Format CD Length 3:50 | Genre Hip hop, electronica Label MTC, Universal | |
Released 5 January 2009 (2009-01-05) (NZ) Writer(s) Tautogia, Diamond, Fa'Afou, Kibulu, Gremillo | ||
"Brother" is a single by New Zealand hip-hop group Smashproof, released in early 2009. The song features Gin Wigmore. It was made as a metaphor to life in South Auckland. The song debuted in New Zealand at number twenty-three on 26 January 2009, rising to number one in its fifth week, where it stayed on the RIANZ Top 40 for eleven weeks, finally being knocked off the top spot by Eminem's "We Made You". It also had minor notoriety in Germany, reaching #81 on their national chart.
The song broke a 23-year-old record by clocking up the longest consecutive run at number-one by a local act on the New Zealand Singles Chart. The record was previously set by the America’s Cup-themed single "Sailing Away" by All Of Us, which spent nine consecutive weeks at the top in 1986.
The song's lyrics concern the January 2008 killing of alleged tagger Pihema Cameron in Manukau, New Zealand by Bruce Emery.
The song was certified 2x Platinum on 6 September 2009, selling over 30,000 copies. It stayed on the chart for twenty-nine weeks.