- So what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna come in and go boom, like that, and then he's going to go that way. I'm gonna get him. Hey, G, how's it. It's me. Tamati Rimene-Sproat. I literally taught you about Matariki, like, a month ago. No? This episode's not about sport, e te whanau. This is about waiata and how it's helped revitalise te reo Maori. Toru, rua` TJ. Toru, rua... (PLAYS OUT-OF-TUNE GUITAR) Ka pai, bro. Haere mai. (FUNKY MUSIC) Na Tom Clarke nga kupu hauraro i hanga. Na Te Puna Whakatongarewa nga kupu hauraro i tautoko. www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2023 - # Tutira mai nga iwi... - CROWD: Aue! - Aue all right. Listen to that amazing sound ` 40,000 people singing waiata Maori at the top of their lungs ` beautiful. # Tutira mai nga iwi. - BOTH: Aue. - # Tatou tatou e. # - (GIGGLES) - # Tutira mai nga iwi. - Aue. - # Tatou tatou e. # Hayley, get back. - What is the most recognisable waiata Maori ` your favourite? - Can I say Tutira Mai Nga Iwi? (LAUGHS) - Is that because we just sung it? - Yeah. (LAUGHS) I just woke up, like, half an hour ago, so...(LAUGHS) - Yeah. My man. - I used to go out drinking in Melbourne. At, like, midnight, I'd be able to say` like, yell out 'Tutira mai nga iwi,' and there'd always be someone who would go, 'Aue,' and reciprocate. Te reo Maori e te whanau... is the language of this whenua. And just as awesome, combine music and te reo, and you get something even more beautiful and powerful ` waiata. Now someone who knows all about enhancing the power and beauty of te reo in song and how to shake up a nation is Dame Hinewehi Mohi. - # E Ihowa # Atua... The experience of the national anthem that I sang at Twickenham for the Rugby World Cup was a point in time... that created a discussion around the importance of language. - When I think about the national anthem, I think of the courage that it took in those times, where the Maori language wasn't as appreciated or acknowledged. - PHONE: 'I was absolutely so disappointed that nobody could sing the national anthem.' There was the question of ` is te reo Maori... an important part... of who we are? - ALL: # Ata whakarangona... - And look at us now ` two decades on, it's fair to say we have come a long way. - Waiata can help us be our best. And it's always been that way, I think, you know. Like, say, with haka, with waiata, that's when the rest of the world goes, 'Wow.' - Waiata is one of the main driving forces of` to help te reo Maori grow... and be learnt and taught throughout the motu. - The difference that Maori music has in comparison to any other language is our stories, our language and the emotion that becomes behind every single one of those. - # E papa Waiari... - CROWD: # ...taku nei mahi.... - Waiata is also infectious; once you get started, you can't stop. Go on, join in, you know you want to. - # E aue, ka mate au... - Now, waiata is not only an important part of the fabric of Aotearoa, it is a foundation of Maori culture that goes way back. - Ever since the beginnings of time, waiata has been with us. Its sounds, it's te ku, te whe, te oro, all of those kind of things. It's something that we talk about in our origin stories. It's something that we place all of our knowledge on. We use it for our history. We use it for our matauranga. So I just think waiata is just inherently and intricately who we are. (WAIATA PLAYS) - Traditional waiata like this... (WAIATA CONTINUES PLAYING) ...they were like the books, the libraries, hika, the social media of their time. They told us who was fighting, who was loving. They told us all the goss. (RECORD STOPS) These things don't even` Plugged in, they don't even work. - Our moteatea, our traditional chants, for years have held our stories, our genealogy, our whakapapa, landmarks, iwi borderlines... even sexual experiences and encounters. - When you hear kuia and koroua doing waiata, especially on the marae atea, when they're need doing, like, the old school, and you can hear the hotu in their voices, I think, like, for all of us, that transports us back. That's what's really special about out waiata tangi. (ALL SING WAIATA) - These waiata have been passed down through generations and are still sung today. - My sister and I were carted around to every event, every tangihanga, every pohiri, for my koro, and it just gave him absolute joy to have two little mokopuna coming along singing his waiata tautoko. - You go to the marae, all you hear is the nannies singing. You naturally start picking up on songs, how to