Local band Smokestack Lightning are taking the internet and local fans by storm with their fusion of hip-hop, blues, disco and R&B.
Local band Smokestack Lightning are taking the internet and local fans by storm with their fusion of hip-hop, blues, disco and R&B.
There is nothing ordinary about the sound being produced by fresh hip-hop fusion act, Smokestack Lightning.
Tipuna Smith, and brothers Preston and Taina Reid all contribute to the music-making process and their tunes reflect R&B and hip-hop influences, fused with funk, blues and disco. The Hawke's Bay trio, who havelived "down the road" from one another their whole lives, are taking a break from solo projects to focus on the collaboration.
"We are relatively new as a group - me and Preston have been on the hip-hop scene for several years, but we have come together to take a fresher look at the genre," Smith says.
"We are trying to freshen things up, give people a new experience, hip-hop here is full of beef and egos, we want to lighten the mood."
Since forming just over a year ago, they have opened for acts such as Smashproof, and continue to gig around Napier to gain exposure.
"A lot of people are saying that what we're doing is different and they enjoy that. David Hannay came to us with the idea of doing a bar fight in a video, we weren't in agreement at first but we filmed it and within the first few weeks it had 10,000 views [on YouTube] now it's over 40,000."
They will perform at The Cabana on Saturday, with a selection of new tracks which are set to feature on a mixtape, yet to be released. Catch Smokestack Lightning and friends at The Cabana from 8.30pm on Saturday. Women free entry until 10.30pm, men $5.
