South Auckland reggae band Sweet & Irie won the Phillip Fuemana Award for best up and coming artist at last weekend’s 2009 Pacific Music Awards. The band is the creation of singer/song writer Edward Ru (Lead Vocals). Born in South Auckland and raised in Otara, the Cook Islander grew up the hard way and watched his brother grow up to be a patched member in a gang. “I thought I didn’t want the same things for my kids, so through the music I thought I could change that path and work to be an inspiration and a role model to my family”, explains Ed. He enrolled in a tertiary course to learn the fundamentals of all instruments, bass and rhythm guitar, drums, keyboards and vocal training. After successfully completing the course he went on to do papers in contemporary music, graduating in 2005. In 2006 Sweet & Irie independently recorded and released ‘Ban the Burn’ an anti P song with a video that played on local music TV station C4. A year later they signed with Dawn Raid Entertainment. Sweet & Irie burst on the local music scene with the top 10 hit ‘Feels Like Magic’ in 2008 and the band has been refining its craft ever since.
My Girl by “Sweet and Irie”
