Stan Walker: 'There's a lot of chaos that's happening'

Stan Walker and rapper Nauti have joined forces with legendary US producer 9th Wonder — who has worked with the likes of Jay-Z and Mary J. Blige — to create 'One Life', a new single rooted in healing and unity.

The collaboration came together during an APRA songwriting camp, where the trio linked up with producer Bharu, as they bonded over culture and heritage.

"We just started talking about our lives and our stories and where we come from and our backgrounds for hours and then, bam, the song just happened real quick," Walker told Afternoons.

With the spark ignited, they came up with the tune and first lyrics: 'hey brother, hey sister.'

“We just started going off that and that was the theme, is just to bring people together.”

Nauti echoes that sense of organic connection.

"We didn't know what we were going to be writing about," Nauti told Afternoons. "It just started off as a conversation about our culture.

"When I heard about [Stan Walker] going to Haiti and helping with the earthquake relief, that's where my family's from, in the Caribbean, so we were already on the same page."

Walker travelled to Haiti in 2010, just weeks after a devastating magnitude-7 earthquake displaced tens of thousands and claimed countless lives. The experience left a lasting mark.

"It was insane… we were just gobsmacked from the moment we got out of the airport," Walker says. "We kind of had our own places to eat and stay and stuff like that, and oh, I felt so sick to my stomach, because we were going to eat, and just watching people bathe and drink out of dirty puddles."

For Nauti, who has been writing raps since he was 16 and landed his first major gig opening for iconic US hip-hop duo Mobb Deep, the session wasn't about securing a spot on the track.

"9th Wonder said the biggest ego in the room is the music, so I wasn't trying to get a placement or anything. I was just like, can we make music for the people? I want to heal and just bring everyone together … it just happened so fast, you know, it was pretty effortless."

The song, he says, is "good for the soul".

"The music industry's hard, you know, if you're young, trying to come up, it ain't easy. There's heaps of politics. There's just all types of things going on."

Walker sees 'One Life' as a reminder of what connects us.

"To remind people, regardless of where you come from, what your background, what your beliefs, at the end of the day, we all bleed the same.

"There's a lot of chaos that's happening, not just here in Aotearoa, but all around the world. People are living in fear, and people are divided.

"I feel like it's my responsibility as an artist, and I take it on very heavy, that my job is to bring hope, life, healing, and joy to people."

"No matter the skin colour, the class system, we're all one," Nauti adds.