17 April 2024 - 0 Comments

The Aotearoa Music Awards is honoured to announce the finalists for the 2024 Te Māngai Pāho Te Manu Taki Māori o te Tau | Best Māori Artist and Mana Reo awards.

The Mana Reo award recognises recordings with at least 50% te reo Māori content. Singles, albums and other bundles of recordings such as EPs are all eligible.

The finalists for the 2024 Te Māngai Pāho Mana Reo Tūī are:

- Coterie (Te Aupōuri, Ngāpuhi & Ngāi Te Rangi)
- Jordyn with a Why (Tainui Āwhiro, Mulifanua Lalovi, Falelatai & Vaimoso)
- MOHI (He maramara nō Rāhiri, nō Te Tai Tokerau whānui. Tauranga Moana, Tauranga Tāngata, he Ngāti Tapu ahau. Nā Kahungunu, nā Te Wairoa hōki)
- Stan Walker (Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāti Pūkenga, Tūhourangi Ngāti Wāhiao, Ngāti Pikiao, Ngāti Whakaue, Ngāti Porou, Ngāi Tahu & Ngāpuhi)
- Tawaz (Ngāti Rangitāne)
- Tuari Brothers (Te Aitanga a Hauiti, Ngāti Porou, Te Aitanga a Mahaki, Ngāi Tāmanuhiri, Te Whānau a Apanui, Ngāti Kahungunu, Rongomaiwahine, Ngāi Tuhoe)

The main judging criterion for the Mana Reo Tūī is that the music aims to grow the interest and appeal of te reo and te ao Māori in and through mainstream recorded music. Artistic merit, the regularity of releases that prioritise reo Māori, and commercial success are also taken into account.

In 2024, we are launching a new translation for the category title of Best Māori Artist. The te reo title for the award is now Te Manu Taki Māori o te Tau.

Finalists for the 2024 Te Māngai Pāho Te Manu Taki Māori o te Tau Tūī are:

- Jordyn with a Why
- MOHI
- Rei (Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Huia)
- Stan Walker
- Tawaz
- Tuari Brothers

This award honours an artist whose music reflects a unique Māori identity and/or is an expression of te ao Māori. Note that a full suite of new translations has been developed for all AMA Tūī in 2024; a list, including context for the change, accompanies this release.

As well as the Te Māngai Pāho Mana Reo Tūī, Stan Walker (Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāti Pūkenga, Tūhourangi Ngāti Wāhiao, Ngāti Pikiao, Ngāti Whakaue, Ngāti Porou, Ngāi Tahu and Ngāpuhi) is a finalist for Te Māngai Pāho Te Manu Taki Māori o te Tau, for his 2022 LP All In. The multi-platinum selling star continues to excel globally; 2023 saw him release the powerful I Am as featured on the soundtrack to the Ava DuVernay film Origin.

A finalist for both Te Māngai Pāho Mana Reo and Te Manu Taki Māori o te Tau, Tawaz (Ngāti Rangitāne) shook up the Charts in 2023 with his debut track as a solo artist, He Aho. The single debuted in the Hot 20 NZ Singles and spent weeks at the top of the Official Te Reo Singles Chart. Tawaz champions reo Māori through his music and has collaborated with the likes of Stan Walker, Maimoa and Sons of Zion. He recently signed with indie label Five AM, and amassed over one million streams in his debut year.

Jordyn with a Why (Tainui Āwhiro, Mulifanua Lalovi, Falelatai and Vaimoso) and frequent collaborator MOHI (He maramara nō Rāhiri, nō Te Tai Tokerau whānui. Tauranga Moana, Tauranga Tāngata, he Ngāti Tapu ahau. Nā Kahungunu, nā Te Wairoa hōki) are also up for both awards; individually they both landed finalist nominations for the 2023 APRA Maioha Award – with MOHI ultimately picking up the title as well as being a Top 20 finalist for the APRA Silver Scroll. The neo-soul artist weaves a heart-hitting tapestry of sound, where te reo Māori and ancient Māori storytelling harmoniously merge with reo Pākehā lyrics and urban influences. He released his album Elements Of Aroha in 2023, and went on to captivate audiences at Big Sound 2023, as well as at the inaugural SXSW Sydney.

Jordyn with a Why was also a finalist for the 2023 Pacific Music Award’s Best Pacific Female Artist and in December 2022 marked her first te reo Māori release with Raumati, which was followed by Hey Love and He Rei Niho. The enigmatic R&B performer uses waiata to tell stories of language reclamation, identity and cultural heritage.

Tuari Brothers (Te Aitanga a Hauiti, Ngāti Porou, Te Aitanga a Mahaki, Ngāi Tāmanuhiri, Te Whānau a Apanui, Ngāti Kahungunu, Rongomaiwahine, Ngāi Tuhoe) channel themes of identity, whānau, aroha and life in their waiata, in a bid to see a music industry more representative of Māori. Finalists for both Te Māngai Pāho Mana Reo and Te Manu Taki Māori o te Tau for their EP Rongo, Tatana, Tame and Haami have a warm and compelling sound that resonates with familial timbre and a shared sense of musicality. They were finalists for the 2023 APRA Maioha Award, for their waiata E tama.

The music of Rei (Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Huia) bridges urban and electronic genres, with flavours of hip-hop, pop and dance. With over 11 million Spotify streams, 6 Waiata Māori Awards and 4 Aotearoa Music Awards nominations, the artist is established as a key figure in the local scene. His 2022 album Ariki featured the single Te Whakapono, which was labelled by George FM DJ Sin as the track of that summer.

Comprised of four brothers – Tyler, Josh, Branford and Conrad Fisher – Coterie (Te Aupōuri, Ngāpuhi & Ngāi Te Rangi) have crafted a unique blend of soulful rock-reggae over their 15 years of playing together, which has seen them become radio and Chart favourites. Signed to Six60’s Massive Records, the act were awarded Best New Artist at the 2023 Panhead Rolling Stone Aotearoa Awards, and recently sold out their headline tour of Aotearoa, as well as an 11-date Australia headline tour. They are nominated for Mana Reo for their 2022 single Purea / Cool It Down.

Recorded Music NZ CEO Jo Oliver celebrates this year’s finalists and the work they’ve done to continue the revitalisation of te reo Māori, and to āwhina te ao Māori through waiata:

“We are honoured to recognise the contributions these finalists have made to the Aotearoa music industry. I can’t wait to celebrate what they have achieved at the Awards in May, and I’m looking forward to seeing what they do in the years ahead.

“Thank you to Te Māngai Pāho for sponsoring these Tūī, and for all the mahi they do to support Māori artists year-round.”

The 2024 Te Māngai Pāho Te Manu Taki Māori o te Tau | Best Māori Artist and Mana Reo awards will be presented at the Aotearoa Music Awards on Thursday 30 May at the Viaduct Events Centre in Tāmaki Makaurau.

Details of all other Aotearoa Music Awards finalists will be announced on Thursday 18 April.

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