Che Fu 2026 New Zealand Music Hall of Fame Inductee

An Aotearoa musical figurehead whose monumental impact and influence continues to ripple through our community, Che Kuo Eruera Ness (Ngāti Whakatere, Mutalau) beloved by fans as Che Fu has been announced to be inducted into Te Whare Taonga Puoro o Aotearoa | New Zealand Music Hall of Fame at the upcoming 2026 Aotearoa Music Awards. Already an NZMHoF inductee (in 2014) in recognition of his landmark 1990's work with funk-rock dynamos Supergroove, Che Fu is one of very few local artists to receive the prestigious accolade not once but twice, joining a pantheon which also includes Jordan Luck (The Exponents) and Dave Dobbyn (Th' Dudes).

Recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2014 Pacific Music Awards, Che Fu's groundbreaking post-Supergroove solo and collaborative hip-hop, R&B and soul-funk works — first topping NZ charts alongside DLT with 'Chains' in 1996 — is credited as "effectively pav(ing) the way for the golden years of local hip-hop in the mid-2000s." His three decade, multi-faceted solo oeuvre includes such future-forward classics as 1998's 2b S.Pacific, 2001's Navigator — receiving a 25th anniversary silver vinyl LP reissue on 22nd May — and 2005’s Beneath The Radar, and collabs with peers Dam Native, Aaradhna, Nesian Mystik, and Team Dynamite. You can learn much more about Che Fu's journey in Gareth Shute's profile of the multi-award-winning artist for AudioCulture HERE.

The New Zealand Music Hall of Fame induction ceremony has not always been without drama. Salmonella Dub were to be inducted in 2017, but after selecting Te Whanganui-a-Tara post-punks Beat Rhythm Fashion ("a band or performer who had influenced them") to play at the ceremony, astonishingly "organisers deemed their selection... too obscure for TV audiences and rejected it. In response, the band then turned down entry to the NZ Hall of Fame."

This year's star-studded ceremony will feature Che Fu performing with his group The Kratez on Thursday 28th May at The Civic in Tāmaki Makaurau — you can scope out the huge list of finalists HERE.

"It is a privilege to welcome Che Fu into Te Whare Taonga Puoro o Aotearoa | the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame. Che’s legacy has shaped and is embedded in the musical culture of Aotearoa as a true pioneer of hip hop and Pasifika music, paving the way for generations to follow, and showing that hip hop can find mainstream success. Recorded Music NZ is honoured to take this opportunity to recognise Che’s enduring influence and incredible catalogue of recordings." - Jo Oliver, Recorded Music CEO

Revisit 'Fade Away' from Che Fu's 2001's classic Navigator...