Rob Ruha (born 1980), is a New Zealand musician from

Wharekahika Wharekahika or Hicks Bay (officially Wharekahika / Hicks Bay) is a bay and coastal area in the Gisborne District of the North Island of New Zealand. It is situated 150 km east of Opotiki and 186 km north of Gisborne city, along State ...

Gisborne District Gisborne District or the Gisborne Region (Māori: ''Te Tairāwhiti'' or ''Te Tai Rāwhiti'') is a local government area of northeastern New Zealand. It is governed by Gisborne District Council, a unitary authority (with the combined powers o ...

. He debuted as a solo musician in 2013, and is known for his singles sung in te Reo Māori, including "Kalega" (2017), " Ka Mānu" (2019), " 35" with Ka Hao (2021), and " Taera" (2021). Ruha worked as the music director for the Māori language version of the

Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Pictures is an American film production company and subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company. The studio is the flagship producer of live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Studios uni ...

films '' Moana'' and ''

The Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 32nd Disney animated feature film and the fifth produced during the Disney Renaissance, it ...

''.

Biography

Ruha grew up in

. He is of

Te Whānau-ā-Apanui Te Whānau-ā-Apanui is a Māori iwi (Iwi is the Maori word for tribe) located in the eastern Bay of Plenty and East Coast regions of New Zealand's North Island. In 2006, the iwi registered 11,808 members, representing 13 hapū. History Early ...

and

Ngāti Porou Ngāti Porou is a Māori iwi traditionally located in the East Cape and Gisborne regions of the North Island of New Zealand. Ngāti Porou is affiliated with the 28th Maori Battalion and has the second-largest affiliation of any iwi in New Zealand ...

descent, and also has

Ngāti Rangiteaorere Ngāti Rangiteaorere is a Māori iwi of New Zealand. Te Arawa FM is the radio station of Te Arawa iwi. It was established in the early 1980s and became a charitable entity in November 1990. The station underwent a major transformation in 1993, ...

and

Tūhourangi Tūhourangi is a Māori iwi of New Zealand with a rohe centered on Lake Tarawera, Lake Rotomahana, Lake Okaro, Lake Okareka, Lake Rotokākahi, Lake Tikitapu and Lake Rotorua. They have 3 marae, Te Pakira Marae in Whakarewarewa, Hinemihi (Te Pa ...

ancestry. He grew up performing

kapa haka Kapa haka is the term for Māori action songs and the groups who perform them. It literally means 'group' () and 'dance' (). Kapa haka is an important avenue for Māori people to express and showcase their heritage and cultural Polynesian identi ...

, and as a teenager, Ruha moved to

Porirua Porirua, ( mi, Pari-ā-Rua) a city in the Wellington Region of the North Island of New Zealand, is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington metropolitan area. The name 'Porirua' is a corruption of 'Pari-rua', meaning "the tide swee ...

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

, and was inspired to become a musician while attending

Mana College Mana College is a decile two secondary school in Porirua, Wellington, New Zealand. Mana College celebrated its Golden Jubilee in 2007. History In recent years, the college has introduced Pathways a system to help students achieve in areas they ...

. Ruha returned to Gisborne to complete high school, and at 17, won the Aotearoa Traditional Māori Performing Arts Festival (Te Matatini) award for Best Waiata Tira as a part of the Waihīrere Māori Club. In the year 2000, Ruha led his first kapa haka group, Tūranga Wahine Tūranga Tāne, who performed at Te Matatini, and by the next year began judging the competition. In 2004, Ruha moved to

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

to manage the Aotearoa section of the

Polynesian Cultural Center The Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC) is a family-centered cultural tourist attraction and living museum located in Laie, on the northern shore of Oahu, Hawaii. The PCC is owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), was ...

. In 2007, Ruha graduated with a master's degree in

Mātauranga Māori Mātauranga (literally ''Māori knowledge'') is a modern term for the traditional knowledge of the Māori people of New Zealand. Māori traditional knowledge is multi-disciplinary and holistic, and there is considerable overlap between concepts. ...

. One of Ruha's first releases was the song "Hotuhotu", which he recorded with

Ria Hall Ria Hall is a Māori recording artist and presenter on Maori TV's ''AIA Marae DIY'' in 2012-13. Life and career Hall was born in 1982 or 1983 and is of Ngāi Te Rangi/Ngāti Ranginui ancestry, and has three older sisters. She grew up in Maungat ...

