PNC (aka Sam Hansen) is todays most talked about up & coming artist in Aotearoa Hip-hop. His fluid flow has drawn comparisons to legends like Jay-Z and Notorious BIG but, don’t get it twisted, his brand of Hip-hop is distinctly Aotearoa. Hailing from Palmerston North, PNC gained underground notoriety performing alongside Auckland’s Breakin Wreckwordz. His unofficial single Day In The Life stayed at number one on the Bfm charts for three weeks and received serious radioplay. He followed that with appearances on P-Money’s 321 Remix, Get Back and the NZ chart topping Stop The Music single from the Magic City album. His refreshing style has caught the attention of NZ Hip-hop’s elite. At the age of 21 he had already worked with seminal NZ artists such as Scribe, DJ Sir-Vere, Frontline, Dawn Raid, Nesian Mystik, Che Fu and Chong Nee to name a few. His guest appearances alone have led people to credit him with arguably “the best flow in New Zealandâ€.
In 2006 he realeased his debut solo album Rookie Card which quickly garnered much critical acclaim. His singles Just Roll & PN Whoa were top 20 chart hits, and Who Betta Than This was an underground smash, propelled by the all-star remix. In 2007 he was nominated for 2 New Zealand Pacific Music Awards and 2 Australian Urban Music Awards. He won Best Hip-Hop Album at the prestigious Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards. Rookie Card was also named top 10 New Zealand Album of the Year by Yahoo! Xtra Music and recieved a five star rating from the Sunday Star Times.
