SWIDT Announce Nationwide Tour w/ Melodownz + IllBaz

Onehunga hip hop crew SWIDT have announced their first ever headline tour of Aotearoa this October, with shows lined up alongside the High Beams crew of Melodownz and IllBaz. The award-winning team of SmokeyGotBeatz, SPYCC, INF, JAMAL and BoomerThaGod are riding a fresh wave of acclaim for their new The Most Electrifying EP, which features the socially-conscious track 'No Emotions In the Wild'. The four main centres will bear witness to a truckload of killer rap tunes from a posse of artists at the height of their powers, here are the details...

SWIDT with special guests Melodownz and IllBaz

Friday 5th October – Dunedin, Ubar
Saturday 6th October – Wellington, San Fran
Friday 12th October - Auckland, The Studio
Saturday 13th October - Christchurch, The Empire

Tickets available from 12.00pm, Friday 24th August

Here's footage of SWIDT performing their track 'No Emotions In The Wild' live in RNZ's studios...

Check out the clip for SWIDT's party-starting recent single 'Who Run It'...

Check out 'Red Wine' by the team of Melodownz, IllBazz, Raiza Biza and High H00ps from High Beams...

Press release:

Brace yourselves! The multi award-winning SWIDT are hitting the road this October for their first-ever headline tour of New Zealand.

The collective from Onehunga will take their unique blend of homegrown hip-hop to the country’s four main centres - playing Ubar in Dunedin on Friday, October 5; San Fran in Wellington on Saturday, October 6; the Studio in Auckland on Friday, October 12; and the Empire in Christchurch on Saturday, October 13.

SWIDT will be supported by fellow Kiwi acts Melodownz and illbaz, rounding off a kick-ass line-up of local hip-hop royalty.

The tour, presented by Eccles Entertainment and Mai fm, follows the recent release of SWIDT’S latest EP, THE MOST ELECTRIFYING.

“Not only have SWIDT proven their place at the top of NZ hip-hop, they’ve proven they have much more to say and better yet, why we should listen” - NZ Herald

“THE MOST ELECTRIFYING is a wonderfully self-contained vignette of everything the group has achieved in the past year or so, with masterful production and a victorious narrative” - The Spinoff

SWIDT - made up of SmokeyGotBeatz, SPYCC, INF, JAMAL and BoomerThaGod - started gaining traction in 2016 with the SWIDT vs. Everybody compilation, growing a cult following with their street hit ‘312’. A year later they made their mark in the mainstream, drawing critical acclaim for their debut album STONEYHUNGA. The record earned a handful of nominations at the Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards, with SWIDT walking away with awards for ‘Best Hip-Hop Album of the Year’ and ‘Best Group of the Year’.

Six months later, SWIDT released STONEYHUNGA: The bootleg EP, featuring their hit ‘Conquer’, which made the Top 20 in the APRA Silver Scroll nominations in 2017.

The upcoming tour provides Kiwi fans across New Zealand, the chance to see SWIDT raise the roof. Their support acts, MeloDownz and illbaz, are also not to be missed. They’re both notable names in their own right. But also combined, the pair have been turning heads with their collab project High Beams, which also involves Raiza Biza.

It sets the scene for what will undoubtedly be one of the most talent-packed local headline tours this year, with fans set to witness three of New Zealand’s finest hip-hop acts at the top of their game.

It also paves the way for SWIDT and illbaz’s part in making history at Western Springs in 2019, when they join the line-up for Six60’s record breaking concert on February 23, where they’ll perform to more than 40,000 people.