Dubious Brothers

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Dubious Brothers were a hip-hop duo based in Hamilton, New Zealand, formed in 2000. Members were Chris Macro (born Christopher Shaw, beatmaker/engineer/producer) and Tyna Keelan (guitars/bass/emcee). While New Zealand/Aotearoa hip-hop at the time (led by Che Fu and King Kapisi) was tending to contain a South Pacific influence, Dubious Brothers produced a more international style. This was largely due to the time Keelan had spent as a musician in Europe and Asia.[1]

Trade Secrets and The Future[]

Dubious Brothers' one album, Trade Secrets, was released on Shock Records in June 2002. It spent three weeks in the RIANZ Top 50 Album chart, reaching 24.[2] It was described as "an accomplished hip-hop album which manages to be as lyrically distinctive as it is often wondrously funky" and "a great debut" in a four-star New Zealand Herald review.[3] A number of New Zealand hip-hop identities featured on Trade Secrets, including , Mareko (of ), Marcus (Native Sons) and .

At the year's end, Trade Secrets placed 8th on the New Zealand Herald's top albums of 2002.[4]

The album's lead single, The Future, tells a futuristic story set in the year 2012. Hip-hop has been outlawed and the protagonists smuggle mix tapes across borders like drugs.

Despite industry and media support, Trade Secrets was not a good seller (even when released with bonus material including a remix disc), and Dubious Brothers soon faded into a rapidly expanding local hip-hop scene.

References[]

  1. ^ "New Zealand hip-hop's pulp faction". The New Zealand Herald. 8 June 2002. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
  2. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-06-21. Retrieved 2010-12-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - RIANZ Top 50 Album Chart, 30 June 2002
  3. ^ Baillie, Russell (20 June 2002). "Dubious Bros: Trade Secrets". Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  4. ^ Baillie, Russell (28 December 2002). "Top 20 albums of 2002". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
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