Heartfelt tears well up in Susan Rose Tipuna’s eyes as she begins the first verse of her haunting song Goodbye. “Time heals all wounds, but some are too deep,” she sings. “Part of us all died with you when you went to sleep. It’s so sad to think of all your life you’ve missed. It’s so sad to say goodbye.”
Every time Susan (30) performs the song, she relives the agony of witnessing her dad Riki’s brutal, unsolved murder when she was just eight-years-old. But despite Riki’s terrible death, Susan insists there’s hope in the beautiful song too, which features on her debut album, released this week, called This Is My Story.
“I feel Dad’s spirit when I sing it and I know he is looking down on me,” she says, as the final notes of Goodbye fade away.
The talented soul diva, who is tipped to be New Zealand’s “next big thing”, was a whangai child – her mother was unable to look after her and, in a traditional Maori adoption, gave her to her cousin Riki and his wife Lynette. The couple, who lived in the small town of Wairoa, had helped care for more than 70 children and happily raised Susan as one of their own. “I’m so blessed that I was brought up in this way. My whangai parents showered me with love and taught me to be humble,” she says.
Wairoa has a strong gang presence and many of Susan’s immediate family are involved in gangs. The mum-of-three says her dad was at the wrong place at the wrong time when he was stabbed at the local carnival by someone believed to be a member of a rival gang.
“When Dad was killed, we were on the news and in the papers and when I look back we still haven’t laid to rest what happened to him. After the incident and the media coverage, we were looked upon in a negative way in Wairoa,” she says.
“I’m one of the few of my family that has got out of Wairoa, gone to university and travelled overseas. But throughout my journey I felt like my family has always been at my side, willing me to do my best.”It was a traumatic experience. I was so young. All I remember was waving goodbye to him and next thing, he was dead,” she says. “We still don’t know who did it. It’s always going to hurt, that the person who killed him hasn’t gone to jail. It brings a feeling of unrest.”
Having lost someone so close to her through gang violence, Susan was determined not to be sucked into the gang lifestyle she saw all around her, and set her heart on musical success. She did well at school, becoming Head Prefect at Wairoa College. But she found her true calling when she won a local karaoke contest at the age of 18 and realised her voice could be the making of her.
She went on to tour the world in bands, performing in Dubai, Uganda and the UK, and when she returned to New Zealand six years ago she came third in Maori Television’s popular talent quest Homai Te Pakipaki. But for Susan, who is also studying at university to be an early childhood teacher, releasing her debut album is the pinnacle of her success, and is a fitting tribute to the kind, generous man who took her into his family and his heart.
“Over the years there has been a lot of hurt and pain. Dad held us together and he has missed seeing his family grow and the chances of meeting his grandchildren,” she says.
Susan says that she had a very happy childhood, and despite the gangs’ bad reputation, she insists they were family first, gang members second. “Although gang life isn’t for me, I will always have those connections, and I’m not ashamed of it. They may be gang members but they are still my loved ones, and still committed to their families,” she says.
As she prepares for the launch of her album, Susan says she hopes her songs help Riki’s friends and relatives come to terms with losing someone they love. “This is not just my story, it’s also the story of my whanau and it’s very close to all our hearts,” she says. “I hope my music can help us all heal, finally.”
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