Waiata Sailing our Soundwaves

In Conversation with Marlon Gerbes and Rei

Catchy tunes, melodic messages and anthems that are recognised across the motu – modern Māori artists have reached the top of the charts using te reo and kaupapa Māori within their waiata. With this recent revival of te reo within our music proving fruitful, will reo across our soundwaves become just another token fad, or is there real potential in our language being a musical staple among tangata whenua, Pākehā and tauiwi? 

What better way to learn about the revival of reo in our music, than by talking to the trailblazing Māori musicians about their journey with reo - I sat down with Six60 member, Marlon Gerbes and Māori hip-hop artist, Rei. 

Six60 – the polarising poster boys of the New Zealand music industry. You don’t have to be a fan of Six60 to appreciate what they have done for Aotearoa. Their most recent journey and one that has warranted nationwide support, is the band’s use of te reo and taonga pūoro. 

In 2019, Six60 was approached by Dame Hinewehi Mohi, who was the first person to sing our national anthem in te reo Māori on an international stage. Mohi worked closely with Six60 to translate their song Don’t Forget Your Roots into te reo. 

For Gerbes, this kaupapa kickstarted his Māoritanga journey, allowing him to take steps towards learning his whakapapa. 

“We are Māori, but we didn’t grow up with te reo, with tikanga or an understanding of te ao Māori. There were nerves going into this process, but it quickly turned from a sense of whākama into excitement once we started to dive into it.” 

In 2019, Hinewehi Mohi and Sir Tīmoti Kāretu’s kaupapa came to life when Waiata Anthems debuted at #1 on the NZ Top 40 chart – the first fully te reo album to do so. The album spent 16 weeks in the top 40, and achieved gold status record sales and received countless Māori language awards. 

Kia Mau Ki Tō Ūkaipō, or Don’t Forget Your Roots, was a marquee song on this album. 

“Once we finished Kia Mau Ki Tō Ūkaipō, we had the confidence to take this kaupapa to the next level and create our own originals in reo.” 

Shortly after Kia Mau Ki Tō Ūkaipō was released, Gerbes and the rest of Six60 spent four days at Mohi’s whare in Hawke’s Bay, creating original songs using te reo – Pepeha, their newest single, was the standout from this session. 

“Pepeha is just the tip of the iceberg of all the learning, emotion and culture that built this journey – creating this song has filled our souls and given us a strong sense of purpose.” 

“We were able to learn from experts like Hinewehi and Tīmoti - this music is an end product of their dedication and understanding of our culture.” 

Hinewehi also helped Six60 incorporate taonga pūoro, or indigenous sounds, into their music. 

“When we were in Los Angeles creating our song Sundown, we got to the end and felt like an element was missing. I remembered that Hinewehi had sent me an email of taonga pūoro, we started sampling and mixing these into Sundown and before we knew it, 80-90 per cent of the song had taonga pūoro running through it - people always comment on it, they can feel that Māori influence.” 

Earlier this year, Six60 hosted the largest concert in the entire world as New Zealand was exempt from Covid-19 lockdowns. Kia Mau Ki Tō Ūkaipō was performed, giving the Māori language a global spotlight. 

While performing live, Gerbes is honoured to be a mouthpiece for tangata whenua and tauiwi to enjoy te reo in all its lyrical glory. 

“When performing Kia Mau Ki Tō Ūkaipō live, I get swept away. When that te reo moment hits the atmosphere shifts, this swirling of mana starts to fill the stadium. When we play in te reo, it’s not about us, it’s not for us. It’s about Māori singing with pride and joy as their language is put on a pedestal.” 

Rei, a hip-hop artist based in Tāmaki Mākarau grew up with a strong understanding of te reo, te aō Māori and tikanga. His journey to create music which incorporated te reo, was a path he always knew he wanted to travel. 

“Music and te reo were the two subjects I was into at school. I was lucky enough to get my BA in Māori, so naturally I’ve combined these two passions together to create music that’s unapologetically me.” 

Back in the rā, 2013 to be precise, a fresh-faced Rei created his first song, Chiefing. While this tune didn’t use te reo lyrics, the song had strong elements of kaupapa Māori, encouraging listeners to find their inner rangatira, or chief. 

As an artist that was ahead of the mainstreaming of te reo in music, Rei wants to make sure others are contributing to a full-time kaupapa of language revitalisation, not just hopping on the bandwagon when it’s topical. 

“It’s great to hear te reo being sung and produced during Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, but it also feels slightly tokenistic, especially to those upholding this kaupapa year-round.” 

One of Aotearoa’s most internationally renowned artists, Lorde, released a five-track EP featuring a selection of songs from her latest album Solar Power translated into te reo Māori. The EP, titled Te Ao Mārama is at the centre of a fiery discourse on whether Pākehā should produce music in te reo. 

When done properly, Rei encourages Pākehā to add te reo into their music. 

“I support it 100% - it’s important for our te reo survival to have non-Māori speaking and being confident to release te reo music.” 

Our Māori activists didn’t wait for the perfect time to push for the inclusion of reo in radio, television, or for kura kaupapa and kōhanga reo to be established. If te reo is not mainstream in our music industry, there will always be backlash when it is used. By acting as gatekeepers towards Pākehā using our language, we are condemning te reo to a back-seat future. 

For Rei, it’s easy to see why Māori may look at this kaupapa sideways, but the growth and awareness gained by Pākehā artists using te reo outweighs the skepticism. 

“There is a small niggle of envy, especially for us artists that have been using te reo for years now. It’s like when you find that underground artist you like, you build that connection, then everyone else finds out how good they are, it feels like your relationship, your hononga is diminished.” 

“But these feelings don’t mean much. As Māori, it’s helpful to understand that our connection to te reo is always going to have an extra layer than some. Let’s acknowledge that and realise there’s no point in gatekeeping our language.” 

Rei had a few final words to the Pākehā and tauiwi using te reo and taonga pūoro in their waiata. 

“We welcome you to our whare, we’re happy to have you in the whare, we want you in the whare - but make sure you take your shoes off, and never lose that respect you entered with.”