper’s bubbly personality and playful bars. What was especially notable about this debut was the level of co-signs: Church, AP, Deadforest, and Dera Meelan recognise a special talent when they hear one.

The future is very bright for this prodigious rapper. Aotearoa hip-hop has a superstar in the making.

Read an exclusive interview with RNZŌ below.

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Rolling Stone AU/NZ: What does it mean to you to be included in Rolling Stone’s Future of Music series?

RNZŌ: It’s a huge honour to be one of the many names included in this series this year, a nice little achievement as a result of all the hard work that goes on behind the scenes, so it feels really rewarding to be a part of it. A nice reminder as well of how I’m viewed now, the recognition and praise. All things I used to think about constantly as an upstart in this industry.

How did you first get your start in music?

I come from a musical family. My grandfather and his siblings all sang and played instruments in church, my dad and his siblings all sing too. My koro is a huge enjoyer of rock & roll, collecting vinyls of an array of older artists. My dad would just play lots of different music around me, whether they were local or international artists and it subconsciously set up my influences for making music.

I started making beats on my dad’s laptop on FL STUDIO 7 during the lockdown in 2020, upgraded to FL STUDIO Mobile in 2021, upgraded again to FL STUDIO 20 in 2022. I was aiming to be a producer who would just sell beats and find placements with rappers in New Zealand until I met Church at Te Karangas Navs programme. He suggested I try out rapping and from there I practiced until I started establishing myself as a young gun in the hip-hop scene making strides.

Describe your sound to a new listener in three words.

I would say authentic, hearty, and technical.

Tell us about your latest release.

My last release was a collaborative project, ZIPS GALORE, with my brothers Church & AP, Dera Meelan, and deadforest. Together we are the collective ZIPS, and we dropped an album earlier this year with crazy features from some of our brothers over the Tasman (Zion Garcia, Sollyy, Ipod, FRIDAY*). It was definitely a learning experience for me, seeing as it’s only my second-ever project, but I enjoyed the process of creating an album and the amount of thinking and time that is needed for it.

What’s your favorite career memory so far?

I would say getting nominated for Best Hip Hop Artist at the Aotearoa Music Awards. Even though I didn’t win, it felt so good coming home to my family and showing them all that their son/grandson/cousin/nephew/brother has been recognised as one of the best in the country at what he does. That’s a special feeling.

What’s one thing you’d change about the ANZ music industry?

I would change the perception of local talents. In hip-hop, especially, there are so many people that don’t understand or aren’t as supportive as they should be in my opinion. We harbor so much talent in our countries that feels undervalued and irrelevant.

Are you hopeful for the future of music in ANZ?

I am. We always have outpours of massive potential each year — all it takes is one song, one project, one moment and they will arrive!

Name one other ANZ act you’d like to see make our Future of Music series in the future.

My brothers Krugah (AKL), IVRSN (CHC), Billy (WLG), Manaaki (WLG), and The Mokos (WLG). All good friends of mine and some of the most talented cats in the game right now.

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What’s coming up for you this year?

Right now, alongside my brothers Billy and Manaaki who I talked about earlier, we are working on our joint project “UP2EAH”. Them two as the producers and me as the vocalist, it’s been a work in progress over the last few months, finally starting to present itself and we are excited to share it. Our main focus for this project was just to have fun and not sweat the rules of music so much.

We’re all fly young bucks doing what we love, it’s important that’s translated well for us. We shouldn’t be stressing over our art when we are doing it for ourselves.

What are the positives and negatives of being a musician in 2026?

Positives for me are the plentiful opportunities and experiences I get to have/live. I’m doing things now I wouldn’t think imaginable as a kid. Negatives I’d say is the cost. It takes lots of time, money, and sometimes [that] makes it harder to follow through or have faith in it. That’s why “UP2EAH” is so important to me. We just forget about the funding, the awards, the streams and want to make something we love.