, which became one of the most played songs in te reo Māori on New Zealand radios in 2011. During a 2012 trip to Hawaii to judge a kapa haka competition, Ruha performed as a solo musician for the first time. In 2013, he began working as a solo musician after receiving mentorship and guidance by musician

Maisey Rika Maisey Rika is a New Zealand singer, songwriter and composer, performing in both English and Māori language, Māori. Her five original albums have each reached the Top 40 in the Official New Zealand Music Chart. She was named an Arts Foundation ...

, releasing his solo debut single "Pōnga Rā" on

Waitangi Day Waitangi Day ( mi, Te Rā o Waitangi), the national day of New Zealand, marks the anniversary of the initial signing – on 6 February 1840 – of the Treaty of Waitangi, which is regarded as the founding document of the nation. The first Wait ...

2014. His debut

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

''Tiki Tapu'' was recorded at a home studio in

Hamurana Hamurana is a settlement and area of natural springs on the northern side of Lake Rotorua, in Rotorua Lakes within the Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand's North Island. It includes the deepest natural spring on the North Island, emerging from ...

on the shores of

Lake Rotorua , image = Lake Rotorua.jpg , caption = Lake Rotorua , alt = Lake Rotorua , image_bathymetry = , pushpin_map=New Zealand#North Island , pushpin_map_alt = Location of Lake Rotorua , pushpin_relief=yes , caption_bathymetry = , location = R ...

, and produced alongside Michael Barker of

Split Enz Split Enz were a New Zealand rock band formed in Auckland in 1972 by Tim Finn and Phil Judd and had a variety of other members during its existence. Originally started as a folk-oriented group with quirky art rock stylings, the band built a ...

. His debut album ''Pūmau'' followed shortly afterwards in 2015. In 2016, Ruha worked as a music consultant and performer for the soundtrack of the

Lee Tamahori Warren Lee Tamahori (; born 17 June 1950) is a New Zealand filmmaker best known for directing the 1994 film '' Once Were Warriors'', the 2001 film '' Along Came a Spider'', and 2002's James Bond film '' Die Another Day''. Upbringing and early care ...

-directed film '' Mahana'', and in 2017 was the musical director for the Te Reo Māori translation of the

film '' Moana''. Ruha's second album ''Survivance'', a soul and R&B collaboration with the Witch Dr., was led by the single "Kalega". The song's title is a Te Tai Rāwhiti Māori slang term meaning "too much". In January 2020, Ruha produced released a live album of gospel waiata in te Reo, sung supergroup Mōhau. The album won the Te Māngai Pāho Mana Reo Award and the Best Worship Artist Te Kaipuoro Kairangi Toa award at the

2020 Aotearoa Music Awards The 2020 Aotearoa Music Awards was the 55th holding of the annual ceremony, renamed the Aotearoa Music Awards featuring awards for musical recording artists based in or originating from New Zealand. It took place on 15 November 2020 at Spark Are ...

. In 2021, the Ruha-produced Te Tai Rāwhiti choir Ka Hao released their debut single " 35", which became a hit single in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, gaining popularity on

TikTok TikTok, known in China as Douyin (), is a short-form video hosting service owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which can range in duration from 15 seconds to 10 minutes. TikTok is an international version ...

during

Te Wiki o te Reo Māori ( en, Māori Language Week) is a government-sponsored initiative intended to encourage New Zealanders to promote the use of the Māori language which is an official language of the country. Māori Language Week is part of a broader movement to ...

(Māori Language Week). Later that year, Ruha released his third studio album, entitled ''Preservation of Scenery''. "35" and " Taera", a single from ''Preservation of Scenery'', were two of the top 10 most commercially successful songs sung in Te Reo Māori for 2021. In 2022, Ruha worked as the co-musical director of '' The Lion King Reo Māori'' (2022), alongside Pere Wihongi.

Personal life

Ruha is married to music manager Cilla Ruha, who he met at high school. Together they have four children. His entire family speaks te reo Māori as their first language. He lives at

Te Kaha Te Kaha is a small New Zealand community situated in the Bay of Plenty near Ōpōtiki. The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage gives a translation of "the rope" for . The full name of Te Kaha is Te-Kahanui-A-Tikirākau. Te Kaha is ...

in the

Bay of Plenty The Bay of Plenty ( mi, Te Moana-a-Toi) is a region of New Zealand, situated around a bight of the same name in the northern coast of the North Island. The bight stretches 260 km from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runawa ...

. Ruha practices raranga ( traditional weaving) and painting, which he learnt from his grandmothers at the age of seven.

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruha, Rob 1980 births 21st-century New Zealand male singers Living people Māori-language singers Music directors New Zealand male singer-songwriters New Zealand record producers People educated at Mana College People from Hicks Bay Ngāti Porou people Ngāti Rangiteaorere people Te Whānau-ā-Apanui people Tuhourangi people