4 Years? Out In 11 Months

I don’t think I’ve ever really got into any South Auckland hip-hop, it’s not because I haven’t tried, I’ve always just found it quite repetitive and in some-way copping out on American influences. So when I heard Smashproof’s hit ‘Brother’ a few days ago I paid very close attention; finally a genuine hip-hop crew that is addressing a subject of true significance. The song has actually received more attention than even the artists probably imagined, due to its video re-enacting a recent tragedy where a 15 year-old boy lost his life.

While tagging a fence in the South Auckland neighbourhood of Manurewa last year, 15 year old Pihema Cameron was chased on foot for 300 metres by 51 year old property owner Bruce Emery and stabbed in the heart with a thirteen centimetre knife. The young boy died within seconds. Smashproof’s song ‘Brother’ talks strongly about this heartless killing, and delves deep into the social climate that is currently rife with crime and poverty. With Gin Wigmore singing in the chorus, the song is a powerful moving experience that seeks to address the South Auckland youth and its predominantly Pacific Island demographic. There’s a strong call for change echoing powerfully throughout the song, which in some ways can be described as a protest against current political views and the views of individuals towards the people of South Auckland.

Yesterday, Bruce Emery was sentenced to a meagre four years and three months jail for the manslaughter (in December last year he managed to get acquitted of murder) of young Pihema Cameron. Today it was reported that Emery may be released from jail within eleven months on parole. The debate has caused outrage across the country, with many in the Pacific Island community crying foul. To put the sentence into perspective, in 2006 15 year-old Ngatai Raweti received a four-year jail term for throwing a piece of concrete from a motor-way over bridge that went through a car window and killed a man. In 2002 a vegan couple received a five-year jail sentence for failing to provide their infant child with the appropriate medical care, opting for traditional herbal medicines instead of pharmaceutical drugs. The child received severe brain damage and eventually died due to a vitamin B12 deficiency. Both these examples show up clear inconsistencies in the New Zealand justice system, Smashproof has a right to protest, hopefully the song will become even more powerful as this debate rages on.

News Item About Emery’s Sentencing

 

Posted by Nick Fulton under New Zealand