Illegal Musik

Illegal Musik was founded by CEO Mark Arona (aka Patriarch of NZ hip hop group Ill Semantics) and business partner Eddie Bennett (aka Hard Work) mid-2007. Their first two signings J.Williams and Erakah picked up both Best Male and Female artist awards at the 2010 Pacific Island Music Awards.

The label's production house is headed up by Inoke Finau "N.O.X" (lead guitarist of Rock Band Junipah).

Illegal Musik produced the first all LIVE 3D Music Video for artist J.Williams 'You Got Me' through a partnership with New Zealand company 3D Live and Director Damien Caine. They picked up an award for the video 'You Got Me' for innovation in New Zealand Music in 2010 and the single also picked up 'Best Hip-Hop Video' at the Juice TV Awards (May 2010).

The label have also signed a partnership with Warner Australia and have released three singles from J.Williams 'You Got Me' (July/ August 2010). 'Takes Me Higher - Illegal Remix (2011) and 'Live It Up' (2011).

The name "Illegal Musik" came from the title of the first EP for founder Patriarch's group, Ill Semantics. [edit]

2018 Rape Conviction[1] A jury has found two men well-known in the music industry guilty of raping and sexually assaulting an intoxicated woman in a Tauranga motel room. The jury of four men and seven women took three hours to come back with unanimous guilty verdicts on four charges which were denied by Mark Arona, 40, and 46-year-old Peter John Chambers, who are hip-hop music producers and DJs. The pair, whose trial began in Tauranga District Court on October 9, has been found guilty of one charge each of sexual violation by rape and sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection. Chambers was found guilty of being the principal offender in the rape offence, and Arona as a party by encouraging the rape. Arona was the principal offender in the other sexual assault offence and Chambers was found guilty of being a party to that offence. The complainant told the jury she was intoxicated and had blacked out after having a puff from a cannabis cigar and later vividly recalled Arona and Chambers both violating her. Arona's evidence was that he had a threesome with the woman and it was consensual. But Chambers denied he was involved in a threesome and refuted the complainant's claim that she blacked out at any stage that night and was incapable of giving her consent. Both men insisted the complainant was being "flirty" and indicated she was "up for" having sex with them and for some reason had made up false allegations. Arona is the chief executive of the independent record label and entertainment company Illegal Musik.

Illegal Musik has signed a lot of artists coming from different genres.[2]

• DJCXL - member of Ill Semantics
• Erakah - R&B singer, best known for her collaboration with J.Williams on the single, "Your Style"
• Vince Harder - R&B singer, best known for his collaboration with P-Money
• J.Williams - R&B singer, who had a No.1 single, "You Got Me"
• K.One - rapper
• Tyson Tyler - rapper
• Brooke Duff - pop singer, best known for her single "Till The End"
• Junipah - rock band
• Erin Simpson - TV presenter

• Titanium (Pop boy band, best known for their number one single, Come On Home.)

This is the list of albums released under Illegal Musik.

• List of record labels: I–Q