Samoan and Māori MC Kenzie From Welly is back today with her latest single and video, ‘Shimmy’.
‘Shimmy’ taps into Kenzie’s impeccable skill for combining smooth lyrical flow with hard hitting passion. A delicious melting pot of hip-hop, soul and R&B influences, plus an Ol' Dirty Bastard adlib, ‘Shimmy’ is the embodiment of Kenzie From Welly – a product of life challenges, self-belief, and ‘90s hip hop.
Kenzie shared about the single, “I didn't plan to record ODBs classic adlib “Oh baby I like it raw” but somehow it provided a spark and upped the energy during recording. Shout out ODB. ‘Shimmy’ was made during a wiiild time. I lived in Brisbane city and my life was about working crazy and partying crazy, unapologetically. I had substance abuse issues and many of those years are a blur."
"My lifestyle is almost the polar opposite now. I live in a small country town in Aotearoa and spend most of my time in nature. Looking back, I needed to go through those chaotic times to find what was important to me and who I wanted to become.”
‘Shimmy’ follows on from Kenzie’s 2023 single, ‘NO HYPE’ feat. POETIK. Like her name proudly states, Kenzie was born in Wellington, Aotearoa, to Māori and Samoan parents, who, along with artists like Bones Thugs-N-Harmony and Lauryn Hill, shaped her to become the strong woman she is today.
From openly freestyling in the garage to developing her style in the privacy of her bedroom, Kenzie’s love for the hip hop artform blossomed. As her confidence grew, she began experimenting and started to collaborate with her family which include her brother Cole and well-respected MC out of Apia, Samoa, her cousin, POETIK. Once she found her feet with writing and rapping, Kenzie delved into production, engineering and ghost-writing; further cementing her as a well-rounded artist.
As inspired as Kenzie is by world affairs, global music and travel, there is no place like home. Like the old saying goes: You can take Kenzie out of Welly, but you can’t take Welly out of Kenzie; it’s not only in her name, it’s also in her heart, soul, and mind state.
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