Talisi or Tahlis Poasa 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.
Early life Poasa was born in New Zealand to Samoan heritage. He and his family moved to Sydney, Australia when he was three. He grew up in Goodna, Queensland. He attended Redbank Plains State High School.
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."
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.
His grandmother is Ana Tuisila, played Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's grandmother, Lia Maivia, on the show Young Rock.
Career In October 2019, Lisi released his debut single "Say Less".
In August 2020, Lisi released the extended play Average Man. The EP was recorded in his brother's bedroom, released organically, with no marketing
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.
In May 2021, Lisi co-founded the record label Castille Records with Christian Brown and signed rap collective TH4 W3ST and rapper Nokz78. "Dreams" was released in June 2021.
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."
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."
Discography Studio albums +List of studio albums, with release date and label shown Title Details Perspective Released: 19 November 2021 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 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 AUSPeak chart positions in Australia: For "Stand For": NZHot For "Fists Up": For: "Look At Me Now: For: "Baby We On" For: "Pray for More" For "Olé": "Say Less" 2019 — 35 ARIA: Gold RMNZ: Platinum rowspan="4" "The Come Up" — 9 RMNZ: Platinum "Fist's Up" 2020 — 37 "64 Bars Home" — 28 "Stand For" 54 — ARIA: Gold Full Circle (Chillinit album) "Look At Me Now" 2021 — 17 RMNZ: Gold "Dreams" — 14 ARIA: Gold RMNZ: Gold Perspective "Til the Death" — 21 "Baby We On" — 10 RMNZ: Platinum "Pray for Me" 2022 — 21 Lone Wolf (Melodownz album) "Like This" — 31 rowspan="6" "Make It Out" — 7 "Olé" 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.
! |- | 2022 | "Stand for" (Chillinit featuring Lisi) (Rilind Kocinaj/Tahlis Poasa/Benjamin Sutton/Blake Turnell) | Most Performed Hip Hop/Rap Work
References