(Music) Andy: So that's how, basically, Hawaiian music turned into Island Music turned into Jawaiian music.

Sunaina: I found three origin stories for the word Jawaiian.

Number one, Jamaican artist Rankin Scroo used the word and for him, it meant part Jamaican, part Hawaiian.

And this must have happened in the early 80s.

Number two, Andy Sexton of the band Simplisity made it up one morning in the parking lot at Jubilee's.

Jubilee's was a cornerstone in the Jawaiian scene in the 80s and 90s.

Apparently he has trademarked the word, but I have not confirmed this.

Number three, Brickwood Galuteria created it in 1986 in a meeting with ethnomusicologists Jay Yunker and Rick Trimillos at UH Manoa when they were planning a revival of Peter Moon's kanikapila concert series.

Butch: The word Jawaiian, I believe, was, was invented by Andy from Simplisity.

I think that's the first time I ever heard it.

Kalei: So the origin of the word Jawaiian, we were there Uncle John Sexton, from the group Simplisity came up with that word.

And that word meant jamming Hawaiian.

Andy: The old, the old, the old jamming Hawaiian, you know, was just nothing but a slang, a Pidgin, the jamming Hawaiians, that they used to call us, that was their name.

We would name the band jamming Hawaiians.

Back before, was Simplisity.

Kalei: And it didn't have to be a reggae musician.

It could be Hawaiian musician, any, a Hawaiian who was jamming music that was a Jawaiian.

Andy: Where's Jawaiian?

Jawaiian is not Hawaiian.

Yes, it is.

It's not Jamaican, it's Hawaiian.

Sunaina: Different people define Jawaiian in several different ways.

Some use it as a blanket term to refer to all of the localized reggae from Hawai'i.

Still others contend that Jawaiian is actually quite specific, and that it only refers to older island music or island reggae and that it has a distinctive style.

JD & Papa T: You know, it was jam in Hawaiian, and then it was Hawaiians that believe in ja, you know, I like both of them, you know, but there was controversy, and people were trying to patent the name, and then it just got really ridiculous.

And then people were saying, who invented it and who made it up and whatever?

John: After a while, people were trying to say that it's meant something other than Jamaican and Hawaiian, but that's what it was, Jawaiian music.

It was, it was another example of people in Hawai'i adopting and adapting an outside idea, a haole idea and gradually creating something that was unique to Hawai'i.

Kalei: I first started performing professionally in 1987.

I was a senior in high school.

That was my cousin them, Jerry Boy, Fia had a group called Tropical Wine.

Tim Troxell, Papa T from the group B.E.T., he's my first cousin.

JD & Papa T: Yeah, family band.

Same thing.

Tropical Wine back in the day, mid 80s.

Kalei: So we started playing in clubs like Jubilee nightclub, Moonglow Lounge in Waipahu, Kalihi Palace, all the dive bars.

JD & Papa T: There wasn't too many ragamuffin songs, you know.

So I would do a Shaba or something and get paid with beer and food.

Just gotta sing two songs, and I can eat and drink all I want.

(laughing) Kalei: And, you know, a lot of these bands nowadays, I gotta say they don't know what it means to pay their dues.

We be doing four hour gigs for 50 bucks each, you know, sometimes less than that, and gotta pay the dues, man.

I mean, but Tropical Wine, we was playing reggae before even that word Jawaiian was born.

We was playing reggae bass guitar 'ukulele in all these clubs, because we was all influenced by Bob Marley, Steel Pulse, Aswad, UB40, the that was all our influences.

86-87 man, you got groups like Simplisity, Uncle Andy them, Nu'uanu Brothers, Makaha Sons of Ni'ihau with brother Iz still, they was playing at Jubilee's.

And they had Bruddah Waltah and Island afternoon, who was playing at Jubilee's every night from like one to three o'clock in the morning.

They were the after-hours band.

Russell: Ho'aikane, when we when we came here, everything was new.

We were fresh.

Nobody had no clue who Ho'aikane was.

And then we met up with the likings of Braddah Waltah, Aipolani.

I can truly, you know, testify honestly, that watching him in Jubilee's that first time, when I was there, I was like, mind blown, like, what is this?

What is going on?

We don't have this on the Big Island.

We don't even stay up this late.

And then Bruddah Waltah comes on two o'clock in the morning.

I say, what's going on here, and then he goes to four o'clock, and then, you know, everybody's having a great time.

Kalei: So we had, like, Tuesday nights at Jubilee's, and they would come on after, two, maybe three people.

We will try to be some of the audience, because we had Tuesday night so there's nobody there, right?

But there, the groups will be featured in the early part, and they will be the after-hours band.

Bruddah Waltah Island Afternoon.

They were awes- They were awesome.

Bruddah Waltah: My sister started dancing hula when we was small, see, so my mom and dad used to go on and play with the halau that she was dancing for.

So I got, you know, I was really interested in music from when I was small.

Thailiana: In the start of his career, he went to Japan.

He had a hula show.

He had hula show with his sister and his two brothers.

His sister sent him a CD from New Zealand.

Bruddah Waltah: My sister gave me a tape of Bob Marley, a Marley tape.

She told me to listen to it.

So, I listened to a couple songs, and every song sound the same so it didn't really grab me, you know, but it was different, something different.

I never heard that kind of music before.

It was really good, but it didn't really grab me until I went to went to the Shell and seen him.

Thailiana: So I don't know if anybody out there heard about the story about him seeing Bob Marley down at the Shell.

Anaiya: And his hair looked like█ Bruddah Waltah: His hair, from far away, when look like pakalolo.

His hair from far away when look like colas.

Thailiana: Colas.

(laughing) Bruddah Waltah: So I run down to the stage.

Bob was smoking the fattest joint I ever did see.

Right then and there, I told myself.

Self?

Bruddah Waltah family: Told myself.

Self?.

Bruddah Waltah: This is what I want to do.

Bruddah Waltah family: This is what I want to do.

(laughing) Bruddah Waltah: Smoke them fatties.

Bruddah Waltah family: Smoke them fatties.

Smoke them fatties Thailiana: That's what he did through all his career.

He smoked and played music.

Yeah, he smoked and he played music and he created his own self, you know, his own style, his Hawaiian reggae all came out from, you know that smoking, that fatty, okay, the music.

He liked it.

You know that chen chen, chen, he said.I know.

Anaiya: But he was raised with Hawaiian music, so he wanted to, like, mix it a little bit, you know.

So him and his brothers went and they started█ Thailiana: And they did their own thing.

News speaker: Playing local clubs around Wai'anae and Poka'i Bay with his brothers, it was the beginning of a promising musical future.

But when his manager, Ernest Amana was killed, his solo career was put on hold.

Bruddah Waltah: He got killed in a bar just for a $28 tab, you know, it was stupid like that.

