Philip Bell - aka DJ Sir-Vere - has been made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the Queen's Birthday Honours.
The Kiwi music icon has been a pioneer and champion of hip hop music in New Zealand for nearly 30 years, and it's fitting he's been recognised for his services to music.
Early in his career at record company BMG NZ, he worked with artists including DLT and Che-Fu, as well as the Urban Pacifika Record label.
This led to several gold and platinum record releases, propelling New Zealand urban music into the mainstream.
He hosted the Trueschool Hip Hop Show on 95bFM, which paved the way for Mai FM (of which he is currently programme director), George FM and Flava.
In 1997 he ran the first of several International Turntable Federation competitions in New Zealand, and from 2001 to 2005 he was involved in the Aotearoa Hip Hop Summit.
He instigated the charity single 'Think Twice' in 2008, was involved with the Spark Boroughs Project to build community basketball courts throughout Auckland in 2015 and contributed to Auckland Museum's Volume exhibition in 2016.
Newshub.
