Dirty Records

Dirty Records is an independent record label based in Auckland, New Zealand, founded in 2001 by music producer Peter "P-Money" Wadams and his business partner Callum August. The label emerged during a period of growing visibility for New Zealand’s hip hop scene and focused primarily on releasing and developing hip hop artists. Its roster and associated releases included artists such as P-Money, Scribe, PNC, Frontline, David Dallas, and Unique. The label’s catalogue covered both artist albums and producer-led projects. P-Money’s releases through the label included Big Things, Big Things Instrumentals, Magic City, and Unreleased Joints & Remixes. Other notable releases associated with Dirty Records included Scribe’s The Crusader and Rhymebook, PNC’s Ooooooh...On The PNC Tip - Mixtape, Rookie Card, and Bazooka Kid, Frontline’s What You Expect? and Borrowed Time, David Dallas’s Something Awesome, and Unique’s Jerry 4 W.A. Dirty Records has been described as one of the standout success stories of a thriving New Zealand music scene. Its significance lies less in the scale of a multinational music company than in its role as an independent platform for locally developed hip hop talent. By connecting producer-led projects with releases by emerging and established New Zealand rappers, the label helped create a recognizable catalogue around the country’s hip hop community. Publicly available reference material identifies the label’s Auckland base, its 2001 founding, its founders, its hip hop focus, and its artist and album catalogue. The available material does not establish a current corporate owner, parent company, listed status, present operating status, or a definitive current executive structure.

Dirty Records was established in Auckland in 2001 by New Zealand music producer Peter "P-Money" Wadams and business partner Callum August. The label was created as an independent outlet during the expansion of New Zealand’s hip hop culture and concentrated primarily on locally connected hip hop projects. Its early catalogue included P-Money’s Big Things, released in 2001, followed by Unique’s Jerry 4 W.A. in 2002 and P-Money’s Big Things Instrumentals in the same year. These releases established a catalogue that combined vocal hip hop, producer work, and instrumental material. The label subsequently broadened its artist roster and release programme through work associated with Scribe, PNC, Frontline, and David Dallas. Scribe’s The Crusader appeared in 2003, followed by P-Money’s Magic City in 2004. Frontline released What You Expect? in 2004 and Borrowed Time in 2005. PNC’s catalogue included the Ooooooh...On The PNC Tip - Mixtape from 2005, Rookie Card from 2006, and Bazooka Kid from 2009. P-Money also issued Unreleased Joints & Remixes in 2007, while Scribe released Rhymebook in the same year. David Dallas’s Something Awesome followed in 2009. The label has been characterized as one of the standout success stories of a thriving New Zealand music scene. That assessment reflects Dirty Records’ role in giving a coherent independent platform to a group of artists and producers associated with the country’s hip hop movement. Rather than being documented as a broad-based entertainment conglomerate, Dirty Records is primarily known through its releases, roster, and contribution to New Zealand’s independent hip hop infrastructure. The available reference material does not provide a detailed account of the label’s later corporate structure, ownership, management changes, financial performance, or current release activity. Its present status is therefore recorded as unknown rather than assumed to be active or defunct.

• 2009

  Later documented catalogue entries

  [1]Dirty Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  The reference catalogue lists PNC’s Bazooka Kid and David Dallas’s Something Awesome among the label’s later releases.

• 2007

  Catalogue broadens through remixes and new artist releases

  [1]Dirty Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  The label released P-Money’s Unreleased Joints & Remixes and Scribe’s Rhymebook.

• 2005

  Frontline and PNC releases

  [1]Dirty Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  Dirty Records issued Frontline’s Borrowed Time and PNC’s Ooooooh...On The PNC Tip - Mixtape.

• 2004

  Further artist development

  [1]Dirty Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  The label released P-Money’s Magic City and Frontline’s What You Expect?.

• 2003

  Scribe releases The Crusader

  [1]Dirty Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  Scribe’s The Crusader was added to the label’s hip hop catalogue.

• 2002

  Expansion of the early catalogue

  [1]Dirty Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  The label released Unique’s Jerry 4 W.A. and P-Money’s Big Things Instrumentals.

• 2001

  Dirty Records founded

  [1]Dirty Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  Peter "P-Money" Wadams and Callum August founded the independent Auckland label.

• 2001

  P-Money releases Big Things

  [1]Dirty Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  Big Things became one of the label’s early producer-led releases.

An Auckland-based independent label focused on New Zealand hip hop and artist-led releases.

• Studio album · 2001

  Big Things

  P-Money’s 2001 album and one of the earliest documented releases associated with Dirty Records. It represents the label’s producer-centred approach to New Zealand hip hop.

• Instrumental album · 2002

  Big Things Instrumentals

  A 2002 instrumental release by P-Money, showing Dirty Records’ interest in beat-driven and production-focused formats alongside conventional vocal albums.

• Studio album · 2003

  The Crusader

  Scribe’s 2003 album, included in Dirty Records’ documented catalogue and representative of the label’s support for New Zealand hip hop artists.

• Studio album · 2004

  Magic City

  P-Money’s 2004 release, extending the producer and artist work that formed an important part of Dirty Records’ catalogue.

• Studio album · 2004

  What You Expect?

  Frontline’s 2004 album, one of the group’s documented releases associated with Dirty Records.

• Studio album · 2005

  Borrowed Time

  Frontline’s 2005 album and a further example of the label’s roster-based contribution to New Zealand hip hop.

• Mixtape · 2005

  Ooooooh...On The PNC Tip - Mixtape

  A 2005 PNC mixtape documented as part of Dirty Records’ catalogue, illustrating the label’s use of formats beyond conventional studio albums.

• Studio album · 2006

  Rookie Card

  PNC’s 2006 album associated with the label’s continuing support for New Zealand rap artists.

• Remix and archival release · 2007

  Unreleased Joints & Remixes

  A 2007 P-Money release built around unreleased material and remixes, reflecting the label’s producer-oriented catalogue.

• Studio album · 2007

  Rhymebook

  Scribe’s 2007 release listed among Dirty Records’ documented albums.

• Studio album · 2009

  Bazooka Kid

  PNC’s 2009 album and one of the later releases identified in the label’s catalogue.

• Studio album · 2009

  Something Awesome

  David Dallas’s 2009 album, included among the notable releases associated with Dirty Records.

• Studio album · 2002

  Jerry 4 W.A.

  Unique’s 2002 release, one of the early non-P-Money albums documented in Dirty Records’ catalogue.

1. 1Dirty Recordsen.wikipedia.org