harmonise. Because I reckon that's why most` not all, most Maori can sing. - I mean, it's not for me. Look, listen to this voice ` do you think this voice waiatas much? Yeah. It's a way of expression. I don't need songs. I'll just tell you (CHUCKLES) how I feel. - # Whaka-awe-awe-awe. - # Hi! - # Whaka-awe-awe-awe... - At the same time as the anthem controversy was playing out here in Aotearoa, across the globe, people were being entertained by waiata reo Maori through Dame Hinewehi's band, Oceania, and their hit Kotahitanga, which exposed the world to how beautiful the bush is in Aotearoa at night. - I can't imagine our lives... without musical interludes and without... having waiata to tell our stories... and to connect with our people and identify us as who we are and where we're from and, um... has intimate details, has tribal affiliations, but also, um, the human condition... and how, um... we express ourselves through music with love and life and laughter. - # Me he manu rere # ahau e... - Marae like this is where we get out singing on. Whether it be traditional waiata or more contemporary waiata, these waiata contain our histories, legacies and whakapapa. It's not a hui without a waiata. (ALL SING WAIATA) - Waiata ngahau, e te iwi ` these are our entertainment songs. We sing about everything ` and I mean everything. We even have songs about making love and finding love. Ne ha? - Oh ae. - Ae? What's your favourite waiata ngahau? - Nothing, really. - Nothing, really? - Just straight into the love. - No. Down the road! (BOTH LAUGH) Pow! No, ko nga waiata i waiata pera ra, mai i nga tupuna. - Yeah. - Pera i te waiata ra, 'E rua nei aku ringa'. - Yeah, that's a beautiful waiata, eh? - You back up, then we'll sing the song, eh, kid? # E kau ara, e tama... - # E kau a ra. - # Nga ngaru nunui. - # I! - # Hapai, hapai ake ra # ki tenei whakatupuranga. # ...ranga. BOTH: # Ki tenei whakatupuranga. I-ha! Hu! Beautiful. - Right, do I get 10 bucks for that? - (LAUGHS) - # He puru taitama e. # He puru taitama hoki... - It is our way of lowering tapu levels and raising your voice in unison with others. It just feels, uh... like kotahitanga. It feels like togetherness. - (LAUGHS) - Parties and gatherings, those are times for me as a child, is where I heard all the beautiful waiata from my grandparents, aunties and uncles. - MAN: Wow, that's nice, man. - After the break, we go dancing, and we revisit some more classics that have stood the test of time. We got a new car you have to plug in. It goes for two wee stops. (DOG BARKS) One masterpiece. And four unlucky possums! Five! VOICEOVER: Fast charge on the road and pay like you're at home. With Genesis at charge net stations. - Small-town New Zealand on any given day, but specifically Saturday morning in Te Kuiti, you'll find Maori music bringing communities together. It's a beautiful thing. I'm actually running late for sound check, though, so I'd better get going. (SINGS WAIATA) Ooh, bakery. I'll get a pie just to warm the throat up. - # Maniapoto... # e karanga e te iwi e... - The Harmonic Resonators are an acoustic country folk waiata Maori whanau band. Hika, what a combo! And they know how to bring communities together to celebrate. Their secret ` sing loud and proud in te reo. - # Me nga tini roimata. # Me nga tini roimata # e maringi whanui e... - What do you think it is about waiata Maori that just brings people together? - It's something that we have shared in New Zealand ` old New Zealanders, new New Zealanders, it' something musically that they can uniquely cling to is these old waiata that people have learned in school and people have picked up at the afterparty and just people somehow know ` and I just love them. There's something really humble about them that enable them to be picked up really quickly, and I think that's what made them last and made people have such a connection with them. # Maku e kaute # o hikoitanga... It's really special, the journey that we've been on as a result of singing these songs in our way. I think we capture that mood of humility. (LAUGHS) - 100%, bro. You guys had the crowd absolutely rocking. - All right, what you got Te Kuiti? Here we go. # Me he manu rere # ahau e... # Kua rere # ki to moenga. - Why do we love singing? - Because I like to... move. - Do you do the classic kind of just mime, like, random words so it looks like you know the lyrics? - LAUGHS: Yes. I've done it a few times, actually, especially with my mates. Yeah, they'll sing some random words, and they assume that we know them. - What's