But that made me scared, because people wanted, you know, after he died, and people wanted us, wanted to take us.

And I was still young, and my brothers were still elementary school, intermediate school, so instead of me being in charge of them, we went with my uncle.

He was much older.

I didn't have to worry about anything.

You know, my uncle now, if you want, you got anything to say, talk to my uncle, was that kind of attitude.

Thailiana: He wasn't into Hawaiian reggae yet, until, maybe when he played with his uncle a month and with his two brothers, and they were called Na Mele Kane at the time.

Chris: I'd heard about, you know, people, people would come by the club.

They just came from Na Mele Kane's gig and now I'm coming to see you guys.

And like, okay, well, who's, you know, we know we're playing Friday and Saturday, so we don't know who's out there.

But he told us about them.

Thailiana: People started labeling it, I guess, Jawaiian.

And he said, we're not Jawaiians.

We Hawaiians, you know.

So no say we Jawaiian.

Bruddah Waltah: If that's how they categorize the music.

Well, let them say it's Jawaiian music, but for me, Jawaiian, it's just like we're not Rastas, you know.

We don't have dreadlocks.

If we do, we just maybe trying to be Rasta wannabes you know.

I wish we would all be ourselves.

Liana: And I think that's one of the main ways that he dealt with it really was just being genuine to himself and knowing like, I like this type of music, and I'm Hawaiian, that's my identity.

Anaiya: So I'm going to stick with it.

Liana: Mix it together and create something that's just us, you know, something that represents us as Hawaiians.

Bruddah Waltah: They suffer so they can.

They can write about suffering and, and stress and being taken away from their country and brought to someplace else as slaves.

I can relate to that, but see us Hawaiians, we never we never suffer like that.

We struggle, but we don't suffer.

So most of my songs is hard to write about suffering here in this beautiful paradise.

It's hard to write about suffering.

Liana: He talks about, like, some things that we go through as Hawaiians, you know, from our own, what's the word?

Thailiana: Perspective?

Liana: Yeah, from, like, our own perspective, or our own indigenous trauma, like things that we go through as indigenous people, as Hawaiians, Kanaka.

So blending those two together, creating something that was genuinely his own, or something that represented us.

Jamin: You know, and reggae was fun, yeah, every time we play 'em in the bars, in the club.

So I guess that's where the things stem from people dancing.

So we like that feeling, the energy.

Play one more reggae song, play 'em, for you know, before you know it, you're writing reggae songs.

We're putting out reggae albums.

(music) A New Beginning came out in '89 which was my dad, Jameson Wong, Walter Tavares, Russell Mauga and Nolan Hao.

So that was the four of them.

John: They started out as a, I guess it was a nice Big Island back, back porch Hawaiian crew.

And then they discovered reggae or Jawaiian music.

And I have to say, I saw them in concert at the Blaisdell Arena, and they were, I as I remember, they were speaking what they thought Jamaicans sound like.

And after most of the songs, they would yell Jah Rastafari, as if that meant something important to them.

I don't think we would want to hear some imitation Hawaiian group yelling imua Pele or, you know, kokua 'ohana or something after the end of songs.

But the interesting thing is, they continued to evolve.

Jamin Wong and his father Wongi joined the group.

They evolved into a much more original sounding group.

Jamin: After New Beginning, it was Island Irie, which was our biggest album.

(music) We're from the big, Big Island.

Listen to our reggae jam.

Jokey Move, Kailua-Kona, All Night till Daylight, Stop the Hunger, Romeo, you know, we still play those songs today in our lineup.

Kimo: Radio, back in the day had a huge role, you know, commercial local radio.

You know, broke a lot of they broke the local reggae scene.

You know, that was, they were basically reggae stations.

It was all local reggae, but they were playing reggae music.

And, you know, I think a lot of the, the artists owe their, their popularity to them.

Radio DJ: Seven o'clock right here on KAOI FM, Wailuku, 95.1 96.7 Upcountry and West Maui.

Jammin' Jamic: Originally KAOI 95 FM is a rock and roll station on Maui that formed in the 70s, and it was primarily rock and roll, but there was a lot of freedom.

And in that freedom, KAOI was also playing reggae.

So they were playing some Bob Marley, some Third World.

But when Bob Marley came to Maui in 1979 he did the show in Waikiki, in one show in May '80 or '79 on Maui and that really left a big impact on the island, as it did around the world.

Marty Dread: The effect of him playing here was much more profound on Maui in the beginning.

So I think, like people liked more roots to your music, like Bob Marley and Peter Tosh.

I believe it took root on Maui before it took root on O'ahu.

O'ahu seemed like he was a little bit more, they took more to like the real melodic Hawaiian, real beautiful harmonies.

I think that happened more on O'ahu.

Maui liked the real hard roots reggae in the beginning.

And it was at least five years to a decade before O'ahu kind of caught on.

Jimmy and Felis: Maui likes, they like roots on Maui, like, if you play 'em the modern stuff, they're not, they're not really into it, you know, but the roots of roots, I don't know.

It's something to do with that island, that that vibe.

Jammin' Jamic: And Bob Marley passed away just a few weeks after I got to Maui.

He died in May 1981 and when I saw that Maui was impacted by his death, that was sort of the moment I knew that that was going to be, what, where I was going to gravitate.

And so finally, Peter Tosh came to Maui in August, '83 and it was clear that it was time to start a show, and that was the first commercial radio station in Hawai'i to have a reggae radio show.

So again, because, because the only station playing reggae on O'ahu was KTUH.

And just imagine 100-watt college station just barely reaches the campus, but 100,000-watt commercial station reaches all the islands.

And our towers were on Haleakala, so they were way up high.

And this the signal was so it was mostly dominant on Maui and Kailua-Kona, but you can reach it on O'ahu and Kaua'i.

And we we heard from people who would do, would gather on Saturday nights where you could get reception and listen to the show from Maui.

Jimmy and Felis: We used to try and drive our cars to catch the signal.

Even Kaua'i station too, like on here on the North Shore, we could catch Kaua'i station, and they were playing like reggae, reggae.

But I think the reason also is because O'ahu is, you know, mainstream, yeah, and there's a lot of, you know, politricks that go into who gets airtime and stuff like that.

So I think that has a lot to do with it.

And Maui, you know, they, you know, country, country people, yeah, and they know us up.

O'ahu people do too.

But you know, we get, we get, you know, a lot of other type of genres here that are, like fighting for that airplay.

Radio DJ: Right now I got this room full of guys, Jam Jamiko, Marty Dread, ready to take over the controls on FM.

Jammin' Jamic: I was introduced to Marty Dread, and he was, like, still in high school, or just out of high school.

And when he came in, I realized that that he was a reggae star in his own right, and he was knowledgeable, a lot of personality, so I immediately invited him.

