DLT, MC Wiya, Doug E. Fresh, Teremoana Rapley and Te Kupu before the dinner with Minister Farrakhan. Photo / Teremoana Rapley
DLT, MC Wiya, Doug E. Fresh, Teremoana Rapley and Te Kupu before the dinner with Minister Farrakhan. Photo / Teremoana Rapley
Opinion
Te Kupu and Upper Hutt Posse travelled to Detroit in October 1990 at the invitation of Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam.
I first heard of Nation of Islam when I read the autobiography of Malcolm X back in 1983, although I had a memory from Muhammad Ali fights and him being around these guys in black suits - but "Black Muslims" was more the terminology then. I grew up in UpperHutt and there was a lot of racism there, and to hear the Nation of Islam and Malcolm X speak so forcefully and say, 'The white man's the devil' and all this shit, it's like, wow. The connection was their struggle against an oppressive system that is, to this day, race-based.
In 1985, I saw a Foreign Correspondent programme, and it had Louis Farrakhan speaking on there, and I was like, 'Hah!' He was speaking to a massive audience at Madison Square Garden, and I thought, 'Wow - the Black Muslims are going strong'.
After that, Public Enemy came out and talked about Farrakhan, and I thought, 'Oh right - it's all hooked in there'. When people heard Public Enemy talk about the Nation of Islam, it was like, 'Who's Farrakhan?'
In 1990, Rasul Muhammad, a son of the founder of the Nation of Islam Elijah Muhammad, visited here to get amongst Maori people. The Posse did a gig at The Gluepot, and Rasul saw us perform there. He came backstage and said, 'I want you to come to Detroit and share your music, meet Louis Farrakhan and just get it on with the Nation of Islam - will you come?', and I was just like, 'Yeah - we're coming!'
We did another gig at The Gluepot and Hinewehi Mohi and Moana and the Moahunters supported us and played for free, and Willie Jackson became our tour manager for the trip. We were scheduled to play a gig on Saviour's Day, which is an event the Nation of Islam has. We performed, but the main event was Farrakhan speaking. The news media said there were 20,000 people there, so this was a very big, important movement that was going on among black people in the USA, but no one hears about it.
It was just wonderful to be there, especially as guests of the Nation of Islam. Flava Flav performed and so did Doug E. Fresh, and we got up there and did our set. It was cool to be in Detroit in that day and age - we were definitely the first rap group out of here to perform in somewhere like Detroit.
What: Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam, Flava Flav, Doug E. Fresh and Upper Hutt Posse perform at the 60th anniversary of The Nation of Islam Where: Cobo Conference/Exhibition Center, Joe Louis Arena in Detroit When: Saviours' Day, October 1990
*Upper Hutt Posse's new album Declaration of Resistance is out now on Kia Kaha.
Upper Hutt Posse Declaration of Resistance Tour
Friday 25 November - Woody's Bar, Auckland Saturday 26 November - Khuja Lounge, Auckland Friday 2 December - The Delta, Ngaruawahia Saturday 3 December - The Commercial Hotel, Whakatane Friday 9 December - Old Skool Bar, Palmerston North
