01 / Hear
Hear the Song
02 / Know
Know the Story
They came to prove who was stronger. They left stronger together.
The song comes entirely from my imagination: two powerful cultural crews arrive expecting a confrontation, then discover that mutual recognition and respect make them stronger together.
It is not Tāne who rides with them. They ride with Tāne.
Pure MarTinman mythology
Unlike many songs in the Songbook, Tiki & Vatos Ride is not an account of something that happened to me. It is pure MarTinman mythology—my imagination bringing two cultures together through fantasy, humor, music and respect.
Two crews, one side
The setup has the energy of two gangs arriving to settle a score. Each side knows its own strength and expects to prove it. But as they face one another, they begin to recognize that the supposed opposition is not the enemy at all. They are standing on the same side.
Tāne Mahuta puts forward his best fighters and names the power each one brings. The cholos answer by calling on their own abilities, backed by a MarTinman soundtrack. Nobody has to surrender an identity or pretend the cultures are identical. The meeting works because both sides can recognize the similarities while respecting the differences.
The Tiki figures pay homage to the power and strength I admire in Māori culture. The cholos bring their own pride, loyalty, confidence and street knowledge. Once those qualities are understood instead of challenged, the two crews realize that their combined power makes them stronger than either one standing alone.
Tāne sets the record straight
Tāne then seals the alliance by declaring a new shared name into the world: Tee-kee Cho-loh-Teh-hoo. It is a deliberately invented MarTinman expression, combining Tiki and Cholo with the energy of chee-hoo—the celebratory Polynesian cry of excitement and pride. It belongs to the fantasy of the song, not to the Māori language and not as a claim that the cultures are interchangeable. Inside this MarTinman universe, it names the force that appears when both ride together with respect.
My favorite exchange comes when the cholos tell Tāne that he rides with them. Tāne immediately corrects the arrangement: it is not he who rides with them—they ride with him. I love that line. No matter how bad-ass you think you are, Tāne Mahuta is more bad-ass.
That is the spirit of Tiki & Vatos Ride. It is not a cultural history lesson and it is not trying to speak on anyone else’s behalf. It is fantasy and fun, admiration and respect—two powerful worlds meeting inside my imagination and finding the MarTinman beat already waiting for them.
03 / Feel
Feel the Soul
What it leaves behind
I want you to feel the excitement of finding an ally where you expected an opponent. Respect does not ask either side to become smaller or less distinct. It lets both arrive with their full strength—and creates the possibility of something even stronger between them.
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