A few days out from the third annual Aotearoa Hip Hop Summit, co-organiser Phil Bell was looking a lot less concerned than he had been a month earlier.

Difficulties with finalising sponsorship deals and a late international act pull out meant that the Summit programme was printed only three weeks out from the 48 hour event on the first weekend of October. Of course that risked jeopardising ticket sales and after a year of planning Bell was anxious to see the event maximise its potential.

And succeed it did, Good weather finally blessed the third Aotearoa Hip Hop Summit and the DJs, b-boys, mcs, graffitists and curious were out in numbers at the Auckland Town Hall and Aotea Square. The weekend ran to schedule, looked flash (with the aid of prominent sponsors' product placement which also helped keep the ticket prices down), and it seemed that any wrinkles from previous years had been been smoothed out.

Organisers Bell (DJ Sir Vere) and Ali Toto estimated 2,000 headed to the ticketed events held on Friday and Saturday night - enough for them to cover costs and find some enthusiasm to start the process all over again! In every element of the event they saw an improvement on last year's (by no means shoddy) Summit.

"We had a better handle on production," says Bell. "It ran to time, had no blowouts. Now that we've got the event down, we can focus on things inside the formats. It always takes a few years to get it right."

Around 400 attended the free panel discussion - led by MC Anton Carter which again opened event as a whole. Carter observed what many were thinking, "We are watching the evolution of NZ hip hop."

International artists including British hip hop theatre performer Jonzio-D and USA b-boy Teel Steel enthused about NZ's scene, while sharing their own hip hop histories to an enthralled audience. The major message from all speakers was of dedication and focus with plenty of positive feedback about Aotearoa. Minnesota graffiti artist Ewok said, "Be happy with what you are doing. I'm impressed with the scene here - it's real dope - eons beyond what we're doing in the States".

When the panel was handed over to a group of local figureheads (P-Money, DJ Raw, and Dawn Raid's Brother D and Andy Murnane) they focused on the future development of the NZ scene. A spare seat was offerred to any female involved in hip hop who wanted to speak, but no-one took up on the invitation. The exodus at the end of the international section indicated that many were there for the stories rather than advice.

Friday night's 3 on 3 Invitational Battle saw eight local breaking crews judged by the international b-boys - an evolution from last year's breaker showcase. Held in the Town Hall this year, a couple of fixed cameras projecting onto a screen above the action ensured that attention was firmly to the front of the room! There were lines outside when the doors opened at 5:30, illustrating P-Money's popularity. Between b-boy battles (DJ Kerb providing the soundtrack), local groups took to the stage, including R.E.S., Ill Semantics (see story this issue) and closing act the Deceptikonz. The Quik & Easy crew from Auckland won a Playstation (the major sponsors for the event) and other sponsor goodies. Second placegetters Common Ground were the only South Island representatives.

Aotea Square was busy on Saturday, four local graffiti crews joining forces with internationals for the Disrupt The System live graffiti art show. Ninety metres of progressively covered ply panelling provided a bright backdrop for the outdoor stage showcasing up and coming performers R.E.S., Savage Poets, 3DESPMC's, Word Perfect Fresh Dialects and Hamofide.

A b-boy workshop took place on Saturday afternoon, local breakers taking advantage of the international guests' expertise. Throughout the event an exhibition in the Town Hall showed some outstanding canvas-based pieces by various artists, brought together by Summit co-organiser Elliott O'Donnell, who also launched his Disrupt The System graffiti art magazine over the weekend.

To the big event - Saturday night's ITF Final. This year veteran champion P-Money took a judging role, along with DJ Raw, and international guest DJs Apollo and Vinroc. Picked from regional finals held earlier this year, the nine finalists (recent DMC winner Alphabethead unfortunately had to pull out due to study commitments), all displayed fine turntable skills. After the preliminary rounds DJ CXL, DJ Shan, Goosh and The Abbot battled for a chance to play against first and second ranked DJs Manchoo and Mouli, Wellington's Goosh and The Abbot from Hastings getting through to the semis. Again it was Aucklanders Mouli and Manchoo who stood out, and the final battle saw Manchoo taking the title of NZ ITF champion 2002 and the winnings which include a trip to the ITF World Champs in Germany.

The all-ages night was interspersed with entertainment. P-Money's Dirty Records Showcase saw the 4 Corners mcs running around like madmen and ex-Sheelaroc mc Ladi6 spouting lyrical alongside the ever- entertaining Scribe. Wellington's Footsouljahs further encouraged the crowd prior to the final battle. Their turntablist, the esteemed DJ Raw, was later awarded a $5000 British Council Scholarship for Outstanding Achievement in NZ Hip Hop.

Closing international act (Apollo and Vinroc with mc Tajai from the Souls of Mischief) was, at best, on a par with the Kiwi performers seen over the weekend, which indicates the genuine strength of the locals.

"That's reflective of everything in NZ hip hop at the moment," says Ali Toto. "From the production to the ability of the crews, everything has stepped up. It feeds off itself - as the Summit gets better, the crews are better, making the Summit better."

Organisers spent "way more" on the international acts this year and say that the positive reports made back in the States by the likes of Ken Swift, who came last year, are invaluable. There was significant interest from the Australian hip hop community but as they consciously limited the number of performances this year, no slots were available.

Ticket prices were also deliberately kept low ($30 weekend pass), when, as the organisers observe, the Summit is really a $100 event. It is this issue which creates the need for substantial sponsor support and provided the major headache for Bell, who believes the funding situation will improve for next year. This is an invaluable event for the ongoing development of our phenomenal hip hop scene, so let's all hope that it does.