I came across Home Brew Crew's 'Last Week' EP at an interesting time of my life. University had me embarking on a newfound sense of freedom and venturing from my South Auckland rabbit hole, into the trendier suburbs. New people, new vibes and subsequent new music hit me all at a similar time and it was serendipitous that the premier musical project of that time in my life was the Last Week EP.

Released in October 2008 Last Week was a fairly basic concept. Seven tracks for seven days of the week and there really wasn't much more to it. Even the subject matter was simple and easy to follow, which for me was where I found the most beauty in Last Week. Sure, I could try and dive deep into innuendos and ulterior meanings to lyrics, that wouldn't be doing Last Week justice as a kiwi classic though. This is the most relatable piece of kiwi music that I've ever heard and that comes as it describes everyday situations/thoughts/emotions that a kiwi battler experiences through no frills yet entertaining slang and general kiwi language.

There was nothing else in the world like it, mainly because the experiences being relayed through Tom Scott's poetry was limited to a those in Aotearoa. Then narrow that down to folk who live in Auckland and wonder how they'll pay rent, or don't care that their 'hoodies covered in food stains' or a certain level of angst towards the horrible social status of Auckland's cool kids. It's safe to say that I found comfort in Last Week and that comfort soon became awe, marveling in the skill and story-telling ability of those involved.

Scott firmly established himself as a lyrical genius in my eyes with his ability to relay those situations with relatable language. Haz Beats provides the backdrop and it's of a similar simple quality with Haz providing a fairly classic hip hop style via typical boom-bap drums laced with samples. The production is heavily influenced by the roots of hip hop, although Haz stamps his signature on it and trying to pinpoint that signature from an external point of view is tricky.

I settled on the production being a funky contradiction where the gritty drums meet airy, hopeful samples or instrumentation. Tuesday features what sounds like a saxophone which uplifts, matching Scott's lyrical narrative. Wednesday features some lovely keys which morphs into what sounds like a flute and then back into the keys, adding an air of suspense of mystery to their journey to the 'shack'. The combination of soul samples, drum selection and a variety of other instruments ultimately offers a unique, funky hip hop sound.

Who knows what 'kiwi hip hop' sounds like to you, but for me, this is it. There's immense respect to the sound and individuals who brought hip hop into the spotlight, the beauty lies in the blending of all the different elements though. Aotearoa is a melting pot of musical influences and this is evident in the production as Haz brings in a wide variety of elements, with the icing on the cake being his ear for how it all fits together.

DJ Truent is responsible for Saturday and it's a noticeable change in the sound, that still fits precisely into place. Saturday is more upbeat and is a great canvas for Scott to recount a busy day, there isn't quite as much happening in the production yet your head doesn't stop noddin' as you absorb the adventures.

Almost as impressive as the beats and lyrics, are the background sounds. Wait; background sounds and Scott's ability to change his tone to rap from different perspectives . These sounds and ad-libs or mini-skits add so much to cohesion of Last Week and keep you zoned in on every little detail.

Just a few examples of this are: background shouting as work winds down on Monday, the ASB call at the start of Tuesday, clippers hummin' like zz-a-zz on Wednesday, rattling of coins and background conversation on Thursday, the pesky work mate on Friday, hacky sack sound effects on Saturday, X-Box/red dots noises or 'did you see Vatuvei? on Sunday.

These are all such minor details that didn't need to be done and you'd struggle to find another kiwi music project that puts as much effort into such noises/sounds. Home Brew paid close attention to those details and it worked wonders, enhancing the relatable listening experience.

That relatable experience mainly comes via the lyrics, so here are a few from each track that tickled my loins...

Monday

"Late for my job, thinking pull a no-show, dude on my right shoulder's like 'nah don't go', nerd on my left's like 'gotta get the dough bro'. Chur bro you're right, but I'd rather have a doze though".

"I was on top of shit, like Canada, turn the lights off, cross Monday off the calendar".

Tuesday

"Hi, hey, just a loaf of bread and this pie aye'

'$84.90 thanks, have a nice day'

'What the fuck?'

'What's wrong, you alright mate?'.

'What the hell is in this pie bro, whitebait? For fucksakes man that's rough, what are these? It costs a couple G's now to buy a block of cheese, 5 bucks for broccoli but these grow off of trees, 6 bucks for lettuce? Shit, it's just a lot of leaves"

Wednesday

'I'm horced as bro put the swords on'

'Nah man the gas in the bottle bro, it's all gone'

'Sweet the, roll us up a bit of cardboard Tom, hey yo Haz put that beat with the horns on'

'And we got blazed 'cos Lance had the pure chron, so give him a text if you need somewhere to score from'.

Thursday

'Just kickin' raps we wrote, rhyming with no flashy quotes and freestyling about normal life with average folks'.

'Nobody giving a mean stare at cheap gear that we wear, just making memories with dear mates and cheap beer, fucking mean night bro, you shoulda been there'.

Friday

'Feeling sick like I've been eating bricks, 'cos all I got inside the pantry is Wheat-Bix and Eta chips, and all the bud I've got is seeds and sticks'.

'Chur bro, box under my arm and kick my bike into turbo'.

Saturday

'It was close as, no time left, Southland made a comeback like Wyclef, Jonno's yelling all up in my ear like I'm deaf, in front of kids like 'aw fucking offside ref!''.

'Watched the Warriors, Vatuvei got a hat-trick, shit a couple months ago he couldn't even catch it, that shit made me think, one day you're Brad Pitt, next day it's all gone and you ain't jack shit'.

Sunday

'Took a couple aspirins so I could kill the back pain, I got from Monday running in the rat-race'.

'Had some spots, jammed on the X-Box, Gibbs making head-shots, I'm covered in red dots, then we took the vests off, threw away the hand grenades tried to beat the hacky record we made on Saturday'.

Last Week epitomises everything I love about kiwi music, which is going to be a trend throughout any 'Kiwi Classic' and when writing about it above, I kept using the word 'was' to describe much of it. 'Was' can very easily and should be replaced with 'is' because the beauty, craft and vibes of Last Week is still noticeable today, you could describe it as time-less. The subject matter and production can still be thoroughly enjoyed today and that's as good a mark of a classic, great musical project as any other.

Along those lines, Last Week encapsulates a very specific aspect of kiwi culture and does so with so much skill. This EP is a grounding point for me and while it will always take me back to a certain time of my life, it will always be something I can fall back on to find comfort in being myself, being different and putting craft ahead of material luxuries. I'd strongly advise y'all to play it back numerous times, sit with it for a week or two and embrace it, let it mould how us young kiwis take Aotearoa forward.