The very first show, I invited him to come back on a regular basis and co-host the show with me.

Marty Dread: Jammin' Jamic and Marty Dread at the controls.

We have the controls until midnight.

Can't stop this.

Jammin' Jamic: And so that would have been in the mid to later 80s.

I left the show to Marty Dread, and then he went 24/7 on Maui.

So that would have been the first time reggae had a station 24/7 in Hawai'i was on Maui, and Marty Dread programmed that.

Jamin: Marty Dread, big up.

One nother ambassador of reggae.

Marty Dread, it's underrated.

He's one of the best, greatest.

He's one of the best performers from Hawai'i.

I don't know if he chooses to, you know, be far in between two shows, but I can tell you, he's legendary.

Marty Dread: I think the DJs of Hawai'i, the people who select the music on the radio, had a lot to do with its popularity.

You have to listen to each record to find the two or three good songs that you think the crowd will like.

That time and effort, you got to give the programmers and the DJs their flowers for that, because they took countless hours to bring the best selections to people.

Billy V: So if you went to a lot of the parties before 1990 like in the 80s, people would be playing Bob Marley and the Wailers, and they would be playing other reggae artists.

On my first day of working at KCCN radio in Honolulu, this is AM 1420, I was working with Dave Lancaster.

I worked with him for a week, and then I was introduced and told that I would be doing news now instead of the afternoons in the mid days.

So I was walked in and I met a young lady who would become a mentor of mine for years to come, Jacqueline Leilani Lindsay, the Honolulu Skylark.

Leslie: At that time was there Hawaiian music on the air?

Skylark: There was one station, and that's why I was so excited about getting an opportunity to work there was KCCN.

They were Leslie: AM?

Skylark: It was an AM station.

It was from sunrise to midnight.

Billy V: After working with her for about a month, she told me quietly that she was going to move stations.

Would I like to come with her and be her news director?

I was like, really, we would move over to station, AM 650, K, O, R, L, KORL radio.

The station did not do well financially.

It had a mainland owner, so they went ahead and shut down closed the doors.

Devastation.

I went to work for a contemporary hit radio station, Krater 96 for a couple of years.

Up to this point, know that there is no FM station in the world that is playing Hawaiian music 24/7.

The year is 1989, 1990.

Skylark lets me know that she's ready to put one on, and she says, I need your help.

Went straight over.

Told Skylark, I'm ready to work.

Leslie: A popular broadcaster today, Billy, Billy V, Billy von Oswald says you were his radio kumu, and he was so thrilled when you called him over to work at KCCN FM, and he said, basically, you folks built the studio.

Skylark: We did.

I mean, we hammered the nails and we, I mean, from the from the ground up.

Billy V: From January through April, it was nothing but putting things together in the production rooms, recording the music, getting it ready, putting it on the carts, which look like eight track tapes, getting new music, finding new music or older music that wasn't readily available.

So, we'd go scour at the libraries we go scour at the swap meets, looking for albums that were still in great condition, gathering the music together.

KCCN FM, 100 went on the air on May 14, 1990.

(Radio DJ speaking into microphone) (Bruddah Waltah playing music) News speaker: His record Hawaiian Reggae has outsold national artists like Janet Jackson and Madonna.

Together with his band Island Afternoon, Bruddah Waltah is one of Hawai'i's biggest Jawaiian recording stars.

Billy V: When 1990 started out, and we started broadcasting as KCCN FM 100, his was one of the first albums that came out as being brand new.

And boy, every single song the crowd could sing it whenever they heard it in any concert venue.

John: Waltah was one of the first local artists I remember, who took a local hit and put a reggae rhythm to it, and so when he did it, it was kind of a fresh idea.

You know like a year later it had been done so many times.

It wasn't fresh anymore.

Billy V: As time went by, a very short time within this first year, things seem to explode for us on the air.

It's like suddenly Hawaiian contemporary Hawaiian music was everywhere.

It hadn't been that way for a while.

Kona: From a musician standpoint.

I mean, this was the station, and if you know my background, I performed with a local group called Tropical Nights, and we were successful back in the 90s and made several albums.

So KCCN was huge for Hawai'i musicians.

I mean, this was the radio station to get your music played.

Billy V: As time went by, a little bit more contemporary was added because we didn't want to be too close now to 1420 AM, they are the traditional station, so we went more contemporary to give them room.

Lina: And I believe that the original intention was to slowly pull back from the reggae and introduce more Hawaiian music to the younger generation.

And I think what happened was it did the exact opposite.

We started putting in a little bit more reggae and pulling back, or our artists started to say, hey, you know what?

We love this.

So we had groups that were coming out with CDs, or, you know, album releases that had maybe half Hawaiian and half reggae.

John: Lena girl, I believe, told me that when they started out, they weren't really thinking about being a reggae group.

But this is what people, you know, they noticed that this, these were the songs people liked.

This is what they wanted to hear.

They wanted to hear more.

You know, they could get radio play doing reggae music.

They could sell records.

Danny Kennedy said the same thing to me about Mana'o Company.

They started out with ideas of being more like the surfers, which were a popular Hawaiian quartet in the six in the 50s.

But again, the reggae songs were the ones that really got the crowd going.

And so Mana'o Company evolved in that direction.

Danny: We were right here in 1985 brown bags to stardom.

We performed here as a band from Kaiser High School called Na Kane Pono, which was 50% of the band had to come from one school.

So there was me and John Baricuatro who were, who were going to Kaiser.

And then we had Weldon Kekauoha from Kalani, his cousin Kawehi Kekauoha from Roosevelt.

TV announcer: The grand prize winner tonight, from Kaiser High School, Na Kane Pono.

Na Kane Pono, $500 in cash.

Come on up here.

News speaker: Danny Kennedy and John Baricuatro Jr, began singing together while still in high school.

In 1989, Danny and John went into the studio with friends Sean Naauao and Kuhio Yim to record as The Mana'o Company.

Danny: That was kind of our first step.

Was kind of going from just being a fundraiser band and a party band to actually thinking about, you know, seriously making a run at it.

In 1988 I think it was, we did our research on recording and and we hooked up with a guy named Dave Tucciarone, who was our producer.

And also, just to this day, we're very good friends.

He's a good, good friend, a brother to us.

Dave: Their first album, they came in and they did stuff like, I think there was, “Just Beyond the Ridge.” Was it, Just Beyond the Ridge.

It's kind of a, you know, Hawaiian pop song, contemporary Hawaiian.

Danny (1980s): Our whole album was gonna be done that way.

And then maybe about one month into our project, we hooked up with our drummer, and we started to get a little into the reggae music.

And now we've gone a lot into the reggae music.

Danny: As we got to the tail end of our recording is when Bruddah Waltah's album had hit.

And it was kind of taking, taking the music industry by, by storm.

