Savage (rapper)

Early life and the Deceptikonz

Savage grew up in Samoa and South Auckland, New Zealand, raised by his mother and siblings.

Savage joined with friends to form a hip-hop group, the Deceptikonz, in 1997. Success was not instant, however, as the group struggled through several talent shows and small concerts. Their big break came in 1999 when they were signed to South Auckland (Papatoetoe) hip hop label Dawn Raid Entertainment.

In 2002, the Deceptikonz released Elimination; a studio album that peaked at number four on the New Zealand albums chart. In late 2003, Savage featured as a member of the Deceptikonz on the Mareko hit single Stop, Drop and Roll; a number six hit on the New Zealand singles chart.

Solo career

''Moonshine'' era (2005–2007)

Savage's first solo single; Swing, was released in January 2005. The hit would eventually crack the Australian singles chart in 2014 and peak at number one for five weeks in the New Zealand singles chart. Three months later, Savage released his debut solo album Moonshine which reached number two in the New Zealand album chart and included a title track as a follow-up single. This became an even bigger success than the previous single; spending seven weeks at number one on the New Zealand singles chart, and reaching the top ten in the Australian singles chart. The Moonshine single would eventually become certified twice platinum in New Zealand and gold in Australia. The third single from the album; They Don't Know reached number three in the New Zealand singles chart and was also a hit for several weeks on the Australian singles chart. In 2007, Swing featured in a club scene for the United States film Knocked Up and was also included on the movie soundtrack album.

''Savage Island'' era (2008–2009)

Following the success of appearing in "Knocked Up", Swing was released as a single for the United States in 2008, and remix versions were made with American rappers Soulja Boy Tell 'Em and Pitbull. Upon re-release, Swing reached number forty-five on the US Billboard Hot 100, re-entered the New Zealand singles charts peaking at number twenty-three. By the end of January 2009, the song had sold over 1.5 million units in the United States alone. Because of this; Swing was certified as a platinum single in the United States.

In February 2009, Savage released Savage Island, the second studio album of his solo career. The release became his second consecutive top-ten entry on the New Zealand album chart debuting at number nine. The album included Moonshine from the previous album as well as a remix version of the New Zealand number-one hit Not Many. The release also featured two new singles Wild Out (Chooo Hooo) and Hot Like Fire. These songs became New Zealand singles chart hits with the former becoming Savage's fourth top-ten peaking song in the national chart. Savage appeared in an issue of Source Magazine to discuss the lyrical meanings behind the tracks of Savage Island the following month. In October, Savage performed the Savage Island album track I Love The Islands, to raise funds for the Samoan tsunami relief effort. In December, the video for Wild Out (Chooo Hooo) was named as one of the five most-watched YouTube music videos in New Zealand.

Battle of the Century era (2010–2012)

In 2010, Savage featured in "Battle of the Century", a nationwide tour across New Zealand alongside internationally successful New Zealand rapper Scribe. The same year, the Presents... The Tribal Council album was released. In 2012, Savage featured on the Jade Louise single "Vibrations" which was the theme song for the television series The GC.

Collaboration era (2013–present)

In 2013, "Swing" was remixed by Australian producer Joel Fletcher. The song peaked at number 2 on the ARIA Singles Chart and has been certified quadruple platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for shipments exceeding 280,000 copies. In 2014, Savage added vocals to Timmy Trumpet's song "Freaks". The song peaked at number one in New Zealand and was certified 2× Platinum by Recorded Music NZ. In Australia, it peaked at number 3 and was certified 5× Platinum by ARIA. It also reached the top five in Finland and won "Highest Selling Single" at the 2015 New Zealand Music Awards.

In 2015, Savage teamed up with Kronic and Far East Movement on "Push". The track was featured in the trailer for Fast and the Furious' eighth installment "The Fate of the Furious". This trailer was premiered during Super Bowl LI.

In 2016, Savage released "Zooby Doo" with Tigermonkey. The official video was overseen by world-famous choreographer Parris Goebel who runs the Palace Dance Studio in Savage's hometown of Auckland. The dancers, The Ladies of ReQuest, Mini ReQuest & Ezra from The Palace Dance Studio, New Zealand, were featured in Justin Bieber's mega YouTube hit "Sorry".

Discography

| B-sides =

Studio albums

Compilation albums

Singles

As featured artist

Other appearances

Music videos

Notes

Awards and nominations

APRA Awards

The APRA Awards are presented annually from 1982 by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA), "honouring composers and songwriters".

