Muroki Mbote Wa Githinji (born 2001), known mononymously as Muroki, is a Kenyan-New Zealand soul-pop musician. A member of the bands Cloak Bay and Masaya, Muroki debuted as a solo musician in 2019. In 2021, Muroki's song "Wavy" became a hit single in New Zealand.
Biography
Muroki grew up in Raglan, New Zealand, and attended Hamilton Boys' High School. At 14 he decided he wanted to become a musician. Together with Lennox Reynolds, the pair formed the group Cloak Bay, releasing their debut extended play Digi Town and the Boogie Boys in 2017. In 2019, Muroki began releasing music as the bassist for the band Masaya.
In 2019, Muroki released his debut solo single "For Better or Worse", which caught the attention of New Zealand musician Benee, who played it during her appearance on Elton John's podcast Rocket Hour. Benee later reached out to Muroki over Instagram, and asked him to perform as a supporting act of her New Zealand tour in late 2020. In October 2020, Benee signed Muroki as the first musician on Olive Records, her personal imprint label.
In April 2021, Muroki released Dawn, an extended play he had been working on for a year alongside producers Josh Fountain and Djeisan Suskov. The lead single from the EP, "Wavy", became a hit in New Zealand later in the year, and during Te Wiki o te Reo Māori Muroki released a Te Reo version of the song, entitled "Rehurehu".
Muroki released his third EP, "Timezones". Muroki described it as a "black soul record" which "speaks to the rainbow of emotions and experiences that I’ve endured throughout my relationship”.
Discography Extended plays Title Album details Peak chart positions NZArtist Dawn Released: 16 April 2021 Label: Olive Records Format: Digital download, streaming 17 Heading East Released: 15 September 2022 Label: Olive Records Format: Digital download, streaming — Timezones Released: 7 March 2024 Label: Olive Records Format: Digital download, streaming 20
Singles As lead artist Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album NZ NZArtistPeak positions for Muroki's singles on the NZ Artist singles chart: For "Wavy": For "Rehurehu": "For Better or Worse" 2019 — — "Light Me Up" 2020 — — Dawn "Wavy" 2021 26 3 RMNZ: Platinum "Crossroads" — — "Surfin" — — rowspan="2" "Still Care" — — "Find Me" 2022 — — Heading East "Simple Pleasures" — — "Sweet Lime" 2023 — — "Middle Ground" — —Timezones "Love Cocoon" — — "Bad Dreams" 2024 — — "—" denotes a recording that did not chart.
As lead artist Title Year Peak chart positions Album NZArtistHot "Answer" 2022 3
Other charted songs Title Year Peak chart positions Album NZHot NZArtist "Rehurehu" 2021 7 17
Guest appearances Title Year Other artists Album "All the Time" 2020 Benee Hey U X
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