Even for us live, people would request a lot of the Bruddah Waltah stuff and the Butch Helemano.

And even Brother Noland was was, was had had reggae in his in his repertoire already, so we were doing that kind of music on the live performances.

And we thought, hey, before we finish this album, maybe we should, we should throw a couple reggae, reggae, you know, put a little reggae twist on it.

And so we did two covers.

One was “Drop Baby Drop” and and we did an original mix.

It's a medley, actually.

It's “Drop, Baby Dro” by Eddy Grant, and “Who Loves You Pretty Baby” by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.

And so we did that combo.

So if you hear that combo, that's our original idea that we recorded.

But we definitely didn't write those songs, you know.

So people ask us, you know, all time.

Oh, when did you write that song?

So we didn't write that song.

And “96 Degrees,” which is a Third World song, we also covered that one back and put those last two on the album.

And that was the beginning.

“Drop Baby Drop” was the first song that we got to hear ourselves on am radio.

FM wasn't even out yet, yeah.

The timing was kind of crazy because that's right when KCCN 1420 was rolling into FM 100 it was going to be the first time we could actually hear music on the FM side.

And, you know, it the timing worked out with Billy V, and he heard our stuff.

And Billy V was coming into the radio same time that we were coming into the music.

And, you know, he was like we got to get this on the radio, you know.

So we're very fortunate for that, but that was really what started us doing more reggae.

News speaker: It takes a special kind of group to successfully bridge that gap, one that can play new styles and still remain true to their musical foundations.

One of the young groups bridging that gap is The Mana'o Company.

Playing new styles they still remember their traditional Hawaiian music background.

(playing Drop Baby Drop by Mana'o Company) My heart does the tango with every little move you make.

I love you like a mango.

Wish we could make it every day.

I want you to drop baby drop, baby drop.

Got to drop all your love on me, drop baby drop, baby drop, drop cause I'm hungry.

Drop, baby, drop, baby drop, got to drop all your love on me, drop baby drop, baby drop, drop cause I'm hungry.

My nights won't be so lonely█.

Billy V: Mana'o company, which Mana'o company, I think they are the most untapped.

I mean, they've got so much talent.

Ah!

I remember that!

untapped talent.

It's not funny.

And I still say the same thing.

I still believe it.

And Mana'o company, I think they can do four part harmony.

They can do Hawaiian real well.

They can do Jawaiian and reggae real well.

They're a group to watch out for.

Devon: I remember Mana'o seeing Mana'o company do “96” or “Drop baby drop” stuff like that.

And to this day, I mean, those guys do that song, as soon as they start, the place just goes nuts.

Dave: How could I ever forget “96 Degrees?” And I'll tell you why, because, I don't know if he mentioned this, but we were so ignorant to reggae music and reggae and Rastafari and, you know, language and stuff like that.

Kuhio Yim sang “96 Degrees,” and so he's inside singing the song, and he's singing like “Taking iodine to greet the big fat sour one.” And I then I stopped, I stopped the tape.

I said, “Kuhio, is that the lyric?” And he goes, “Well, yeah, this is what, this is what I pulled off the record, as far as I can tell.” But again, we were so ignorant and didn't really know much about reggae music that so what happened next was the Third World was the group that recorded that song, and apparently, Mana'o Company got to warm them up at the Waikiki show.

And Danny told me this story that he looked off stage at some point during “96 Degrees,” and he said the brothers were just like cracking up.

And he said later on, after they were they were pau, they went off stage, and it's like, “Mon, it's not iodine, it's I, and I,” you know, nobody knew I and I, but an irie, well, we, they found out the hard way.

So if you listen, if you ever listen to the song now, you'll hear taking iodine.

Nobody takes iodine and lives.

(laughing) John: Their reggae songs hit.

The reggae songs became the ones that the radio stations were playing.

So they evolved in that direction.

They are an important group in Hawaiian music, and also for their place as one of the groups to break out big as reggae or Jawaiian arists back in I guess, first generation of Hamaican and Jawaiian artists.

In Hawai'i., Billy V: You had guys like the Mana'o Company, Butch Helemano, Kapena, Willie K., all of these artists that were coming up with their own distinctive styles.

It wasn't really reggae, even though the beat you could say was, it wasn't contemporary Hawaiian.

It was kind of right down that middle.

Devon: Bill, who was our PD, recognized Skylark as well, that this is kind of where the music was going to go.

So they started to allow it to happen, sort of letting the leash out a little bit.

There came a point where I think, you know, how much is too much happened, but I think it all kind of worked out for the best.

Lanai: You only had one radio station at the time playing it, so it was kind of like, wait a minute, I can only play this amount of Hawaiian music.

And now you're going to bring in this other sound, and you're going to start taking away from people don't realize radio you can only play 14 songs in an hour.

The average person that listened to the radio back in the day before the internet was 20 minutes.

So if you had 20 minutes, you had two power songs that you could play in those 20 minutes, what are you going to play Hawaiian or are you going to play this new island reggae sound?

So of course, people in that genre, Hawaiian music sound was going to be a little irritated, and I had friends on both sides, so I see and heard both sides, you know, I think that's where it kind of got a little crazy.

If you had more radio stations, or if reggae music had its own radio station, there'd be no conflict.

There would be no problems.

But I think the conflict and the problems is what made it popular.

Billy V: But just remember that when KCCN FM 100 was doing well with contemporary there would be traditional artists that would blow right past that, because Ho'okena would come up, and they would just everybody, wow.

Keali'i Reichel, wow.

In my opinion, some people might think different, but the explosion of one supported the other.

Radio DJ: We are Hawaii's favorite island music station, the all new FM 100, 29 minutes after 10 o'clock.

News speaker: An active supporter of Hawaii's new music scene.

KCCN FM is considered Hawaii's only Jawaiian station.

It took a chance last year when it began broadcasting an all island music format, playing Caribbean reggae and island rhythms, the station has successfully challenged top 40 radio.

Radio DJ: The all new FM 100.

Honolulu Skylark: Nobody here is willing to take the step to be progressive, to get into the local people and understand where their feelings are.

And I think that's why the KCCN FM is making such an impact right now in the marketplace.

It's spinning heads around people going, what is this format?

Why are people listening to it?

It's because they can relate to it and it's and it's bridging the generation gaps.

Skylark: I was amazed at how many people were listening.

I had no idea that the young kids would gravitate to it so well.

I thought, okay, sure, we add a little color with the Jamaican music.

And you know, that would keep the young kids, and then we get the kupunas and have their their style of traditional Hawaiian music.

But could it actually blend?

And would it actually work?

And it did, Russell: You know, KCCN back then, he was, you know, Aunty Skylark, you know Uncle Billy, Billy V, you know all of them.

They're great supporters.

You know, when they discovered Ho'aikane, we became close friends.

