[2][3] One of the first globally successful pioneers of his country's unique style of hip-hop, Fuemana was one of New Zealand's greatest popular music icons of the 1990s.

Born in Ōtara, South Auckland, to a Niuean father and a Māori mother, Pauly had a difficult, poverty-stricken childhood, where his only real enjoyment came from making music with his brothers.

Along with his brother Phil Fuemana, Pauly cultivated the unique South Auckland musical genre of Urban Pasifika, bringing it to worldwide commercial and critical acclaim.

[5][6] Fuemana focused on his wife Kristine and six children, but grew sick during the mid 2000s; by the end of the decade, he had been diagnosed with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, an extremely rare neurological disorder similar to multiple sclerosis.

Signed to Auckland independent label Huh Records by Simon Grigg,[5] OMC reached worldwide fame in 1996 and 1997 with the single "How Bizarre", from their debut album of the same name.

[4] Fuemana often spoke about the song: "I put a lot of hidden stories in there so people could read between the lines and sense it for what it is instead of telling them, 'Yeah, we got pulled over by the cops, and my mate got his head smashed in, and we got arrested, and they found some pot on him'," he told Reuters in a 1997 interview.

[13] Fuemana died at North Shore Hospital on 31 January 2010, aged 40, of respiratory failure following a protracted battle with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy.

[15] The 200 attendees included rappers Dei Hamo, Ermehn and Darryl Thompson (also known as DLT), Alan Jansson, Simon Grigg, Nathan Haines and the mayor of Auckland, Len Brown.