New Zealand hip hop duo Sisters Underground are best known for their 1994 hit single “In The Neighbourhood”. The track was one of their two (the other was “Ain’t It True”) featured on the 1994 Second Nature/Volition compilation album “Proud: An Urban-Pacific Streetsoul Compilation” (voltcd77).
Brenda and Hassanah met as 13 year olds in high school at Hillary College in Otara, a southern suburb of Auckland with a largely Maori and Polynesian population.
“The group started out with four or five of us as a singing and dance group. We performed locally and at our high school, as well as others.
The Otara Music and Arts Centre (OMAC) was really a magnet for a lot of young people wanting to use their talent. For Brenda and I it provided a place that we could record our ideas in the studio, use the rehearsal room, put on shows and so on. The staff, Ina George and Sione Pasone, were very encouraging to us and provided a space that we felt like was our own.” [Hassanah Iroegbu]
The girls met Auckland music producer Alan Jansson – credited with creating the “urban Pacific street soul” sound – after winning a performance competition, and he and musician Lee Baker co-wrote the song with Brenda and Hassanah.
“Alan Jansson was one of the first to recognise our potential in the music industry. He generously invested his time and resources to help us realise our dream of completing a music single.” [Brenda Pua]
Brenda and Hassanah say the chorus for the song was inspired in part by the Sesame Street song “People In Your Neighbourhood”.
The video for the single, shot around Auckland suburb Mangere Bridge, was co-directed by music video veteran Kerry Brown and photographer Greg Semu. It’s quite a beautiful and emotive time capsule, displaying the togetherness of family and neighbourhood in the Pacifika community.
“Unlike many other hip hop groups trying to break into the industry in NZ by imitating the American sound, the driving force behind this wave of new music from Aotearoa was culture and originality. Our music was something completely new, and brought a sense of honesty and humility to the airwaves that hadn’t been heard before.” [Brenda]
“In The Neighbourhood” was released as a CD single (voltcd97) and vinyl 12″ (VOLT97) by Second Nature/Volition in Australia and New Zealand, with remixes by Robert Racic.
The single was also released in the UK, Italy and France.
One of only three singles lifted from the “Proud” compilation, the girls’ track was a resounding success in New Zealand reaching number 6 on the national singles chart. The song also made it to number 62 on the Australian singles chart with 10 weeks in the top 100, and was voted number 81 in the 1994 Triple J Hottest 100.
“In The Neighbourhood” became such a New Zealand cultural icon that it was partially rerecorded and remixed in 2003 to become the ident theme for New Zealand state owned TV station TV2. The new version was released in New Zealand on CD single by Joy Records (JOY003).
In October 2013 Sisters Underground reunited to perform “In The Neighbourhood” at the APRA Silver Scroll Awards, with a backing orchestra and choir. It was the first time they had performed together in over a decade.
Read the full interview with Brenda and Hassanah here.
VOLT 2023: A Volition Archive 