You know uncle cousin Alan Awana, way back when, you know all these radio stations.

And then slowly but surely, Ho'aikane came around.

(Laughing, chatting) Butch: One of my friends who was a distributor for Budweiser him and I got together one night.

He wanted to do a concert, and I told him, I said, why don't you charge five bucks for your concert and do it at Aloha Tower?

He said, You know, that's a good idea.

He goes, but I don't know whether the sponsors would allow me to charge only $5.

I said, look, these guys are charging 15, 20, and 30.

If you charge five, you're going to fill up your arena.

Dave Boot was the guy's name, was the distributor for Budweiser.

Andy: He had Budweiser before the Heineken.

Budweiser to do the first sponsorships for two years.

They sponsored the old Jawaiian Jams at the old Aloha Tower, which gets the escalator all the way to the top.

Butch: That drew a lot of people The price got them there, and exposed a lot of artists who wouldn't have had the exposure.

Andy: What it did, it opened up another avenue for all these young kids that are out there now, till today, and they're playing island music.

Billy V: It started out as being full, but after two more concerts on a Friday night at Aloha Tower, it became packed.

If you remember the old Aloha Tower, the whole parking lot in the second deck just filled with people, and the line would go down the escalator out to Nimitz highway and down for about half a mile.

Jimmy and Felis: It was actually the first band at the First Jawaiian jam at Aloha Tower.

It was fun.

Was upstairs.

Yeah, Aloha Tower upstairs.

I just remember, like this choke people was full.

And then I forget who was a Simplisity yeah they, they was the first local Hawaiian band I saw perform live like, like they did a Bob, Bob Marley cover.

And it was, it was good, bro, good musicians.

(Simplisity music) Andy: For Simplisity, to be able to sit here and share with you what really happened, is back in 1974 we're playing we're playing hillbilly music.

They call us hillbilly Hawaiians.

John: Simplisity stands out because as far as I know, they were the first group to incorporate the phrase Keep Hawaiian Lands in Hawaiian Hands in their recordings.

And they were one of the first groups I remembered to be playing Jamaican or reggae songs without trying to sound like they were Jamaicans.

And they had a very strong, I think, a very strong political consciousness that they didn't put forth or put forward in their music, but if you listen, you knew kind of where they were going.

And you know the phrase Keep Hawaiian Lands in Hawaiian Hands, you know, is still resonates so much respect to Simplisity.

Sunaina: In 1991 Jawaiian or island music artists actually dominated the nominations for the Na Hoku Hanohano awards, but there were only two winners.

Danny: The Na Hoku Hanohano Awards, that was, that was really the when the change was happening, that the reggae performances were getting more nominations for the Hokus.

And what ended up kind of snowballing from there, just more and more artists started producing it, releasing it, Ho'aikane, more artists that were up and coming were sticking a little more to that genre.

Sunaina: Local people have always loved reggae, ever since it first arrived.

But at the same time, I think there's always been this critical opinion towards Jawaiian or island music floating around ever since musicians started mixing reggae with Hawaiian music.

Danny: In the beginning, people would would say things to us like, you know, I thought you guys were Hawaiian.

I thought you guys were Hawaiian artists, and that, you know, we were in the middle of a movement that we didn't even realize was would be so significant, especially as we look at it today.

Sunaina: In 1991 there was a backlash against Jawaiian music, and much of the criticism came from more traditionalist people in the industry, and they had really strong ideas about the definition of Hawaiian music, as in, they thought that Hawaiian music had a specific sound, and maybe used a lot of 'olelo Hawai'i, and just that it had very specific characteristics.

And for them, the issue was not that young Hawaiians were taking music that was not theirs, but rather that they were turning away from quote, unquote, real Hawaiian music, and they were also totally fine with reggae by itself.

The problem was the mixture.

Ricardo: The Jawaiian phenomenon is, I think, a repetition of what has happened to Hawaiian music throughout its history.

That is, it finds other kinds of music and other kinds of lifestyles that are sympathetic to or somehow are attractive to Hawaiian musicians, and then they're incorporated.

Skylark: It is islands coming together.

It's a beat, it's a feeling, it's jamming.

It's a different kind of blend of island music than what we are used to here.

And you put the two blends together in its culture.

That's that island feeling.

It's that island soul, the oneness, the uniqueness, the love, the aloha.

It's all the same.

They say ja, we say aloha.

It's almost the same.

Esther: My reaction was mixed, and I'll explain that.

On the one hand, I thought it was incredibly interesting as a cultural and political development.

On the other hand, as a Jamaican, just reacting to the music, I had mixed feelings.

There was music that I enjoyed that I felt in some way was better quality or more organic.

What bothered me and made me feel kind of embarrassed was the very derivative kind of music where this they were trying to sound Jamaican, or they were aping a certain style.

And, you know, it almost seemed like an impersonation that hadn't quite gone right.

Dave: John Berger, the who reviewed for the Star-Advertiser or Bulletin for many, many years, he would always comment that the faux Jamaican accents just really drove him nuts.

Yeah, he really didn't like that.

And, you know, he liked the music, but because that took it is trying to take it to a place, maybe where it doesn't belong, and that should be the the domain of Jamaicans and, you know, rastafaris doing actual reggae music, but it's crept into the reggae pop scene here.

And I still I hear it like you can turn on the radio and listen to a couple of songs and you're going to hear it.

John: My impression back in the 80s and 90s was that people who took the trouble to become fluent in Hawaiian were not interested in sounding like Jamaicans, and that most of the people who were interested in sounding like Jamaicans were not fluent in Hawaiian.

And I'm not putting anybody down for not being fluent in anything, but that was my impression.

Ocean and Fiji both mentioned to me that Hawai'i was the only island nation they knew of where the residents were not recording some style of reggae in the indigenous language.

Sunaina: At this point, many people don't like the term Jawaiian and avoid calling their music Jawaiian.

Danny: A lot of the artists, including myself, like we didn't care for that nickname or whatever, but for the most part, that's what everybody associated it with.

Peni: For me, Jawaiian, nah.

No, never did, it never did what it was supposed, whatever they thought it was gonna do.

It didn't.

For me, when I heard it, it was a turnoff, totally took it as a disrespect to the reggae art form of music.

Butch: I consider myself a Hawaiian but not a Jawaiian artist.

Yeah, I consider myself a reggae artist, and that's not plagiarizing myself, that's just what I grew up.

That's just what I do.

You know.

Billy V: There was bad vibes, if you will, that were brewing because there was such a contention between the traditionalists of traditional Hawaiian music and reggae music, or the people that were playing contemporary Hawaiian music, or the Jamaican style music calling it Jawaiian.

And actually, I don't think it was the artists necessarily, that were doing it as much.

There were people that were making shirts and they were making jackets, and so they started doing it.

And so it started to catch on.

But the traditionals were saying, wait a minute.

