Cambridge on musical map

‘‘The creativity scene and music scene is just booming over there at the moment,’’ he said.

Diaz’s first performance was at the Cambridge Town Hall in 2008, where he performed the Cambridge Anthem, a song he wrote about his home town.

But performing overseas was always part of his long-term plan.

‘‘From a very young age I was naively confident, and that confidence is what I can give credit to over what’s been happening the past few years,’’ said Diaz.

Diaz attended Cambridge High School for third form (Year 9), then moved to Western Heights High School in Rotorua for a few years, where he became more serious about his music career.

He returned to Cambridge for his final year of high school.

He moved to Auckland in 2013 where he completed his first album, Osiris, which was released in 2015 when he went to the US.

The album topped the iTunes NZ hip hop charts and reached the official NZ top 20 album charts.

It was also nominated for hip hop album of the year at the New Zealand Music Awards.

The success propelled his career further and he was invited to go on a nationwide tour with Kiwi band Six60.

‘‘It really felt like home in America because really I was raised listening to American hip hop. ‘‘It’s very conservative over here. ‘‘I normally have braids in my hair and I have face tattoo, and in Cambridge it’s not the norm,’’ he laughed.

‘‘But in America, no one looks twice, and it’s nice not having to worry about other people.’’

He still adored his home town and was pleased to be back.

Last year he was invited to play SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas, and became the first self-managed unsigned artist from New Zealand to do so.

Returning home to New Zealand, he completed his sophomore album 2077, which was met with critical acclaim and lead Diaz to signing his first distribution deal with DRM.

Dates of his New Zealand tour have not been confirmed yet, but he hoped to play his final show at the Cambridge Town Hall, back where it all began.