The Realing

Music runs in the blood for the boys of hip hop crew Fundamentalz, but it's their realness and staying true to what they believe that is, according to MC Fortafy aka Sam Ratumaitavuki, what makes the group a cut above the rest and keeps audiences asking for more.

It was a passion for hip hop that originally brought Fundamentalz' Fortafy and Exbozay, aka Zane McMahon, together during their high school days back in New Zealand. Here, the two boldly chose to go against the much-celebrated mainstream reggae tide and to head out on their own hip hop/ R&B tangent.

The pair, temporarily separated when Fortafy made the move to Australia, were again united in 2007 when Exbozay also decided to cross the Tasman. Not long after and with the recruitment of new blood, DJ Owe, and crewmember Jordan, Fundamentalz was reborn.

Breaking into the Australian music industry wasn't as smooth sailing as it is for their brothers across the sea, however, as the boys soon discovered.

“There's a lot of support for artists in New Zealand, but here it's more like if you can't push it yourself you ought to stay in your bedroom sort of thing,” explains Fortafy.

In the studio working on their debut album, Fortafy explains how their new sound will maintain the message of speaking the truth and keeping it real, but this time will include more depth and time than their previous work, ‘The Kool Truth’.

“We've got a local producer, Horace, working on this one and it's basically going to be the same kind of vibe, same realistic tracks talking about real life and real life situations,” he explains.

“We have a lot more to talk about this time though because with our first album we rushed it because we really wanted to just get something out there, so with this one we're really taking our time.

“I don't wanna sound clichéd but it really is just about real life and just basically telling the truth. We're not trying to act like we have heaps of money, not like a lot of other groups, but even then I think we would still talk about the same things.”

Next up for the Fundamentalz will be performing “an original, not your typical hip-hop show” alongside other hip hop acts and friends, The Dronetree, Tenda and Neph.

Fundamentalz play the Globe December 18.