That's not a word.

That's not in our language.

Andy: If you had an old Jawaiian shirt, you know, take a picture of it, send it to us.

We can laugh together, because the Koreans took that stuff, man.

They made like, 1000s and 1000s of shirts.

All Jawaiians drove my mom crazy.

She had a license, and she just does go out there and tell them stop that.

Okay, mom, sure mom.

Sunaina: Criticism kept mounting as the year went on, and in October 30 of that year, there was a conference held at Windward Community College on the merits of Jawaiian.

Frank: So the goal of the symposium back then was to bring more understanding.

You know, when things are going through a transition, not everybody understands the process, so being able to broaden perspectives through bringing the community in to learn is amazing.

Winston: I talked to Frank, I talked to Ron Loo, both teachers at Windward at the time, both musicians and performers.

And then I called up the radio stations, and I said, can I have the number to Israel?

Can I have the number to Brickwood?

Can I have the number to all these people?

And they um, when I explained why, they thought it was a good idea, and so they gave me the numbers, and I called.

Fortunately and surprisingly as well, everyone I called said, yes, so I'm thinking right there, that's another indication that there was kind of a hot issue.

And I said, Okay, let's let's do it.

Billy V: I remember that Robert Kekaula was there.

I was there.

I was sitting next to Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, a couple chairs down, Frank Kawaikapuokalani, Hewitt kumu hula down the other side, Bruddah Waltah, a couple of other people from the musical community that were concerned about this music and what it was creating.

If you were a traditionalist, it was like, this is not Hawaiian music.

You shouldn't call it Hawaiian music.

I understand perfectly their viewpoint.

They're worried about the language they're seeing the young people just gravitate towards this.

Sunaina: So it's widely accepted that what sealed Jawaiian popularity was the decision to convert KCCN's new FM station into a primarily Jawaiian format.

They concentrated on Jawaiian but then they also included older Hawaiian music, traditional and contemporary Hawaiian music, Auntie Genoa Keawe, Gabby Pahinui, et cetera, alongside the Jawaiian and they did that very intentionally.

What they wanted to accomplish with that mix was both to appeal to a younger generation who wanted to hear Jawaiian but they also wanted to educate those young people and perpetuate Hawaiian culture.

So it was always about strengthening Hawaiian culture.

Billy V: If the kids listen to us for their reggae stuff, they have to digest their traditional as well, and through cross promotion, which is actually a station thing, we tell them, and this is going to be starting in about a month.

We start telling them, when we play the traditional songs on the FM, we start telling them, and if you like traditional Hawaiian music, for more of it, tune in to 1420 AM KCCN.

Chris: Didn't KCCN have still stay on the air, in addition to FM 100 as, yeah.

So it's not like they abandoned it, but, you know, they were responding to a market, you know, that's, that's the way it goes.

But I think there was this sense of, you know, you're abandoning your roots kind of thing.

Attendee: Basically, what I wanted to address was mainly to station programmer and to Brickwood, and you know how they talk about hooking Hawaiians with Jawaiian.

I think that's the whole problem.

Is that, you know, by doing that, you create kind of like an aberration, you know, you bringing them home, but you bringing them to the wrong house, you know what I mean.

John: So the radio station was there, and one of the things that the radio station was saying, Well, the word, the word has got to go, Jawaiian.

There you would see bumper stickers with the word Jawaiian in the circle, with the line, as if it's as if the word was the problem.

Attendee: I'm Hawaiian.

I really love my reggae music, and I was really offended.

Always have been offended that they put that Jawaiian music is reggae music and it's not.

And the whole point of it, what you guys are saying, it was just marketing.

But don't you see how wrong that is?

It's wrong because, because it's neither.

Billy V: In the beginning, it was a programming concept, but other people started bringing it up that it wasn't so good.

And then we sat down and looked at it about a month ago, and we said, well, Jawaiian isn't a word.

We're in the business of communicating.

We like to use proper English or proper words when necessary.

So if Jawaiian is not a real word, then we have to do away with it.

Attendee: Don't you think it's more not communicating, but more marketing and more money?

Billy V: Ah, it was at the time that it started.

But when we found out that it, one, did offend some people, and two, that we found that and we sat down and thought about it after a while.

You know, because usually when the dollars are rolling in you're going oh okay, hey, Jawaiian, you know.

But then when you sit down and think about it, and it's not really a word, then you kind of go, well, we better do something about this.

Attendee: Because Jawaiian music is not reggae music, and it was only for marketing.

Because if you listen to it, I mean, there's not that much substance to it.

Waltah's music is different.

He had and what he started, people just took it and commercialized on.

I I totally feel that one, you know.

And I think that KCCN perpetuated, you know, KCCN just perpetuated that word and that whole thing.

Winston: And I remember distinctly Robert Kekaula, he he asserted that he doesn't rely on the music on the radio to teach his children about Hawaiian.

He says, I teach my children about Hawaiian at home.

Chris: There was one prominent traditional Hawaiian figure.

He also had, uh they also had their own halau, I think.

And I remember this, this person saying, you know, we, Hawai'i has their own, has their own culture.

You know, we don't have to look to another island or, or, you know, grouping of islands for influence.

We have our own music and our own influences right here.

And so I remember sitting at the table.

I know who said, but one of the other panelists was saying, well, then you better get rid of those guitars, because those are from Spain, and you better get, you better get rid of those 'ukuleles because those are from Portugal.

So I guess we're going back to like, you know, pounding rock on rock and nose flute Attendee: You guys are saying, about your culture, right.

Wouldn't that be the chants and not this music brought over the missionaries?

(Chatter and laughing) Frank: I don't know if you've been here since the beginning, when I did my talk, and what I'm saying is that, see Hawaiian people, we're not alone.

We can accommodate ourselves to the times, but we need to address what we're dealing with and do it appropriately.

So you're right, in a sense, the first Hawaiian instruments were percussion, but I am still waiting for a Jawaiian to come across with Hawaiian beats in the music.

It's not there yet, and when they do do that, I'll appreciate that.

John: Some of the people who were most deeply into playing Jawaiian music were saying, oh, we're not Jawaiians we're Hawaiians.

We're not we're not doing that.

Kawaikapu questioned, you know, like, why is it that Hawaiians feel that they have to do somebody else's music, instead of their own music?

Frank: I came to support artists, being creative and doing what artists do.

Create art in whatever genre that they wanted to create that art.

No, no, I stood in support, and one of the issues was on the word Jawaiian.

And I thought to myself, you know, my grandmother would say, he Hawai'i au, he Hawai'i kakou.

Jawaiian is not a reflection on who I am.

I'm a Hawai'i.

I'm not a Hawaiian.

Hawaiian encompasses all of us here today, okay?

And it's no reflection on Jawaiian either.

You know what?

You understand what I'm saying.

