Tonight, heavyweight New Zealand hip-hop group The Doqument take over NOTW's basement with the launch of their hotly anticipated new album, 509. Ahead of their first gig in a while, we had a chat with the guys.
How did the Doqument come to be?
We all met via music and the power of the online connection. Individually, we were already making music. We decided to collab, and everything else is history.
Our style blended well together so it just felt right to link up.
How’s the New Zealand hip hop scene feeling at the moment?
New Zealand hiphop right now is flourishing. There's so much talent coming out of this small country. It's healthy that it's getting more looks than ever at them moment. New Zealand can compete on the world stage.
You all haven’t gigged it in a while. Has this been a factor of working on the new album?
We have pretty much been in the studio, perfecting our craft, and put gigging on hold for a bit while we worked on the album. Album is done now, so it's time to put in work.
Let’s talk about that album. First and foremost, it’s called 509, and based on your album artwork circulating, that seems to have something with time. Could you give us an insight into what 509 means, and what you’re trying to achieve with the project?
'509' has a few meanings to us. It's the address where we recorded the album, and the time we would all make it to studio. The album also represents time, the time we took to perfect our art, the time we have taken away from family to produce the album. Our motto is "Doqlife 'Til The Clockstrikes," so we put all of that into this album. What we would like to achieve is nothing more that adoration for our hard work. This is art. This isn't your safe sounding album. We have taken a lot of risks with our current sound in 509; all we want is for people to enjoy it.
What can people expect from a live performance from The Doqument?
Energetic, Hype, Dope Bars, Rap. It's always a real good time with TheDoq.
Any special surprises in the works for Thursday night?
Doqlife always has surprises in store, we're just gonna have to wait and see.