Raised in Favona, a suburb in Auckland, part of the Māngere area, the FavonaBoyz create their path as one of New Zealand's rising talent groups. The group consists of Fyz305, Mou305, Gucii305, and Ola305. The group are all of Tongan descent except for Fyz305 who is Cook Islander. The FavonaBoyz showcase their diverse sound as they explore different genres expressed in their Homeland album. In their music, there is a song and sound for every listener.
We were able to speak to FavonaBoyz member, Ola305, and he gave us a deep dive on the origins of FavonaBoyz and where they look forward to going in the future. The group formed later on in life, but the boys all grew up together in primary school and have known each other for a little over a decade. Each member of the group grew up wanting to be different things, but they didn't have anyone to look up to showing them how to pursue their dreams so they paved their own way.
In paving their own path, Ola305 was the first one to start rapping and everyone else followed suit combining their own individuality and meshing it all together to create their own unique sound. Their most recent release is All I Need which samples Pualena by Josh Tatofi, and expresses what the reality is of liking a girl. Fyz305 and Ola305 were the main features on the song blending their gifts of singing and rapping.
“We just wanted to show my little brothers or the ones younger than us that you can just do whatever you want basically.” — Ola305
On their way to breaking their own threshold to share their voice in the music space, they hope to one day perform at stadiums, all while continuing to have fun and stay true to who they are. “I just want to see us having fun and making songs because music really brought us to each other, see new places, and open doors to meet new people,” Ola305 says. Finding music inspirations from every genre and artists all across the world, they were connected with Mr. Musik from Cutthroat Mode. We quickly learned they were also closely related to the FavonaBoyz despite being separated from the Pacific Ocean. With Cutthroat Mode being veterans in the Polynesian rap space, we asked Mr. Musik, 1/3 of Cutthroat Mode to share his thoughts on New Zealand's fresh music boy group.
“They're actually my first cousins so it's pretty cool to see our family across the world pursue the same path as us in the states. Their chemistry is unmatched. You can tell these boys live what they rap about. Different textures of creativity are definitely displayed beautifully within the group. I've had the pleasure of hearing some unreleased music and trust me when I say they have so much more in store for the near future. If they continue to lock in on their craft, I can see them engraving their footprints in this market before this year ends. 305 to the world.” — Mr. Musik
With new music on the rise, the blessing from Cutthroat Mode, we are excited to see the journey of Aotearoa's newest boy group.
Images provided by the featured individuals or sourced from their public social media profiles and online platforms. All rights remain with the original creators. Originally published in PMN+ Magazine, July 2024 (Vol. 1 No. 3).
July 2024 · Digital Magazine
