25 November 2022 - 0 Comments

A deviation from his Hip-Hop chops, Diaz Grimm has released his new single Same Old Thing - a catchy summer pop tune with a hint of self-referential irony.

Diaz (Ngāwhā, Ngāpuhi), the world’s first indigenous avatar rapper, says the track was written as a fun, crowd-pleasing single to blast at any time.

“I wanted to create something that could be sung morning or night. A song that perks you up, and makes you want to sing along with your friends and family.

“This single goes out to everybody who loves a good time.”

Same Old Thing was produced by Sam Taylor (Nadia Reid), and is the third single from Diaz’ upcoming album: Māui & The Sin.

In true Diaz Grimm style, the track has a deeper kaupapa; it addresses the ongoing lack of movement and diversity in the highest success tiers of New Zealand music.

In the first quarter of 2022, 100% of the top 10 streamed songs in New Zealand were by male artists (Recorded Music NZ, 2022). As of November 7, male artists have dominated every position in the Official Top 20 NZ Singles Charts for the past 10 weeks. A female artist hasn’t broken into the top 10 of this chart since Lorde in September 2021. 

Although not a criticism of the successful music by any means, Diaz says that Same Old Thing aims to address this lack of diversity. 

“I want to see a wider range of artists represented in the charts, and a wider range of genres. I think the lack of diversity in the charts is mostly a symptom of the barriers to finding sustainable success as an independent artist here. 

“In saying that - us Kiwis sure do love listening to the Same Old Thing.”

The Same Old Thing cover art was created by NZ illustrator Daniel Vernon (Ngāti Kahungunu Te Wairoa), also known as @yeehawtheboys. The cover art depicts different versions of Diaz performing onstage, with a rowdy herd of sheep in the audience below.

Māui & The Sin is made up of a two-disc record, the third in a series of seven albums. Disc two of Māui & the Sin represents the past and is set in 1771, taking inspiration from Diaz’s childhood influences, nature, and the history of his Māori culture. Same Old Thing is the first single from disc two.

Same Old Thing is available now on all platforms. Māui and the Sin AO tokens are available from Whitumecca.io.

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