She would say, I am a Hawai'i.

We're all Hawai'i.

And I said to them, is that, if the issue is on the word Jawaiian, I didn't know the word Hawaiian was in our 'olelo Hawai'i.

So I personally was not insulted by that use, because it was not me.

Kanaka Maoli au (speaking Hawaiian).

Grandma never said he Hawaiian au, he Hawaiian kakou.

Attendee: Um, I like Hawai'i music, and I like reggae music.

Okay, now what I've been seeing at the younger, struggling musicians coming up that they're more inclined to play reggae music or Jawaiian music, simply because that's where the money is at.

And for me, you know, they love, they love the Hawaiian music, and they love to play it, but that's not what get them the money.

And I just want to know if that's why lot of the bands, like Bruddah Waltah, you know, maybe not your band, but other bands that are coming up that are starting to play Jawaiian music, they're doing it because that's the money, it's there.

Would you think, brother, what if you started playing just strictly Hawaiian?

You could be as popular or make as good as you did, you know?

Bruddah Waltah: Simply because, some of my other friends, like Israel M and Ken Makuakane, you know, Pandanas Club, and even Ho'okena, if you want to listen to Hawaiian music, I suggest you go and see the Makaha Sons of Ni'ihau, or, or, or Pandanus Club.

Attendee: They're established already, you know what I mean.Everybody's gonna listen to them but these up and coming bands, this new generation, and I see them losing it because they cannot make it just on playing Hawaiian music.

Now this is one thing, is because they telling me, if they want to survive as an entertainer, they got to move toward it more, rather than just play strictly Hawaiian.

Where, if you're an established Hawaiian group, like Uncle Mo or, you know, like the Israel band and stuff, you tend to you got it made already.

Versus, if you're trying to up and coming, it's taking you a lot longer, versus somebody who's just playing Jawaiian, and they move up faster.

Bruddah Waltah: I would agree with you.

I don't think it's part of... Frank: I think another part of the thing is also because how many young people have taken the time or are able to speak Hawai'i language, and we have too many people out there pointing fingers up there say, no, you're doing this wrong, you're doing that wrong, you're doing this wrong and nobody really encouraging them and saying, listen, I'll help you do this.

And that's a big wrong that I think our kupuna are doing today.

We cannot be pointing the finger and say you're wrong, you're wrong, you're wrong.

We need to say we appreciate what you're doing and we're going to help you.

Then things might change a little bit.

Billy V: By the time it was over, everybody heard each other's opinions, understood each other's opinions, but believed in their hearts that what they were doing was the right thing for them at that time.

Israel: Hey, you gotta go, hurry up.

Billy V: Thank you Israel.

As Program Director of FM 100 closing statement real quick, because I got to get off and get onto the air so I can tell everybody about this little forum and shindig we all had here today.

If you like traditional music, traditional Hawaiian music, go out and buy it.

If you have kids, share it with them.

If you are one who wants to learn the language, learn it.

The culture of Hawai'i does need to be preserved.

As far as the music goes, and, of course, of who we are, as far as the music is concerned, though, the style of music that they call Jawaiian, it is an expression.

It is a different type of music.

It's not reggae, it's not Hawaiian.

But I'm not going to sit here and I'm not going to tell them, that's not what you should play.

It's not Hawaiian.

You are Hawaiian.

You shouldn't play that.

Sunaina: The legacy of this conference was that KCCN stopped referring to the music that they played as Jawaiian and switched to calling it Island Music.

So that way, Hawaiian was no longer in the title.

But that change was really just surface level.

The music remained the same.

Billy V: AM 1420, will keep playing traditional Hawaiian music.

They played it for 25 years.

It'll go 25 more and 25 more until this earth ceases to exist.

As far as the FM, we're going to try to play Island Music, music either from here in Hawai'i, or music that has an island feel, or that talks about islands that how has that feeling of Aloha, whether you call it Aloha, irie or whatever it is.

John: So the radio station changed the name to Island Music, and as I point out, from time to time, Greenland and Ireland and Cyprus and Madagascar and Sri Lanka and Okinawa are all islands, but the Island Music radio station wasn't playing music from any of those islands.

Billy V: We'd like to thank you and hope that you continue to support Island Music in whatever means it is AM, FM, traditional, contemporary, and also like to thank you guys for coming by, for your interest.

Aloha, no malama pono.

Israel: Okay, bye.

Winston: When it was over, everybody just shook hands, hugged each other, and everybody went on their merry way.

There was there didn't seem to be a need for a final word or closure or anything.

I think just bringing them together, I think everybody was able to see the other side of view.

And I'm pretty sure right after that, Jawaiian, the word Jawaiian, just sort of dropped out of the popular vocabulary.

Carolyn: In that early phase, that first phase of appropriation, people try to imitate and to become even more Jamaican than the Jamaicans, if you know what I mean.

So it's an attempt to establish authenticity after time, I think you come to recognize that you can't be Jamaican.

You are imitating Jamaican.

And even though Jamaican culture, even though I say imitation is a sincerest form of flattery, that kind of imitation has its limitations, because you can imitate only so much.

And then people say, but you're not really that thing.

You're just trying your hardest to be it.

Who are you fundamentally and who you are fundamentally.

Might be a Hawaiian who appreciates Jamaican culture, but you want to retain your sense of Hawaiian identity while attempting to appreciate this other culture.

So that it is not so much exploitative as it is expanding the community that enriches your life.

Kona: I think that when, when Jawaiian came in, it, it, I can only say because obviously, I was really young back then, but now that I know what I know, I can only say that they felt it was going to take away Hawaiian music, take away our culture, Esther: Certain kumu hula and certain Hawaiian leaders, cultural leaders felt that Jawaiian was a kind of assault on Hawaiian culture, understandably, given that this, this was this whole kind of moment of onipa'a and this attempt at, you know, bringing Hawaiian language and culture back.

Sunaina: When you're indigenous and colonizers have outlawed, belittled, devalued your culture, you want to protect it, and you want to preserve it, and one of the obvious ways to do this is to not let anyone else in, or not let any new influence in.

Esther: So, at a time when Hawaiian culture was there was huge effort into reclaiming it and building it back up, right?

You have this other, right?

You have this competing, maybe seen as competition, though it doesn't have to be, you know, you can be both.

You can dance hula and you can dance reggae.

Who cares, right?

But it was seen as a threat for some reason.

Andy: We grew up, we had to learn how to play Hawaiian music before we could play any other music in the world, the way to learn how to, you know, make my mother and my father feel comfortable that we weren't going to forget who we are.

We have never forgot who we are.

We are Hawaiians.

We always will be Hawaiians.

Can never take that from us in our koko, it's in our blood.

But the music that we play now is a little different.

JD & Papa T: Yeah.

