DLT, who grew up in Maraenui, Napier, will also receive a Lifetime Contribution to Māori Music award.
The singer/songwriter was part of pioneering hip hop group Upper Hutt Posse, releasing what is believed to be New Zealand's first hip hop single, E Tū, in 1988.
The song tackled themes around inequality and racism, encouraging young Māori to draw upon the strength of their tipuna, challenging them to "e tū, stand proud, kia kaha, say it loud".
He released two solo albums, including The True School which featured the song Chains, which won Best Single at the 1997 New Zealand Music Awards.
Kupa, from Hastings, will posthumously receive the award, after his passing in July. He was 80 years old.
The Kupa-composed waiata Te Hokinga Mai remains one of the most well-known songs of Ngāti Kahungunu.
In the 1960s, Kupa was based in Los Angeles where he worked as the musical director and choreographer for Maori Ora Entertainers, which he described as perhaps the first mini kapa haka group to leave New Zealand.
He worked with many groups, including the Patea Māori Club, New Zealand National Youth Choir and Wellington kapa haka groups Ngāti Poneke, Te Herenga Waka and Māwai Hākona.
In 1996, he lectured the Māori component of 'The Social Contexts of Learning' and 'Theory into Practice' for the Department of Teacher Education at Victoria University.
The awards, which have taken place in Hawke's Bay since 2008, will be held virtually at 7pm on October 9.
