Rapper turns to short form

Sam Hansen, aka PNC, is releasing the first EP in a trilogy.

PNC is the elder statesman of local hip-hop, but the artist tells Chris Schulz he’s only just hitting his best form now.

He's only just put the finishing touches on his first new release in two years.

But local rapper PNC, real name Sam Hansen, is already working on the follow-up to The Luke Vailima EP, released today.

"I've just started work on volume two," admits Hansen. "I think I've definitely hit a new level with confidence as a writer. That's at an all-time high."

The follow-up to 2014's full-length album The Codes, today's seven-track EP is the first in what Hansen says is a trilogy planned for release over the next year.

He's turned to EPs to fulfil more concise concepts, he says, and to satisfy shorter audience attention spans.

"Very early on in the piece, I had five songs done that I was happy with, and I thought they told a solid story by themselves," he says.

"I felt adding 10 more songs was unnecessary, and it meant I could fast-track the process to release them. I also feel like how people listen to music has changed, and attention spans are shortened overall." It is, the 32-year-old says, a reflection of "the best parts of my career".

"Mostly it's seven songs that I'm really proud of, and I think it tells an honest story of my life, more so than any project I've released in the past. A lot of it is paying homage to everything I feel made me who I am today." There is plenty of reflection, from the introspection of Hova Song and Camouflage, to the Hard-hitting opener Sonny Bill 04, which tracks his rise from Palmerston North schoolboy to a local hip-hop veteran.

Not that Hansen sees it that way, describing himself on that song as "the lost boss of the game".

"I still feel hungry, like I'm constantly trying to claim a spot and carve a niche," he says.

"I've never hit the level of success that I expect of myself, so as long as I still have this desire to be the best rapper I can be, I'll be doing it."