It took a lot for Hau Lātūkefu to name his upcoming book King.
But ultimately, it made sense.
"Firstly, my name Hau translates to king," Lātūkefu said.
"And my full name Langomi-e-Hau is 'supporter of the king'.
"My uncle was the first Tongan historian and he was working for the king.
"And when I was born, my parents asked him to name me. And he named me that because of what he was doing at the time."
There were other reasons too. In hip hop culture, he said, older generations are looked upon with respect.
"You're considered a king or queen," he said.
"And it was also a matter of developing the next kings or queens, helping to develop the next generation coming through."
Lātūkefu is one half of the rap group Koolism, founded in 1992. He's also a solo artist, host of triple j's hip hop show and he works with emerging artists through his imprint Forever Ever Records in partnership with Sony Music.
The gritty Mount Druitt drill-rap group ONEFOUR are among the artists Lātūkefu has mentored and helped develop.
In his book King: Life, Death and Hip Hop written with journalist Christopher Riley, Lātūkefu begins by reflecting on a prison visit he made to see ONEFOUR member Celly, who later contributes to the story too in his own words.
Lātūkefu said he was taken aback when he first heard ONEFOUR's music.
"At that time, a lot of Pacific Islanders were rapping in an American accent and were heavily influenced by a lot of hip hop coming out of the West Coast of the [United] States," he said.
"But these guys were clearly influenced and inspired by music coming out of the UK, and I'm a big fan of music coming out of the UK as well.
"So, that really drew me in and I was really intrigued, like OK, so these kids are obviously listening to drill and grime, rapping in their natural accents and representing the area of Sydney first and foremost, because of the way they dressed, their slang, their hairstyles, and that was very intriguing to me."
Too 'close to home'
Lātūkefu said he hit it off with the group and it was exciting to see them come out of their shells. He pushed them to sharpen their writing and skills in the early stages of their careers. He wanted to sign them to Forever Ever and had Sony's backing to do so, but said at the time it didn't make business sense for ONEFOUR to sign to a label. The group is still Independent, for now.
Lātūkefu said he was aware of their "colourful past with the law", but he doesn't believe in taking the moral high ground with some artists and not others.
"As musicians, you have to give them the opportunity to evolve as artists and as humans. Music is a beautiful vehicle to be able to do so.
"We can't always just sign artists that are pristine and clean.
"Artists have got to have stories."
He said it's easier for people to disassociate with gritty music from the US and UK – music that isn't coming from their own backyards.
"I think where ONEFOUR's concerned, especially in Australia, I felt like the pushback was, it was just really close to home that people were uncomfortable with.
"People knew kids like this that were hanging at the mall, or they may have had trouble with them at school, so it really touched a nerve that Australian Pacific Islanders were getting traction with their music, and it scared a lot of people because they knew those people.
"We're just not used to those voices being amplified.
"These kids from areas that no-one ever talked about, or even looked down on, were becoming the voices of the young. And it really kind of overwhelmed people.
"And it is violent, you can't say it's not violent, 'cos it is. But that's just one story from one city out of many cities."
A stable upbringing
Born in Canberra to Tongan migrants and raised in Queanbeyan in south-eastern NSW, Lātūkefu said the members of ONEFOUR are like the people he grew up with.
"As you grow older and older, you start to figure out people look down on Queanbeyan because it's kind of rough," Lātūkefu said.
"And for a long time, we were called struggle town.
"So, it's rural New South Wales, but because it's so close to Canberra, it's almost like another suburb of Canberra, but it's the black sheep of the suburbs."
Lātūkefu stresses, however, that he didn't have a troubled upbringing.
"I did have both parents," he said.
"My mum took herself to university and my dad worked really hard and brought us up in a rural town – Queanbeyan – and I was given strong foundations to do what I came to do.
"And what I came to do was give a voice to artists like ONEFOUR … and other artists from certain environments where they aren't afforded those kinds of opportunities."
Hip hop was Lātūkefu's first love. He said he's always paid his respects to the architects of the culture, including DJ Kool Herc, widely credited as the originator of hip hop.
"He came through and we had a great discussion and he DJ'd a party of ours in Queanbeyan a few days later," Lātūkefu said.
"That's one of my fondest memories, just walking into my house and seeing DJ Kool Herc DJ'ing in the same loungeroom that I grew up in, and there were moments of that night I was just looking at him, [thinking] wow, I can't believe this is happening. And seeing him talk to my mum and dad. It was very surreal."
It was a pinch yourself moment that reminds him to be grateful.
"I do realise that we're visitors in this culture and we're visitors on this land and to always appreciate our existence in it."
Hau shares his love of hip hop with his kids
Lātūkefu has a 10-year-old son and seven-year-old daughter who he's raising on hip hop and while there's some music he won't play in the car (he draws the line at misogyny), his son has even featured on the cover of ONEFOUR's LP Against All Odds.
"We have conversations about music, about what he's listening to, who he's listening to, why they're saying this, why we agree with some of the things they say and why we don't.
"And he does get it to a certain degree. But for him, it's still more about the energy of the music and seeing ONEFOUR as people like him.
"He's looking at some artists that could be his cousins, could be his uncles. And that's what works for him."
King: Life, Death and Hip Hop by Hau Lātūkefu and Christopher Riley will be published by Penguin Random House November 1.
