Tracing the journey of trauma, heritage, and hope in the award-winning artist’s latest work.
From the vibrant, genre-bending streets of Henderson, West Auckland, emerges a voice that feels both intimately local and universally resonant.
MOHI, an award-winning Māori artist, is a storyteller for his generation, masterfully weaving his rich Ngāpuhi, Te Rarawa, and Ngāi Te Rangi heritage into the very fabric of his neosoul sound.
His latest album, The Flowers That Grow From Concrete Pavements, is the culmination of this vision. A profound and transformative journey that is as much a personal memoir as it is a cultural statement.
The album’s title serves as a powerful metaphor for the entire project: beauty and resilience flourishing against the odds.
MOHI traces the path of a “Māori kid navigating the complexities of life,” and from the first note, the listener is invited into this deeply personal space.
The record moves organically through themes of love, loss, and memory, before arriving at a hard-won sense of healing and hope.
Each track feels like a carefully unearthed chapter, a tribute to the Westside community and the people who raised him, delivered with a raw authenticity that is both stirring and spellbinding.
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Musically, MOHI’s artistry is a breathtaking blend. He seamlessly stitches Te Reo Māori with English lyrics, grounding urban neosoul influences in traditional Māori storytelling.
This creates a soundscape that is uniquely his own, simultaneously nostalgic and forward-thinking.
The album has rightly made “massive waves” across New Zealand, off the back of accolades like the 2024 Best Te Reo Māori Album and Best Male Artist at the Māori Music Awards.
His successful international showcase at FOCUS Wales and a performance for over a million viewers on the Matariki National Broadcast are testaments to his burgeoning global appeal and the universal power of his message.
In essence, The Flowers That Grow From Concrete Pavements is a lament, a celebration, and a love letter to his younger self.
It captures the steezy, soul-stirring sound of an artist who has not only found his voice but is using it to illuminate the strength found in his roots.
This album firmly cements MOHI’s place as one of Aotearoa’s most compelling and important artistic voices.
