‘Hope this song will empower’: Scribe releases his first track in more than a decade

ICYMI the iconic Scribe has returned.

He’s of the most powerful and influential voices in New Zealand hip-hop but we've not heard a new release in over 10 years. This week, that all changed.

Scribe – Malo Ioane Luafutu – released his brand new track, Non Attachment, earlier this week and today he has released a touching music video for it.

Coming off the back of his acclaimed 2021 documentary series, Scribe: Return of the Crusader, the star continues to reflect on his life and the battles he faced following his overnight fame. He doesn’t shy away from talking about addiction and run-ins with the law which resulted in the rapper spending time in a Corrections facility.

Using the single to signify the start of the next chapter while also confronting both his past and his present in an honest and real fashion, Scribe says, “Non-Attachment to me is basically not attaching to other people’s problems or criticism,”

“I used to get so twisted over what other people thought or said but I think with age I’ve realised I don’t have the time, least of all the energy to attach to anyone’s bulls*** except my own. I hope this song will empower the listener to do the same.”

In an almost five-minute-long music video, the beloved rapper looks back on his life combining videos of his live performances, behind-the-scenes shots of the making of the track, screenshots of news outlets reporting on his run-ins with the law and more innocently, photos from his childhood.

The video wraps with him coming off stage where he performed the song to a massive crowd and hugging his friends and family who were watching from the side of the stage. It’s not known where the performance took place.

The Christchurch rapper captured hearts with his last release in 2003 with his album The Crusader which featured hits like Dreaming, Not Many and My Lady P. The album went gold within hours of its release and received many accolades, including two solo number-one hits and certified four times platinum.

However, the instant success of the album saw the star face personal struggles including addiction which he spoke openly about in his eight-part TVNZ documentary released last year.

Now the star is ready to return to the spotlight with his latest hit which was created alongside Otautahi producer Infectiouss.

This article was first published by the NZ Herald and is republished here with permission.