Dwayne Johnson says Maui's new “Moana 2” song was vocally challenging — except for rapping: 'I got bars'

"That was multiple sessions to get that song down," the actor says of "Can I Get a Chee-Hoo?", his challenging "Moana 2" track.

Wanna get through it? You just gotta chee-hoo it.

That's the message at the heart of Maui's new pump-up song, "Can I get a Chee-Hoo?" in Moana 2. The song is a bit of an about-face for the cocky demi-god voiced by Dwayne Johnson. In the first Moana, Maui sings "You're Welcome," a self-aggrandizing tune about his own fabulousness.

But Moana 2, in theaters now, turns the tables, illustrating just how far Maui has come thanks to Moana (Auli'i Cravalho). "We wanted to nail the tone of showing how much Maui's grown and how much he cares for Moana," says songwriter Emily Bear, "but still keeping the essence of the Maui that we know and love, while also giving him an epic moment."

Johnsay says "You're Welcome" is about how self-absorbed Maui is. "'You're welcome for everything that I do in this world,'" he explains. "But I love the evolution and this idea that it's not about him; it's about empowering somebody else."

Related: Who is Matangi? Moana 2's beguiling new villain shares a shadowy history with Maui

The song comes near the climax of the sequel, as Moana reaches her lowest point, ready to give up on her attempts to reach the lost island of Motufetu and reconnect the people of Oceania. Maui realizes that only he can pull Moana out of her slump, and he sings the new track to renew her belief in herself.

"We wanted Maui to feel like a father figure or a big brother who's buoying his little sister," adds lyricist Abigail Barlow. "We didn't want it to be coddling her or 'You're the best.' It's like, 'Come on, remember your name.'"

Related: Is Moana a princess? Star Auli'i Cravalho has the definitive answer about the Disney heroine

Barlow and Bear admit they threw out a couple of songs before landing on this one for Maui (including a number they loved that was more of a tonal fit when the story was originally a TV series). "Can I Get a Chee-Hoo?" was the last song they completed for Moana 2, largely because it took them a lot of time to find the balance between heartfelt encouragement and Maui's larger-than-life personality.

"Every time we would try to write something that was inspirational or motivational, it just sounded really cheesy and cringey," says Bear. "Where it switched in our head and when things started to click was when we said, 'Let's put ourselves in Moana's shoes. What would we want to be told? When I've messed up everything, there's zero hope. What would actually make me feel a little bit better?'"

"It wouldn't be someone being like, 'Oh, it'll be okay,'" Bear continues. "It would be, 'Moana, why don't you believe in yourself? Even this gigantic, all powerful crazy storm god Nalo believes in you enough to send all of these monsters out to try to take you down. He thinks you can do it, and if he thinks you can do it, why aren't you believing you can do it?' That's what started the mindset shift."

So much of Moana 2 is about subverting expectations — be it reveals about new villain Matangi (Awhimai Fraser), Moana's old foe the Kakamora, or changes and growth in Moana and Maui themselves. "Can I get a Chee-Hoo?" is the summation of the growth at the heart of the narrative, almost reversing what Maui and Moana meant to each other in the first film.

Related: Maui's arc in Moana 2 allowed Dwayne Johnson to reflect on his own vulnerability: 'Asking for help is a superpower'

"In the first film, she did that for Maui," says co-director David G. Derrick. "She helped motivate him and get him back up on his feet. There's a critical moment where Maui actually returns that favor in an incredible, beautiful way, and it's super entertaining."

Adds Cravalho, who has voiced Moana across both films: "I wasn't expecting growth to be such a central theme this time around. I certainly hoped so, as I myself have grown. I like that growth is shown throughout our script and our music and my voice. It makes all the difference because it makes it real to also turn it on its head. In our first film, Moana helped Maui get out of the slump, and this time around Maui needs to give Moana a little pep talk."

Johnson, who says he loves his new song, also emphasizes the importance of the pump-up message at its center. "I'm a proud girl dad of three girls, so I'm all about girl power and I'm all about empowering women," he says.

Still, he admits that the song was quite difficult for him to get right. "Not to get too technical, but Barlow and Bear, they are forces when they write," he explains. "Abigail and Emily came in with something that was very challenging and I loved it. That was multiple sessions to get that song down because it goes into a lot of different places. Their words, not mine, it's 'Bohemian Rhapsody' and all the places that it goes. So it was a challenge, but I loved every second of it."

Related: Meet Simea, Moana's little sister and a feisty addition to Moana 2 (exclusive)

However, the song does allow Johnson to show off his ability to spit a verse. "I got bars," he insists. "I grew up loving hip-hop music. My love is hip-hop music and traditional country — put them together. That's how I grew up."

Barlow and Bear specifically chose to infuse the song with a Jawaiian beat, a sub-genre of music from Hawaii that combines reggae and hip-hop. That was part of their collaboration with the Oceanic Cultural Trust, a group of 13 experts in various cultural practices and traditions of Oceania. The trust would review each song as the duo wrote them and offer feedback — and they saw the opportunity to inject a nugget of musical culture in "Can I Get a Chee-Hoo?".

Related: Beyond the sea: Moana 2's Auli'i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson reflect on the unexpected path to their surprise sequel

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"It goes into this reggaton feel for a second," says Bear. "But that was inspired because the sub-genre of Jawaiian is a huge thing on the islands, and we all thought it'd be really fun to inject that in somewhere. So we did."

Still, it's not the cultural resonance and meaning, the empowerment message, or even the fact that he got to show off his rap skills that makes Johnson love his new track. It's the possibility that fans may have something new to shout at him besides "You're welcome."

"It's going to happen," he says, with a laugh. "It has that potential as an anthemic song."

So, come-on-a, Moana, go get your destiny.