your favourite waiata Maori? - Ooh. He maha. (BOTH LAUGH) - If you could pick one. - Oh, e ki? - (LAUGHS) - Oh. Whakaaria mai. - BOTH: # Whakaaria mai # Tou ripeka # ki au. # - Eh, kare, we should get a record deal. - # Toia mai te waka nei. Hi, aue! # Kumea mai te waka nei... - You've travelled the motu, you've had concerts like this everywhere. - Yeah. - What are the songs that get people up and moving? - Those old waiata-a-ringa, I reckon, eh, yeah, Kingi Ihaka, Tuini Ngawai tunes. The ones that have that sort of beat that we sync in with, sort of 'growing up in the country' thing, you know. I think country music was big for a lot of the Maori community around that time, and the line dance feels, all the stuff that sort of` It suits. All the stuff that feels good for us sort of just locks in. Then a lot of those old emotional songs really resonate with people. I love how some of these old songs are super sad, but they carry this really joyous feel. I don't know how it works, eh? Yeah, it's so amazing. - Some of the most memorable, super sad but joyous sounding waiata are the ones that commemorate deep loss and recount the great deeds of the 28th Maori Battalion; 65% of the battalion were killed or wounded. This great sacrifice is still sung about on marae, in wharekai, community halls and in garages all over the motu. - # Titiro ki nga hoia # kua wehi nei. # Aue, te aroha # me te mamae. # Na reira, # e nga iwi, # aue, haere mai, # haere mai. - Even when they're sung today, they have their power of making you think about that time and making you think about what those soldiers must have felt like ` and that's the expertise of those composers, that they knew exactly how to... move people's emotions. - If I think about Apirana Ngata... Te Puea Herangi... Paraire Tomoana... as wonderful composers of that time... Tuini Ngawai is another example, using tunes and influences of melodies from overseas, and so that's another, um, pathway that has been really instrumental in shaping our new contemporary music of the time. - # ...tutuki te tumanako. - One example of this as the song Tomo Mai, written by Henare Waitoa to commemorate the return of the 28th Maori Battalion in 1946. It took its melody from the song Gold Mine In The Sky. - BOTH: # There's a gold mine in the sky far away. # We will find it, you and I, some sweet day. - Those tunes were beautiful, but also the kaupapa, you know, of our soldiers going overseas, not really knowing if they were going to return. You know, you've got those E Pari Ra. (SINGS) E pari ra nga tai ki te akau. - ALL: # E pari ra # nga tai ki te akau. # E hotu ra # ko taku manawa. # Aue! Haria ra # te aroha i ahau. # Te iwi e # he ngakau tangi noa. - They were the first examples of waiata are going viral... - Mm. - ...I think, you know, and that's why they still stand the test of time, because they're just the great songs, just, like, you know, (SINGS) hoki mai e Tama ma. Timeless, eh, timeless. - # Tomo mai e Tama ma # ki roto, ki roto # i nga ringa e tuwhera atu nei... - And everyone knows it. And so kare he mihi tu atu i tena. That's the best kind of mihi that you can give a waiata, is just to keep on singing it. - # Hoki mai, hoki mai # ki te wa kainga, # kua tutuki te tumanako, # kei te kapakapa mai te Haki, te Haki, # o Ingarangi i runga Tiamana e... - There's a reason that it's so famous ` it's so catchy. (HUMS MELODY) Those types of tunes hang around for a reason. Like, we're still singing it today, and obviously it's got a big kaupapa, but that's when you know you've hit a` hit a goodie, when everyone knows that and is still singing it today. And I'm, like, what, 37. Mum knows it, Nan knows it, even my kids know it. - # He puru taitama e. # He puru taitama hoki... They don't make songs like that any more, eh, cos I think these songs are still alive, I reckon. # He puru taitama e. # (WHOOPING) - Bro, speaking of guitars and ukuleles, did you pack one for me, or...? - Oh, bro, (STAMMERS) I didn't. You didn't` You didn't bring one? You can join us. You could do your line dancing. - Well, I can bring it kind of like a '90s hip-hop flavour and start beatboxing. - NERVOUSLY: Oh, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, you could do that, you could. - After the break, we learn how to woo a lover with a stick... (DING!) ...and a stone, and we look into the effect that rock and roll had on waiata. - I thought Maori didn't sing flat! - (LAUGHS) - Taonga puoro, traditional Maori instruments, stir emotion. They're the stuff of legends, like, literally ` Hinemoa ` Tutanekai swam across the lake because one of these things. Well, unfortunately for you, I won't be able to blow your mind with the dulcet tones of this putarara, one, because I don't know how to play it, but more importantly, I'm in a museum. It's behind glass. Luckily, I know an expert who knows all about taonga puoro, or traditional Maori instruments, Horomona Horo. - From ceremonies to trying to entice your lover... these days we do it like.... Back in the days, our tupuna had their ways, like Tutanekai. When he played his kowauau on Te Motu-tapu-a-Tinirau to Hinemoa so she could hear the beckoning call of her lover as she swam across Te Rotorua nui a Kahumatamomoe to find her lover. - (SOFTLY PLAYS KOWAUAU) - # Pokarekare ana... - Now, there are songs like this one, Pokarekare Ana, written around the time of World War I that have stood the test of time, becoming staples on the showband circuit when Maori musicians such as Prince Tui Teka, Dalvanius, Rim D Paul and The Quin Tikis entertained all over the world. According to the people Te Arawa, the famous of them all was the Howard Morrison Quartet. Of course, Te Arawa would say that. - # Kati ra te hingahinga ki raro ra. # Ma nga whakaaro kei runga rawa. # Hei arahi ke te ara e tika. # Whirinaki, whirinaki, tatou katoa. # Kia kotahi ra! - The Howard Morrison Quartet formed in 1956 was the forerunner of a whole string of Maori showbands that coincided with the era of rock and roll. And most importantly for Maori, the guitar was added to the list of traditional instruments. (APPLAUSE) (WHIMSICAL MUSIC) (WHIMSICAL MUSIC CONTINUES) Is that you? - Is that me? - Yeah. - Yeah, unfortunately. (BOTH CHUCKLE) Yeah, the days that I had hair. - LAUGHS: Were they? - Good days. - (LAUGHS) They look like good days. Buddy, take me back. What was that era like? - Marvellous. All the rock had just started to come out like, you know, Elvis Presley songs and all the legends of rock, eh. - Yeah. - And we used to do` hammer the hell out of his out of` the out of their songs, you know. - (LAUGHS) Do our own version of it, of course, yeah. - Well, that's the beautiful thing about Maori musicians, is that we can kind of ` I say 'we.' I'm not a Maori musician myself ` but the ability to take something like rock music and make it our own and put our own spin on it. - Yeah, and own interpretation of... Even though we couldn't play like the original musicians could on` on the records (BAND PLAYS BLUES MUSIC) Most of them couldn't read music, all done by ear. - What is that about Maori musicians being such great entertainers? - That comes from our heritage, I think. You know, doing the haka and performing all the time. It was just natural for Maoris to perform, eh, yeah, to leap around the stage and the dry humour. # Haere ra e Hine # ki Rotorua # ki reira noho ai. - A-hi aue! - SCOTTY MORRISON: The Quartet was the forerunner for the Maori showbands, and we talked about the Maori humour and stuff like that, and they fused that in to make it a more holistic, complete performance. So they weren't just standing there singing and harmonising, but they had the humour to go with it. (APPLAUSE) - We've got lots of great idols, you know, us` growing up. You've got Sir Howard Morrison, Prince Tui Teka. - You had the Volcanics, and you had all of these wonderful` - The Quin Tikis. - The Quin Tikis. It's an acknowledgement of the inherent talent that Maori have as entertainers, as singers, as composers. - Group singing kind of resonates with our culture, it resonates with our people, and that's why we took on to the likes of Howard Morrison so well, because it was incorporating of course te reo Maori as well into a modern context of performing. (LAUGHTER) (BANDS PLAYS WHIMSICAL MUSIC) - # Who's the fella? Who's the fella? (LAUGHTER) - I love the memory of those old showband days. (CHUCKLES) It really was fun and celebratory rather than anything too heavy and deep meaningful ` which is why I should remind myself that` (LAUGHS) that this is something really beautiful and really fun, and although there's the seriousness of it that the language needs to be committed to to survive, at the same time, this is an opportunity to really have fun, to really enjoy expressing... who we are through the music, and that's what the showbands did. - Now, Buddy, I see you've brought your guitar. Can you demonstrate the famous Maori strum? - (HUMS) - Oh, I know this one. - Jinga-jik. Just think jinga-jik. Jinga-jik. - Jink-jink-jink. - Jinga-jik, jinga-jik. (MUMBLES) - Jing-a-jik. - And