Best Hip Hop Artist and Best Soul/RnB Artist are two Aotearoa Music Awards that honour New Zealand music artists for outstanding recordings of the genres of hip hop, and soulorR&B.[1] The award was first awarded in 2002asBest R&B/Hip Hop Album,[2] and in 2003 it was called Best Urban Album.[3]In2004 it moved to Best Urban/Hip Hop Album. In 2017 the award was split into two separate awards: Best Hip Hop Artist and Best Soul/RnB Artist. The entry criteria were also changed to require either an album or a minimum of five single releases in the eligibility period.[4]
In 2016, the award was presented to Aaradhna her album Brown Girl. She refused to accept the award, saying she felt the inclusion of both R&B music and hip hop in the same "urban" category was due to racial stereotyping and that she felt as a pop/R&B artist, she shouldn't be in the same category as hip hop acts. Aaradhna informally awarded the Tui to fellow nominee SWIDT for their album SmokeyGotBeatz Presents SWIDT vs EVERYBODY. Recorded Music NZ still lists Aaradhna as the winner of the category.[5]
Recorded Music NZ CEO Damian Vaughan responded to the incident, saying that "urban" was an industry term used by New Zealand radio, but that the Urban/Hip Hop category would be reevaluated before the 2017 awards.[6] As a result, the Best Urban/Hip Hop Album category was reevaluated ahead of the 2017 New Zealand Music Awards. The award was split into two genre categories: Best Hip Hop Artist and Best Soul/RnB Artist.[4]
^While the 2016 award was formally awarded to Aaradhna for Brown Girl, she refused to accept it and informally presented it to fellow nominee SWIDT. "Aaradhna claims racism, gives away Tui at NZ Music Awards". NZ Herald. NZME. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
