To celebrate Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, we gave space to the artists carrying te reo through their waiata, sharing what it means to them and celebrating the beauty, whakapapa and future of our reo.
Rei
Who’s a Māori artist you’re loving at the moment?
Pakōpakō! This is my friend’s collaborative HIKO project. HIKO is our word for electronic te reo + pasifika influenced music 🙂
Why is it important for you to incorporate te reo Māori into your music?
At this stage it would be weird for me to NOT put te reo in my music lol. It’s about normalising te reo for me, making it relevant in all contexts, and making it accessible for listeners all around the world.
What does it mean to you to hear te reo Māori in music?
Everything! It’s such good practice for me. As a second language learner, you have to immerse yourself in te reo as much as possible in order to achieve fluency. Listening to reo Māori music is one way to increase that te reo exposure and move toward fluency.
Brutha Rodz
Who’s a Māori artist you’re loving at the moment?
Te Wehi, Hori Shaw, Shem and Arepa Perkins, Lads of the Mist, Tawhaki, Ngāti Pārti, Siua, Jordyn with a Why, Rei, Tawaz… ALL OF US! I could go on forever! Māori ki te Ao!!!
Why is it important for you to incorporate te reo Māori into your music?
It’s important to me because He Māori ahau! It’s part of me. I’m not a fluent speaker of our Reo engari kei te ako au! To incorporate Te Reo Māori into my waiata is another way for me to learn Te Reo Māori. The more opportunities I can create to sing in Te Reo Māori makes my wairua feel good. I feel my Mum being proud of me speaking as much as I can so I’m gonna keep trying and keep learning Te Reo Māori to inspire my sons to kōrero Māori. Never too late to learn!
What does it mean to you to hear te reo Māori in music?
Pride! I just feel so proud that our Reo is being spoken and utilised in the form of waiata to uplift and inspire the WHOLE WORLD!! We have a beautiful Reo and it means so much to me that we can showcase our Reo to the world. It means a lot to me because the resilience of our people before us kept our Reo alive when everyone else tried to beat it out of them and tried to stop them from speaking it! They endured that and still somehow kept it alive so we HAVE TO keep it alive too and strengthen it because our ancestors didn’t go through all that for nothing!!!
Zentarge
Who’s a Māori artist you’re loving at the moment?
HAANAA
Why is it important for you to incorporate te reo Māori into your music?
Our tīpuna fought for the revitalisation of te reo Māori. It is our duty as Māori to keep advocating for our culture no matter what. We’re fortunate to be in a position that we can exercise this through composing waiata reo Māori as a way to help promote the beauty of our language. Te reo Māori and our culture keeps us connected, grounded and balanced in all aspects of our lives, so will naturally continue to grow through our music journey.
What does it mean to you to hear te reo Māori in music?
Growing up, reo Māori in music always felt normal and natural to us. In a contemporary sense however, it’s exciting and inspiring to hear all the different genres that perform in te reo Māori (i.e. Alien Weaponry, Mā, Mohi Allen, etc.). Te reo Māori is and will continue to thrive through music and that’s something we’re proud to be a part of.
IA
Who’s a Māori artist you’re loving at the moment?
Reti: I’ve been listening to and loving Te Kapa Haka o Te Whānau a Apanui, Jordyn with a Why and Te Rawhitiroa.
Moetu: Wow I have a list haha, but who I’m loving right now is Hori Shaw and the epic track “Ready to Ride”!!
Why is it important for you to incorporate te reo Māori into your music?
Reti: Te reo Māori is my language, and I love it. As a lifelong speaker, I’ve always appreciated its depth and its expressive, metaphorical and poetic qualities. So much of the language is rooted in the whenua and draws from the natural world, our flora, fauna and environment, which gives it a richness that lends itself beautifully to music and storytelling.
Moetu: It’s important to me because our Reo is who we are, it tells stories of where we come from and also as a people how far we have come. We aren’t here to just be relevant and our Reo makes sure we are not forgotten.
What does it mean to you to hear te reo Māori in music?
Reti: I love seeing the different ways artists are using te reo Māori, the creativity in their phrasing, the way they play with the language, and how they’re bringing it into modern contexts. Te reo Māori is a living language, so naturally it continues to evolve. I think artists and musicians have an important role in that.
Moetu: It makes me think, YES! We did it, whānau! Keep writing waiata in te reo Māori, keep creating…. our reo belongs everywhere. We’re as mainstream as can be!
HUIA
Who’s a Māori artist you’re loving at the moment?
Ka nui te pātai! So many amazing te Reo Māori artists but… on my top rotates is HINE (Gigi Crayford), a beautiful artist from Ōtaki. Her music to me is a mix of some of my favs if they were a hybrid – Kate Bush x Pink Floyd x Maisey Rika.
Why is it important for you to incorporate te reo Māori into your music?
Te Reo Māori Waiata is communicating important messages through the universal medium of music. It’s the language of my tīpuna (ancestors), and it’s how I stay connected with them, to encourage the language to stay alive and thrive, and in turn share these messages and sounds with the world.
What does it mean to you to hear te reo Māori in music?
It may be just a language to some, but for me and my whānau, it’s our birthright in our whakapapa and a step towards rebalancing Aotearoa to be the multilingual country it should be (and will be!)
Stan Walker
Who’s a Māori artist you’re loving at the moment?
Mohi, Troy Kingi, Hope, Jordan with a Why
Why is it important for you to incorporate te reo Māori into your music?
It’s a huge part of who I am, my music and whānau.
What does it mean to you to hear te reo Māori in music?
Refreshing and proud.
KRUZI
Who’s a Māori artist you’re loving at the moment?
There’s so many to name tbh, but Hori Shaw & Te Wehi will be my top 2 Māori artists today.
Why is it important for you to incorporate te reo Māori into your music?
It’s important because it’s who I am as a person, and to me is the best way I can represent my culture.
What does it mean to you to hear te reo Māori in music?
I love hearing our language in songs. Especially today with a lot of our Māori artists writing about home, our landscape and the lifestyle we live in Aotearoa.