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Hip Hop Minister

- Mua Strickson-Pua
Mua Strickson-Pua is probably the first Presbyterian minister to appear in a Hip Hop music video in New Zealand. He appeared in two videos, one by the group PSA and another by Nesian Mystik, in which his son Feleti is a member.
Mua's involvement with Hip Hop began in 1990 when he was appointed PIC Youth Consultant of Aotearoa. It was a reluctant beginning due to his dislike of the racist and degrading lyrics so prevalent in this style of music. Yet he saw a generation of Pacific youth who embraced Hip Hop as their own, so he became determined to bring faith and a positive cultural identity to this industry.
Mua and his son Feleti teamed up to perform and run workshops on Pasifika not only in New Zealand but also in Australia, Fiji and Samoa.
Mua is currently the chaplain at Tagata Pasifika Resources and Development Trust in Auckland. In addition the normal responsibilities of a chaplain he sees his role as "training up artists whose faith is a fundamental facet of their ministry and career . . . to pastor them". He believes that faith, music and art are woven into the Pacific Island culture and therefore need to find expression within the church.
