Roll up to Albany's Tai Ping Supermarket in northern Auckland and what you probably don't expect to see is a Korean dude rapping out the front with his two homies. But here we are in the world of Hanju Kim, a young MC who started putting out underground hip-hop tracks in 2013. Beginning as Hans.K, he recently took up the name .hans., to represent a new seriousness with his craft. His latest video is a mini-tour of the Koreatown spots in his neighbourhood and gives a straight-up introduction to a young rapper coming into his own.In January, he released the mixtape EP, 1995, which went from party jams to moody mumble rap all in the space of three songs. We caught up with him as he releases a video for the lead track, "Better,"'Noisey: How'd you get started?.hans.: I been doing it since 2012 I guess, but on a way smaller scale. A couple of years ago I started taking it more seriously, up to the point where I put the EP out. That was my first proper project. It culminated from years of me doing stuff in my bedroom.What are you influences?In terms of straight rapping, my influences are Home Brew, Team Dynamite, David Dallas, just lots of NZ dudes. Home Brew especially though, I grew up on them. I'm really into mellow dudes like Chance and Mac Miller as well.That makes sense - on the 1995 mixtape the other two tracks are pretty laidback. They're at the borderline of rapping and singing really, aren't they?Yeah, Isaiah Rashad too - rappers who hold melodies, even though they don't really sing. That stuff I really get inspired by too sonically. Straight content though, it was groups like Home Brew that really showed me to be authentic, like rapping with the accent. When I was first starting, I was trying pretty hard to sound American. It was good to get into NZ hip hop and realise I should just be myself and try not to sound like someone else.You also represent for Koreans in New Zealand with the Asian Supermarket and the Korean BBQ on the music video?The beat was made by a Korean guy who lives in Korea, so I wanted to show that dynamic of multi-culturalism and being a second-generation migrant. I wanted to have the Korean ethnoscapes - the backdrop of the video being my cultural heritage and who I am. Even the pool hall is one in Koreatown, so all the locations were Korean ethnoscapes. That pool hall is one that me and my mates go to a lot.Ethnoscapes, huh? What do you do when you're not making tracks?I study Human Geography at Auckland University.How would you describe your place within the local scene? Who else have you worked with?Ages ago, when we were all in Year 13, I did a song with KVKA. And then last year, I did a song with Brandn Shiraz, as part of The Grow Room. There are a lot of underground crews in New Zealand. Until recently, I was just like the token Asian dude. But now me and my friends have created a crew - Mi.an - which is me and Imugi, plus one other dude who hasn't debuted yet. There'll also be some other artists and fashion designers involved. It's really cool, because I feel like I'm part of a clique now. We're looking to make a collective project - an album with possibly a magazine to go with it. The future's looking good I guess!I like the way "Better" really changes up that big Ciara hook.Yeah the dude who made it - B R L L N T - is a real genius. I found it on his Soundcloud and he had it up for free download. He's definitely got a buzz in the Korean scene over there. I got the beat and made the initial recording in 30 minutes, but the mixing took two months because I kept coming back to it, trying to fix little things.The song itself is just inspired by the fact that before the 1995 project, I had a really dry spell of a year and a half. "Better" is just like the culmination of getting back into music and realizing that I enjoy it so much. For the longest time, I'd do songs and they just didn't come together and I'd hate everything. It sounds really cliche, but "Better" is almost like a new beginning of me getting back into music again.Catch .hans. May 20 at Auckland's Eight.
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