that could be any song down. - (HUMS) - Down, up, tap. I've actually never done this before, but how educational! - (VOCALISES) Oh, sorry. (LAUGHS) - I thought Maoris didn't sing flat. He's gone and proved me wrong now. - (LAUGHS) - Who is the most musical iwi? - That's a hard question. - (SCOFFS) Are you` Are you seriously asking that question? (BOTH LAUGH) - Te iwi Maori. (LAUGHS) - This question, everyone's like, 'Who are they gonna say?' They're going to say their own iwi. - Has to be Arawa, has to be. Look at all our wonderful singer, and then people who are wonderful singers now learned it from us. So there you go. We're sharing. We're sharing our skills. - I'm sure Te Arawa would say it's them. Mangai nui. I'm sure Mataatua would say it's them, which I truly believe, cos I'm Mataatua. - Of course we all know that my iwi, Rangitane ki Masterton, is the most musical iwi. Coming up ` I learn some dirty party songs, and I get to fulfil a lifelong dream of running out on to Eden Park. - ALL: # Kua tutuki te tumanako, # kei te kapakapa mai # te Haki, te Haki... - Waiata reo Maori even made it to the movies. There weren't many happy scenes in Once Were Warriors, but this is a good one with a classic waiata. - When Once Were Warriors came out, there were a lot of... a lot of take around it, but one of them was just to see our parties on screen. - That's how I remember. It was` Everything was beautiful, and fortunately, there was none of the other raru that we saw, but it was just all the singing of my aunties and uncles. - Vibrato and all the notes that would come with the guitar playing, while holding the beer and somehow holding that cigarette ` like, multitasking at its best, I tell ya. - Someone's always got one too ` isn't that amazing? - Mm. - Usually, if it's` Especially if it's a Maori party or something, it's like... the guitar just pops up. Someone's always` Someone's always got a guitar. - # Blue smoke # goes drifting by # into the deep # blue sky. # My memories # of you # will never fade. - What's your favourite garage party song? - Oh, I won't be singing those. (BOTH LAUGH) - What is your favourite party song? - Ooh... The Strings Of Your Temotemo. (LAUGHTER) - I know that one. I know that one very well. Maybe if you start it off, we can sing it. # The strings of your temotemo like a banjo. # Ka kumia koe, ka rongo koe... - BOTH: # ...twang, twang, twang. - Can I play the guitar? I can play the three chords that most Maoris know how to play. And I kid you not, it'll play every song that you know. - These are the survival chords. You don't need to know which one they are, just.... G? - I don't even know (LAUGHS) the names of them. I just go, 'Put your fingers here, put your fingers here and put your fingers here.' - This one here. I call it 'the arrow'. Then you go the four barre. And this is the most tricky one ` two up the top, two down the bottom. # Hoki mai, hoki mai... That one. # ...ki te wa kainga. # Kua tutuki te tumanako. # I got hoes # in different area codes. # I got hoes. # Thank you. I will be here all night. - Garage party or Matatini stage? - (SPEAKS TE REO MAORI) - Now, are you a garage party or Matatini stage? Kia pono aku korero, - A bit of both. - A bit of both. - A bit of both. Yeah. - Matatini is just a big garage party, eh? - Pretty much. - Kapa haka as we know it now traces back to pre-European times. Born out of traditional art forms like haka, mau rakau and poi, touring concert parties of the late 19th century turned up the entertainment elements, with things developing further during the time of Princess Te Puea and Sir Apirana Ngata until finally the awesomeness of the Te Matatini. - DAME HINEWEHI MOHI: Haka and waiata performed on a stage, there's something electric about it, and there's all the components of waiata and haka... in the poi, in the actions, in the expression, in the connection to tradition, but brought into a more contemporary sense and in a style and choreography that just really excites audiences. (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) - I remember I was at my grandfather's tangi, and I was` I wasn't brought up with te reo, so` but I'd been at Waikato University for a little while. My cousin Taini was sweeping the wharekai out. It was late at night, and she looked at me, and she said, 'Come to kapa kaka, cuz.' And I said, 'What for?' And she said, 'Cos you'll learn the reo through kapa haka. 