Lisi (rapper)

Lisi
Born
Talisi[1] or Tahlis Poasa[2][3]

2000 or 2001
New Zealand[4]
OriginGoodna, Queensland, Australia[5]
Genres
Occupations
  • Rapper
  • singer
  • songwriter
Years active2019–present
Labels

Talisi or Tahlis Poasa[1][2] known professionally as Lisi, is a New Zealand-born, Australian-based rapper and musician.

He lives in Goodna, Queensland and released his debut extended play Average Man in 2020 and studio album Perspective in 2021.[5]

Early life

Poasa was born in New Zealand to Samoan heritage. He and his family moved to Sydney, Australia when he was three.[4] He grew up in Goodna, Queensland.[6][7] He attended Redbank Plains State High School.[2]

Lisi told the ABC's The Pacific program in 2023, "[Growing up] I liked listening to rap. I think I liked how it made me feel empowered, You know, the way that they paint pictures with words, really takes you into a space where you put yourself in their shoes."[1]

As a teen, he posted videos to Instagram which gained popularity. Lisi said he was spurred on to try recording in a studio by suggestions from fans. He had saved enough money from working shifts in a factory as a machine operator to pay for time at a local studio and recorded what became his debut single, "Say Less" in 2019.[1][4]

His grandmother is Ana Tuisila, played Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's grandmother, Lia Maivia, on the show Young Rock.[1]

Career

In October 2019, Lisi released his debut single "Say Less".[8]

In August 2020, Lisi released the extended play Average Man.[9] The EP was recorded in his brother's bedroom, released organically, with no marketing[6]

In October 2020, Lisi featured on Chillinit's single "Stand For", which peaked at number 54 on the ARIA Charts and was nominated for Most Performed Hip Hop/Rap Work at the APRA Music Awards of 2022.[10][3]

In May 2021, Lisi co-founded the record label Castille Records with Christian Brown and signed rap collective TH4 W3ST and rapper Nokz78.[8][4] "Dreams" was released in June 2021.[6]

In November 2021, Lisi released the studio album, Perspective in conjunction with ADA/Warner Music Australia. NME said "Across its nine songs, Lisi explores his Samoan heritage, his goals as a rapper (both material and non-material) and the importance of community."[4]

In June 2022 Lisi performed his songs alongside the 25-piece Queensland Symphony Orchestra, which he described as "history making", adding "I'm doing something new. It's a step out of my comfort zone. And I get to do music that shows you who I am – it shows what I'm about."[5]

Discography

Studio albums

List of studio albums, with release date and label shown
Title Details
Perspective
  • Released: 19 November 2021[4]
  • Label: Castille Records, ADA, Warner
  • Format: Digital download, streaming

Extended plays

List of EPs, with release date and label shown
Title Details
Average Man
  • Released: 10 July 2020[9]
  • Label: 1530621 DK
  • Format: Digital download, streaming

Charted and/or Certified Singles

List of charted and/or certified singles, with year released, selected chart positions and album name shown
Title Year Peak chart positions Certification Album
AUS
[10]		 NZ
Hot
[11]
"Say Less"[8] 2019 —35 Non-album single
"The Come Up" —9
"Fist's Up"
(featuring Vicc.)		 2020 —37
"64 Bars Home" —28
"Stand For"
(Chillinit featuring Lisi)[14]		 54— Full Circle (Chillinit album)
"Look At Me Now"
(DJ Discretion featuring Lisi and Shely210)		 2021 —17 Non-album single
"Dreams"[6] —14 Perspective
"Til the Death" —21
"Baby We On"
(featuring EJ)		 —10
"Pray for Me"
(Melodownz featuring Lisi and Mikey Dam)[17]		 2022 —21 Lone Wolf (Melodownz album)
"Like This"
(featuring Nokz78)		 —31 Non-album single
"Make It Out" —7
"Olé"
(featuring JR)		 2023 —17
"Remain the Same" —20
"Fear No Man" 2024 —25
"Try Me" 2025 —35
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Awards and nominations

APRA Awards

The APRA Awards are held in Australia and New Zealand by the Australasian Performing Right Association to recognise songwriting skills, sales and airplay performance by its members annually.

Year Nominee / work Award Result Ref.
2022 "Stand for" (Chillinit featuring Lisi)
(Rilind Kocinaj/Tahlis Poasa/Benjamin Sutton/Blake Turnell)		 Most Performed Hip Hop/Rap Work Nominated [3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Dinah Lewis Boucher and Melissa Maykin (16 April 2023). "From a factory west of Brisbane to the big stage, rap artist Lisi is breaking new ground for Pasifika in Australia". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 "Redbank Plains High are learning more than just footy". Courier Mail. 6 May 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 "Nominees revealed for the 2022 APRA Music Awards!". APRA AMCOS. 7 April 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Ben Madden (13 December 2021). "Lisi: Samoan rapper determined to rep Goodna and share his own Perspective". NME. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Lisi". Queensland Symphony Orchestra. 2022. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Lisi: Leaving the Right Legacy (Interview)". Sniffers. June 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  7. ↑ "Behind the Bars Australia · Season 1 · Episode 3". Red Bull. 18 May 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "ADA/Warner Music Australia partners with Lisi's Castille Records". The Music Network. May 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  9. 1 2 Hau Latukefu (July 2020). "Brisbane's Lisi has released his highly anticipated debut EP titled Average Man and it's the feature this week". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  10. 1 2 Peak chart positions in Australia:
  11. ↑ "Lisi NZ Singles Chart History". Official New Zealand Music Chart. Retrieved 12 April 2026.
  12. ↑ "Co- Owner & Director @lisi4300 single "Say Less" is certified Gold in Australia!". Facebook. 7 May 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 "New Zealand single certifications – Lisi". Radioscope. Retrieved 22 May 2026. Type Lisi in the "Search:" field and press Enter.
  14. ↑ "Stand For". YouTube. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  15. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2022" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  16. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2026 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 3 March 2026.
  17. ↑ Johnson, Jacob (9 April 2022). "Kiwi MC Melodownz releasing gospel rap". 1News. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.