Kiwi rapper Scribe, real name Malo Luafutu, has announced he’s stepping away from making music – but not before dropping one final album, which he describes as his “most personal” yet.
The proud Cantabrian took to Instagram to share that this release will be his last after 22 years in the game.
“I’m not doing media or promo,” he wrote. “Everything I want to say is in the music. The journey I had to take to get to this point is not for the faint-hearted.
After tomorrow, I will be retired from recording music. God has put a new song in my heart and a new vision of His plan for me.
“I hope you enjoy this last contribution and most personal album to NZ hip-hop – a community I have loved being a part of and will always support in some way.”
His new album, 'Scribe is Dead', is out now on streaming platforms and features 11 tracks plus two interludes, ‘Newshub’ and ‘Billybreaks’. The cover art shows a portrait of Scribe formed from a constellation of stars.
Some tracks are completely new, while others have been released over recent years.
‘Billybreaks’ includes a 24-second clip of a news anchor discussing the warrant for his arrest back in 2017. At the time, Luafutu faced multiple drug charges and had several outstanding warrants after failing to appear in court.
By the end of 2018, repeated bail breaches landed him behind bars for three months – a sentence he later admitted was necessary to get his life back on track.
"Jail was important for me to go, and just get clean," he told Newshub in 2019. "It gave me a lot of time to assess my situation, it gave me a lot of time to get my mind right."
Thanks, Scribe - not many, if any, have done the NZ rap scene quite like you.