'Through waiata, through haka, you'll learn the reo.' - ALL: # Haere mai, haere mai... - Something really special that I first saw about 15 years ago was all the nannies and our koros performing on stage. And, you know, there were Zimmer frames. They (LAUGHS) was everything, you know, keeping them upright or in a seated position, but still performing and loving connecting with each other, but also entertaining people, And I think it really shows how important that tradition has been to carry through to what it is today. - # He mahi pai... - Tahi, rua, toru, wha! - Hi! (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) - Did you ever do kapa haka? - I did. I did, like, very` - Like, front row, middle? - Oh, I think I was in, like, second row... - Oh. - ...trying to be in the front row... - Yes. ... but then kind of got outshined, and I was like, 'Oh, you guys do what you wanna do.' - You know, the ones at the front, usually, they're just show ponies. - (LAUGHS) - It's the ones at the back who are holding down... - It is! - ...and singing the right notes. When you were growing up, were you taught any waiata Maori? - We did some kapa haka classes and stuff, and I really enjoyed, like, feeling, like, the power of it. - Did you ever do kapa haka? - Yep. - Front row? - Yep, front row. - Whoo, middles? - Yeah, even the back row. I did, like, a lot in primary. - Actual? - Real. - Did you enjoy it? - Yeah, it was fun. It was, like, fun hanging out with my friends, just learning something that I didn't know. - A lot of people say 'the haka.' What comes to your mind when you hear that? - Ka mate. - ALL: Ka mate, ka mate, ka ora! Ka mate, ka mate, ka ora! - Maori are not only gifted singers, but also skilled composers. Everybody, and I mean everybody, knows the haka Ka Mate. Composed by Te Rauparaha of the iwi Ngati Toa Rangatira, it recalls his narrow escape from death at the hands of his enemy. - When I think of haka, I just... I think of haka pohiri, really. I think of welcoming. I think of ihi, wehi, wana. - Generally, when someone starts haka, you can sort of tell, particularly that stance. It's all in the knees. I don't know. It just tells you about how they... use their.. body. (LAUGHS) - (LAUGHS) OK, I'll take over here. - ALL: Hupane, kaupane, whiti te ra! - To explain further, one of the greatest exponents of haka, Te Matatini competition champion, Kawariki Morgan. - Haka to me is the most vibrant, energetic, powerful expression of who I am as Maori, of my language, of my heritage, my lineage. Whether it be tangihanga, whether it be at a 21st, if it moves you, that's one of the most Maori expressions of how you celebrate something and how you show your passion and love for something ` and obviously, if you do it, do it properly. - Definitely not like these English nurses... or these French lawyers... or a bunch of drunken hua on Waitangi Day in London. - ALL: Ka mate, ka mate, ka ora! - When anyone's going to practise anything from another culture, I think just whakaute, respect, you know. You have to respect the space cos it's not your space, it's not your culture. - There are haka actions that should be really aggressive, but it ends up looking like a wonky bonk. Are you trying to be scary, or are you trying to look uncoordinated? - Let me show you how not to do the haka as I lead my imaginary team on to the hallowed turf that is Eden Park. Tip nama tahi ` know your words. There's only so many 'doits! Hss-hss!' and 'ti-ha!' you can get away with before you end up looking like a fool, like this fulla. Tip nama rua ` know your actions. You do not want to look like an octopus that's just escaped an aquarium when you're doing the haka, like this fulla. Tip number three ` haka have manawataki, or beats. And as the late, great Michael Jackson once said, 'Beat it.' By that, I mean like, stay on beat. Don't be like this. - QUICKLY: Hupane, kaupane, whiti te ra. Hi! - Ka tu te ihi-ihi... 'You should perform it with passion. 'It's about not only feeling every sinew of muscle in your body, 'but it is also how you channel your ancestors through you. 