🌿 Hinewirangi Kohu (1963–2024)

When Hinewirangi passed in 2024, Aotearoa didn’t just lose a leader in Māori music, we lost a force of nature.

Hine was the kind of woman who didn’t wait for permission. If there wasn’t a stage for Māori music, she built one. If our artists were overlooked, she amplified them. If te reo Māori was sidelined, she brought it front and centre unapologetically, proudly, joyfully.

Founding the Waiata Māori Music Awards wasn’t simply an event decision. It was an act of vision. She understood that our waiata carried whakapapa, memory, resistance, love and that they deserved national honour. Under her guidance, the awards became more than a ceremony. They became a whānau reunion, a reclamation, a declaration that Māori music is not niche, it is foundational.

Hine had that rare combination of sharp strategic thinking and deep cultural grounding. She could move confidently in governance spaces, yet her heart always sat with the artists, the reo, the community. She believed in excellence not the kind defined by Western charts or commercial validation but excellence grounded in tikanga, authenticity, and whakapapa.

She also wove her artistry through her teaching. Whether in formal classrooms, wānanga spaces, or backstage before a performance, Hine didn’t separate practice from principle. She taught through story, through challenge, through example. She pushed people to understand not just how to perform, but why we perform what we carry when we stand to sing. And she did not shy away from the hard conversations. If something needed to be said, she said it. She called things as she saw them, irrespective of titles, status, or who was in the room. That courage sometimes uncomfortable, always principled, is part of what made her such a powerful teacher. She wasn’t interested in politeness if it compromised truth. She was interested in growth.

Those who worked alongside her speak of her warmth, her humour, and her absolute determination. She could be direct when needed. She was protective of kaupapa Māori spaces. And she was fiercely committed to ensuring Māori creatives were not just present in the industry, but leading it.

Her passing in 2024 leaves a quiet that is deeply felt. But it also leaves a legacy that is loud and enduring. Every time a young artist stands confidently in te reo on a national stage, every time waiata Māori is celebrated as it should be, Hine’s imprint is there.

She didn’t just support Māori arts and music.
She strengthened its spine.