! Ref. |- | 2015 || "Swing (Joel Fletcher Remix)" || Dance Work of the Year || || |- | 2015 || "Swing (Joel Fletcher Remix)" || Most Australian Played Work of the Year || || |-

[[Pacific Music Awards]]

[[New Zealand Music Awards]]

MTV Europe Music Awards

References

References

1. (18 November 2016). "Kiwi musicians have taken to Twitter to support Aaradhna in calling out the 'urban' category". [[The New Zealand Herald]].
2. (10 June 2016). "Vince Harder And Te Vaka Big Winners in Pacific Music Awards". [[Scoop (website).
3. CATH BENNETT. (24 May 2009). "Give it up for Savage". Sunday News.
4. Sound, Ministry of. "Timmy Trumpet's Freaks Sets A Ministry of Sound Record".
5. (10 October 2009). "Savage – I want to be dad I never had".
6. [https://charts.nz/showitem.asp?interpret=Deceptikonz&titel=Elimination&cat=a Elimination – charts.org.nz]
7. [https://charts.nz/showitem.asp?interpret=Mareko+feat%2E+Deceptikonz&titel=Stop+Drop+%26+Roll&cat=s Stop, Drop and Roll – charts.org.nz]
8. "Savage's Moonshine single goes Gold across the ditch". amplifier.
9. [http://www.soundtrackinfo.com/title/knockedup.asp Knocked Up – soundtrack.info.com]
10. (19 October 2009). "Samoan tsunami 'I Love The Islands' gig – live updates". [[3 News]].
11. [http://www.knowledge-basket.co.nz/search/doc_view.php?d2=scoop/text/2009/12/17/CU0912-S00229.html YouTube reveals New Zealand's most watched videos Press Release: YouTube 17-12-2009 11:41] {{subscription required}}
12. [http://gigs.nzherald.co.nz/2010/may/christchurch/scribe-vs-savage-battle-of-the-century-all-ages Scribe vs Savage – Battle of the Century nzherald.co.nz]
13. [http://www.australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Savage+%5BNZ%5D&titel=Presents%2E%2E%2E+The+Tribal+Council&cat=a Presents... The Tribal Council – australian-charts.com] Retrieved April 2012
14. [https://charts.nz/showitem.asp?interpret=Jade+Louise+feat%2E+Savage&titel=Vibrations&cat=s JADE LOUISE FEAT. SAVAGE – VIBRATIONS (SONG)]
15. "Jade Louise Releases Her Debut Single Featuring Savage".
16. "Joel Fletcher & Savage – Swing (Song)". Australian-charts.com.
17. {{cite certification
18. [http://finnishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Timmy+Trumpet+%26+Savage&titel=Freaks&cat=s TIMMY TRUMPET & SAVAGE – FREAKS (SONG)]
19. Lydia Jenkin. (November 2015). "Broods clean up at the Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards". [[The New Zealand Herald.
20. Fast & Furious. (5 February 2017). "The Fate of the Furious – Big Game Spot – In Theaters April 14 (HD)".
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23. {{cite Ryan
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30. "Savage".
31. "Swing".
32. "Moonshine".
33. {{cite certification
34. "They Don't Know".
35. "RIAA's Gold & Platinum Program". RIAA.
36. "Wild Out (Chooo Hooo)".
37. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2018 Singles". ARIA.
38. {{cite certification
39. (9 December 2021). "TOMORROW 😈 TheBender".
40. Bhanawat, Akshay. (2023-02-16). "Crankdat Launches First Release Of The Year With Bass House Single "Move Back"".
41. (16 August 2024). "Locals Only - Coterie feat. Savage 'One More Chance'".
42. (26 August 2024). "NZ Hot Singles Chart". [[Recorded Music NZ]].
43. "Credits". [[NZ On Screen]].
44. (1 January 2005). "Savage Filming Video in NY". Dawn Raid Entertainment.
45. (13 November 2008). "Savage Swings Past One Million in US!!!". Dawn Raid Entertainment.
46. (17 March 2012). "Savage – Wild Out".
47. (7 May 2009). "Savage – Hot Like Fire OFFICIAL Video".
48. (28 February 2012). "Savage – Love the islands".
49. (6 December 2011). "Savage "I Promise" featuring Ria – Official Video Sione's 2 Soundtrack".
50. (27 May 2012). "Savage – Come Out (Wrath of a Menace) feat. Monsta G & Jah Free STREET VIDEO".
51. (6 June 2012). "Savage – Twerk OFFICIAL VIDEO".
52. (11 July 2012). "Savage – Because of You Feat. Spawnbreezie (Official Video)".
53. (21 September 2014). "Savage – Take These Shots feat. ATP & DJ Butcher (Official Video)".
54. (16 June 2015). "Savage – Like Michael Jackson (Official Video)".
55. "APRA History". [[Australasian Performing Right Association]] (APRA) | [[Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society]] (AMCOS).
56. (2015). "Dance Work of the Year". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) | Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS).
57. (2015). "Most Played Australian Work". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) | Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS).
58. [http://www.knowledge-basket.co.nz/search/doc_view.php?d20=ffxstuff/text/2003/STF/05/16/052313/doc00076.html Winning night for Dei Hamo – STUFF — MANUKAU COURIER — AUCKLAND — 16 MAY 2006] {{subscription required}}
59. [http://www.knowledge-basket.co.nz/search/doc_view.php?d1=scoop/text/2010/05/30/CU1005-S00332.html S3 Pacific Music Award Winners Announced Press Release: Pacific Music Awards 30-5-2010] {{subscription required}}
60. JESSIE COLQUHOUN. (28 April 2010). "Pacific music finalists named". [[Stuff.co.nz]].
61. (2008). "Stars make political statements on red carpet". Sunday News.
62. (20 October 2015). "Savage named MTV EMA's best New Zealand act for 2015". New Zealand Herald.