'And that's when haka is at its most moving, when you're in an out-of-body state. Aue, ha, hi! (GROANS) - Ooh, you all right there, matua? After the break, we get out garage party on, and we get down with a new generation of waiata composers. Right now, this woman is currently keeping a teenage boy alive, whose disorder ` if not treated weekly ` will be life-threatening. Everyday people can save lives every day. - Now, this isn't a garage quiz or anything, but do you know this song? - BOTH RAP: # E tu. # Stand proud. # Kia kaha, # say it loud. # - Surely you know this one. - # A-a-a kona te reo. # A-a-a kona te reo. # - Maori music has come a long way since back in the day. Hika, these days you can fill up a whole playlist with just Maori language music ` and a lot of that is due to the renaissance back in the '80s and '90s, where Maori language music was pushed back into the spotlight, like this one. Surely, you know this one. - # Poi e... - # ...whakatata mai. - # Poi e... - # ...kaua he rereke. - # Poi e... - No? Get out of that rock that you've been living under. - So, in radio and television in the 1990s, say, when I was on Mai FM and Mai Time, we were having this battle of how we kept up waiata reo Maori and not just have people go, 'Huh?' - # ...maranga ake ai. - The '70s and '80s was particularly a time of protest, and we were really striving to maintain our language. The 1972 petition to Parliament was a good example of that, where we wanted government to embrace the language and give better recognition to the importance of it. Cos back in the day of Paraire, Tuini, Apirana, Te Puea, they didn't have that same language trauma that affects us today. - # Te wairua, # tukuna ki te ao. - So 50-plus years on, we look at the evolution of the language and the changes to the language ` and music is very much a part of those changes and the growth and development. - What's your favourite waiata Maori? - Uh, Arero Pounamu na te kapa` te ropu o Maimoa. - Chur? - Mm. - Waiata mai. Tena waiata mai. - # Kia mau ki o takahanga # to tinorangatiratanga. - (VOCALISES) - I don't know. - (VOCALISES) - (LAUGHS) - # A-a-a... - Waiata are now being written by heaps of talented artists, who, like the great composers of the past, are both fluent and proud to sing in te reo Maori and continue to pump out bangers. - One thing I like to be very proud of myself is that I know the 20 elements of the periodic table ` and that is through waiata. SINGS: 'Hydrogen, helium, lithium, beryllium. 'Boron, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen. 'Fluoride, neon, sodium, magnesium, alu-mini-um.' Waiata. (CHUCKLES) - 100% waiata has helped in the revival of te reo Maori. - This is when we start our` our mission, our objective, our goal of bringing us together, bringing us together through waiata Maori, through ahurea Maori, through tikanga Maori, through the reo Maori as people of Aotearoa. - # ALL: Ata whakarangona... - And look at us, singing loud and repping hard in te reo Maori ` almost in tune. - FRANCIS TIPENE: When we started singing te reo Maori with the national anthem, it was pretty quiet, but nowadays, as we're turning in, more of us are getting into it, it's getting louder and louder and louder. And I think congratulations to everyone for` for taking that on, because the more we take it on, the more we're inclusive of everyone. - Now reaching a global audience through TikTok challenges, Maori culture and language is being embraced from afar like never before. - ALL: # Ka hao i runga. # Ka hao i raro. # Ka hao i te manawa, # taku taanga manawa. - # First place to see the sun... - I'd like to see Maori music reach the heights of an international stage ` like Bollywood, like K-Pop ` where our music also reaches, uh... a broader audience... that is even more hungry to learn, to hear... and to experience the beauty that is te reo Maori through music. - ALL: # Piri ki te taha. # Piri ki te ngaio. # Aue, aue, Rona e. - When you see a school that's made up of children from all different ethnicities from this beautiful country, and you see them singing in full voice a waiata that does represent who they are... it the most beautiful thing, and I think our kids can teach us a lot. - # Kei a Rona kei roto ra. - I firmly believe that there is a wonderful embrace of the language and a priority for the language now that we've never seen before in my lifetime, and that gives me real confidence for how we're going to be able to move through into the future. - BOTH RAP: Tahi, rua, toru, wha... - # Anei te reo o Te Haakura. # Anei te reo o Atareta. - BOTH: # Me tetahia waiata parekareka. - # He aha tenei mea te rangatira? - And with a new, talented generation busting through, the future is certainly looking bright for way waiata reo Maori, especially when you have amazing singers like me. Ladies and gentlemen, it's your boy, Tamati... coming at you with the latest smooth sound of waiata reo Maori. And PS, just as a reminder ` it's Tauranga, not Tao-runga. Kia ora. Teka-what-a is actually Te Kauwhata. Hi! Was that flat? Anyone need a Matatini solo?