The latest song from Diaz Grimm has landed, joining his impressive and ever expanding catalogue, but also serving a tidy summation of the artist’s career to date.

The journey of Foreigners can trace its start way back in 2000, with an 11-year-old Diaz taping Eminem’s ‘Real Slim Shady’ from the radio onto cassette. Falling in love with the track and experiencing the standard play-rewind-repeat familiar to all music fans, it became the first ever rap song he learned the words to.

Not long after at age 15, Diaz downloaded ‘How We Do’ by The Game and 50 Cent.  After accidentally receiving the instrumental version, it inspired him to write a verse for the very first time.

Fast-forward several years, an EP, and two albums later, to Songhubs 2017 where Diaz collaborated with the man responsible for both of these iconic tracks, Mike Elizondo.

“When Mike and I first stepped into the studio I asked if we could start the day by playing ‘How We Do’ at full volume.  After the early 2000’s style rap set the scene, head bopping around the studio we came out of the day with a track laden with odes to that era of hip hop” – Diaz

Written entirely within the APRA Songhubs 2017 programme, Foreigners also features an outstanding verse from Grimm’s long time collaborator and fellow Waikato based rapper Raiza Biza, as well as Wellington’s soul songstress Iva Lamkum adding her effortless vocals.

With the current political atmosphere, the feeling of being foreign is a hot button topic globally, bringing people together just as much as it appears to be dividing them. Calling out this climate, Foreigners is a confident announcement to the world: Aotearoa is in the building.