Sanerivi "Sani" Sagala (born 24 August 1974), better known by his stage name Dei Hamo, is a New Zealand hip hop artist, producer and director. Dei Hamo, which can be translated as "The Samoan", has won various awards for his chart-topping music and his first album '' First Edition'', released in 2005. He lives in Mangere,

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

Background

Dei Hamo's musical career spans more than 15 years. He was part of the Proud hip hop tour and has worked with some of New Zealand's top musicians and performers, including Boh Runga, Tha Feelstyle and DJ Sammy B. He has supported a number of international acts including

The Black Eyed Peas Black Eyed Peas (also known as The Black Eyed Peas) is an American musical group consisting of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo. The group's line-up during the height of their popularity in the 2000s featured Fergie, who replaced Kim Hi ...

and Busta Rhymes. Dei Hamo went to

Aorere College Aorere College is a New Zealand co-educational state secondary school (Years 9–13) that was established in 1964 in the Auckland suburb of Papatoetoe. The current principal of the college is Leanne Webb. As of , there are approximately stude ...

Papatoetoe Papatoetoe is a suburb in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest suburb in Auckland by population and is located to the northwest of Manukau Central, and 18 kilometres southeast of Auckland CBD. Papatoetoe has the unofficial title of Auckland ...

in the late 1980s where he was first exposed to the hip hop genre. Hamo spent his days and nights perfecting his craft, later claiming to have written a song a day. Having a passion for film and directing, in 2010 he was asked by a close friend Amy Raumati (also known as Lady Sheeq) to direct a music video for her. Dei Hamo agreed and has since directed music videos for other artists. He directs the music videos under his real name, Sani Sagala, as he aims to write and direct movies in the near future.

Music

In 2004, Dei Hamo's first single "We Gon' Ride" spent five consecutive weeks at number one on New Zealand's music chart, and three months in the top 10. The track went

platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Pla ...

. It also reached the top 40 in Australia. Later singles have included "This Is My Life" and "Cry again", the latter containing lyrics from

Split Enz Split Enz were a New Zealand rock band formed in Auckland in 1972 by Tim Finn and Phil Judd and had a variety of other members during its existence. Originally started as a folk-oriented group with quirky art rock stylings, the band built ...

's song "I Hope I Never" performed by

Tim Finn Brian Timothy Finn (born 25 June 1952) is a New Zealand singer and musician. His musical career includes forming 1970s and 1980s New Zealand rock group Split Enz, a number of solo albums, temporary membership in his brother Neil's band Crowd ...

Discography

Albums

Singles

Awards

!scope="col", , - , rowspan="3" , 2005 , Dei Hamo - ''First Edition'' ,

New Zealand Music Awards The Aotearoa Music Awards (previously called the New Zealand Music Awards), conferred annually by Recorded Music NZ, honour outstanding artistic and technical achievements in the recording industry. The awards are among the most significant that ...

- Breakthrough Artist of the Year , , rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" , , - , Dei Hamo - "We Gon' Ride ,

- Highest Selling New Zealand Single , , - , Chris Graham "We Gon' Ride" (Dei Hamo) ,

- Best Music VIdeo , , - , rowspan="2" , 2005 , Dei Hamo - "We Gon' Ride" ,

Pacific Music Awards The Pacific Music Awards are an annual New Zealand music award ceremony since 2005 that honours excellence in Pacific music in New Zealand. The awards honour musicians who primarily work in the Pacific Island style of music from the Cook Islands, ...

- Best Pacific Male Artist , , rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;" , , - , Dei Hamo - "We Gon' Ride" ,

- Best Pacific Urban Artist , , - , rowspan="2" , 2006 , Dei Hamo - ''First Edition'' ,

- Best Pacific Male Artist , , rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;" , , - , Dei Hamo - ''First Edition'' ,

- Best Pacific Urban Artist ,

Videography (as director)

Music videos directed by Sani Sagala (Dei Hamo) include:

References

External links

2005 interview
in ''New Zealand Herald''
Watch We Gon' Ride music video, NZ On Screen website
at Eventpolynesia {{DEFAULTSORT:Hamo, Dei New Zealand rappers New Zealand people of Samoan descent Living people Pacific Music Award-winning artists 1975 births People from Māngere