The Mixtape: Hohepa 'The Hori' Thompson

Māori artist Hohepa 'The Hori' Thompson chats to Charlotte Ryan and shares six of his favourite songs.

Hohepa lives in Otaki where he and his partner Mia Brennan run a gallery space and clothing shop Te Church.

The Kapiti Coast town, where Hohepa was born and raised, is "the most beautiful spot for te reo Māori", he says.

Yet after he went to boarding school in Wellington, Hohepa says he consciously put his language and culture aside to avoid being pigeonholed as a "Māori fella".

When racism was directed at him for the first time, Hohepa responded by living in the Pakeha world, making a name for himself via surfing, snowboarding and rugby to avoid being seen as "that Māori kid".

It was only while travelling 12 years after high school that Hohepa realised Māori culture was the thing people overseas found interesting and inspiring about Aotearoa.

"I realised how much of a dick I'd been for so many years that I'd completely stuffed it off, didnt want anything to do with it. I realised I needed to come home and find that part of me."

The name 'Hori' was "bestowed" on Hohepa as a young teen and it was many years before he claimed it with pride.

"I was 14 years old, ran into a chain and knocked myself out 'cause I was gonna get beaten up. When I woke up, my teeth were out and a guy said 'man you look hori' and the name kind of stuck.

"I hated it for years and years [because of] all those negative stereotypes.

In 2012, Hohepa began the journey of "decolonising" himself through art, calling himself 'The Hori' as a way of taking ownership of the word.

"It challenges you and it begs you to ask questions about what's appropriate ... [I like that] it's a very challenging ingoa [nickname] in itself."

Hohepa's early artwork, especially the 2012 print Tame Iti Vs Osama in which he depicted activist Tame Iti as the Saudi Arabian terrorist Osama Bin Laden, was controversial with fellow Māori.

"Art is very subjective so when someone looks at that, especially when Māori looked at that, they got their heads up."

Ten years on, he feels a lot more aware of how his work may be received.

"I quite like being that little hoha [nuisance] stirring the pot a little and getting people to have that korero that might be really awkward. The discussion no one wants to have... I thrive in that space.

"But now I'm very like 'okay, how is this going to pan out?"

In the 2022 video work TAIAPA, Hohepa brought together friends on both sides of the Covid-19 vaccination debate to build a fence.

"[Differences of opinion about vaccination] was really hard for some families. There was a lot of whanau broken up over the mandating. I did not like the mandating, I'm just lucky I didnt have to deal with [any conflict about it].

"Now that saga is hopefully all over, there's a lot of hurt that's still out there… Someone who sees that piece maybe can be inspired to call a family member for a chat."

Hohepa is also a songwriter and plans to record an album of 9 songs he's written over the last 20 years with his brother Nev Rolleston - a brilliantly talented singer.

Nev – who Hohepa only met recently – was one of the children his father had after he left their family and grew up with a Pakeha whanau.

The album, which he says will be called F**kerpapa, will explore the effects on whakapapa when a father is not in his children's lives. 

"The narrative of the album, there's a lot of layers to that, but it's also quite funky and cool."

In honour of Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori, he recently released the music video 'A! O! Reheko!' - a te reo take on the Ramones song 'Blitzkrieg Bop':

The Hori played:

Childish Gambino - 'Redbone'

Hohepa says he didnt know who Childish Gambino (aka Donald Glover) was when he saw the "amazing" image cover of his 2016 album Awaken, My Love! This song is his favourite.

He also recommends the cover version by New Zealand band TOI.

 

RZA - 'Grits'

As a Wu-tang Clan fan from way back, Hohepa has seen RNZ perform live many times.

"This is just the raddest song … it kind of reminds me of when I was young.

"We were a pretty poor whanau. Dad left, mum had three boys to raise on spaghetti and mince - that was kind of our grits, I suppose."

 

Jimi Hendrix - 'Castles Made of Sand'

Hohepa's friend Jimmy Quinn was a "Hendrix fanatic" who taught him to play the guitar at 14.

He describes Hendrix as his "ultimate number one".

 

Troy Kingi - 'True Love'

"When me and [my partner Mia] get married this will be our song."

 

Fleetwood Mac - 'The Chain'

"This is like my hype song. It just reminds me of Forrest Gump for some reason.'

"When it comes in you're like 'oh yeah. I'm ready to go play rugby or go see a thing or do something' so that's why I went with this one."

 

Lauryn Hill - 'Doo Wop (That Thing)'

"I think every guy had a crush on Lauryn Hill in [the 1992 film] Sister Act… She was some hot stuff I reckon and she's just stunning.

Put on this song and "you're ready to go shopping or go get some food or go snowboard down a cliff".