Rei and Dave Dobbyn have supplied this year's te reo Māori jams. Photos / Supplied
Every year, Kiwi artists make a special effort to celebrate Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori by releasing new hits for New Zealanders to enjoy.
This year's no different, with young rapper Rei and New Zealand music stalwart Dave Dobbyn offering up tracks to satisfy young, old and everyone in between.
Dave Dobbyn's Welcome Home was an instant Kiwi classic, so it makes total sense for him to translate it into te reo and re release it to celebrate Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori.
He released it on Friday to pre-empt Māori Language week, after working with te reo expert Te Haumihiata Mason to get the translation. It was recorded with backing vocals from Maimoa from Maori TV's Voices of Our Future.
Dobbyn says he was "moved" by the translation and that it was "such an honour to sing in te reo, a naturally poetic tongue".
"It's quite a challenge, but Te Hau is a great teacher and I was charmed by both her coaching and support from Maimoa.
"I don't have any excuses now for not immersing myself in the language. It's like learning to play a new instrument."
And breaking the more traditional mould of te reo music is young Māori rapper, Rei.
The 23-year-old has just released his first ever te reo Māori track which will "get you up for a kanikani in no time".
"E Kī" is a commonly used phrase meaning "you don't say", and is a contemporary and super slick mash up of pop, hip-hop and dance hall about love and mana wahine, or female empowerment.
"Writing in Māori was just a natural progression for me," says Rei.
"I have a degree in te reo Māori and I've been writing music for 10 years now. Time to start putting two and two together!"
The track is the first single from Rei's upcoming Te Reo Māori EP due for release later this year.
Rei has also given a special performance exclusively for the NZ Herald in which he'll cover an iconic hip-hop song in te reo. To catch it, check back on our Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori series at midday throughout the week.
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