And a lot of the old artists here, you know, from that evergreen era, or even, you know, the Hawaiian era, they didn't really, you know, take too good to reggae music coming in, you know, because I don't know, you know, I don't know why, but it's just kind of weird.

We went through that time, you know, where people actually, there was some pretty, you know, important people, they said they just don't like it.

It's too black, or it's too, you know, whatever.

And it was like, wow, I never knew he was racist.

I remember back then, like Sudden Rush, he come out hard on that hip hop.

Yeah, a lot of Hawaiian people gave, you know, Don slack for rapping in Hawaiian.

Yeah, that's his form of expression.

You know what?

It was damn good, too.

Do you think?

Yeah, just like Mark Ho'omalu he cannot gonna chant like that.

Lina: There was a time when our kupuna didn't like the music of the Sunday Manoa because they included strings and orchestration.

John: Charles E King did not like Hawai'i Calls.

He said what they were playing was not really Hawaiian music.

It was something else.

And by the time Hawaii Calls went off the air in 1974 people were looking at that as you know, that's old fashioned.

That's like the Hawaiian music of yesterday.

So our definition of what Hawaiian music is has changed.

Esther: If you have to find a new Hawaiian word for a car because you never had this thing 100 years ago, well, surely your music can change, right?

Chris: You can have your own preferences.

That doesn't necessarily mean you have to negate, you know, anything that came out after 1978 or whatever.

You know, you can have your own preferences.

But you know, younger people, younger people want to do their own they're going to do their own thing with the with music.

And whether you like it or not, is kind of, you know, it's, it's kind of irrelevant, you know.

Butch: I kind of laughed it off, yeah, because the numbers you see in those days, if you sold 5,000 units in one year, you were the bomb, you know, and I was dropping those kind of numbers in one or two weeks.

Brother Noland: I no let that stuff bother me.

I always push the envelope, so afterwards, that's what I'm known for.

Esther: What actually is undermining, or what is the threat to Hawaiian culture, right?

Is it reggae music?

Is that the biggest threat?

Or is it one of a multitude of threats?

Are there bigger threats?

And if you've decided that reggae music is the biggest threat, what is that based on?

Carolyn: People are protective of their own culture, but they they don't recognize when they're exploiting somebody else's you know, it's human nature is, is it's very complicated that some people can recognize the value of reciprocity and others can't, so they will want to selfishly hold on to their culture that they protect.

They may not be the ones who are appropriating somebody else's but they're not going to be bothered by that, because it's not their culture that's been exploited.

Irie Love: There's a lot of discussion about cultural appropriation or misrepresentation, and I think that that is a trauma response from my experience, because, you know, there's been so many cultures that have been oppressed, and including the culture of Jamaica and reggae music, and, of course, Hawaiian culture and Hawaiian people, Esther: Everyone was focusing on the Jamaican part of Jawaiian, right?

The threat was Jamaican, right?

From my perspective, no one was thinking about the Hawaiian appropriation of something.

Does anyone know anything about Jamaica?

Does anyone care about Jamaica?

The you know, the musicians were, were the musicians in Jamaica getting compensated in any kind of way, whether it was their royalties, you know, it has a history of its own.

It comes from a place and a people.

It moves in different ways around the world for different reasons.

Do you understand any of this?

And do you care?

Billy V: You know, with reggae music, it was about making things right.

There were people that were wronged in different ways, socially, financially, in just the way they were treated.

Well, Hawaiians saw some of those same exact themes here in their lifestyles, so they gravitated to it because it was the only music at that time that was speaking to them and speaking about subjects that were important.

The Hawaiian artists understood it.

They understood music better than probably anybody else, but they also understood the importance of taking that same message and you tweak the words in just a little bit, and it's about here at home, and that's what our Hawai'i artists were wanting to sing about.

Irie Love: Well, I think there's always a beautiful way to unify cultures and to share our interpretation of art without it being disrespectful or dishonoring.

Carolyn: I think when people appropriate your culture and turn it into a commodity for their benefit, I would see that as exploitation, but if they appropriate the culture as an affirmation of a shared human experience that the music speaks to them, it affirms the power of Jamaican culture, but also their own humanity, their own creativity.

I think that that is something positive for me.

The difference is the economic exploitation.

And yes, the music industry is an economic enterprise, and people will sell records and so on.

But I think there's something fundamentally different about engaging with the music in a humane common way away and turning it into a commodity that you're gonna sell as a way of enriching yourself materially.

Jah Gumby: All music is inspired by other genres of music, you know?

I mean, that's just a fact.

Kalei: Hawaiian music used country way back then, why are you getting mad with another outside influences influence Hawaiian music, when countries been doing that the whole time, what's the difference?

Butch: If you go back far enough, all music was taken from the United States.

All the musicians in Jamaica copied the blues artists.

They copied the rhythm of blues artists.

You know, the SKA beat was not necessarily made from Jamaica.

That type of beat, you know, was, was, was recorded in the mainland before, or in the United States before.

But everybody borrows from everybody else, you know, the circle of fifths.

So you can only write so many, so many chords.

Everybody's played these chords, you know, 60, 70, 150 years ago.

You know, it's just how you attack it and how you approach it to where, you know, it's not sounding like you're stealing somebody else's music, but I'm really high on not either bastardizing or ripping off somebody else's culture.

But reggae music is a worldwide music, and it has always been, and it's for all people to play, as far as I'm concerned.

You know, Jah Gumby: I mean, some of the best thrash metal coming out now is from Brazil.

What you going say, that they no can play 'em because they're from Brazil.

You know what I mean.

Music is universal.

At least from my standpoint.

Interviewer: I assume that this new kind of phase, I guess, is like.

Here today and gone tomorrow.

This Jawaiian is something that you look at as you know, next year, nobody's gonna be listening to this stuff.

Eddie: Well, I can tell you about Jawaiian.

Whoever the PR company is that really handled this Jawaiian bit, did a good job, you know.

Everybody is sort of wrapped around to it, you know.

And it's a sound today, and you accept it, you know.

And that's the way it is.

And someone have asked me this, some elderly Hawaiian woman have asked me.

He says, What is this new thing in Jawaiian?

So I have to tell in a nice way, auntie, it's the sound of the kids today, so they're going to enjoy it.

You better let them go, you know, just oh, you know, determined to be the old way, we're not going to change.

You have to tell him, let it go.

It's only for now.

Interviewer: Do you find that with more and more interest among younger people today in preserving the culture, that there's a lot more that there are many more younger people interested in your music than there were, say, in 1959.

Claybourne: Well, you know, like, like Eddie's talking about, like, the new music today, just like, just like us, just like us, as as part of this group we are.

We came from, we were a younger generation too, you know, and we had our own that.

We had our own idea of what we'd like to listen to, you know.

Mom, them before, you used to like to listen to Lawrence Welk and we didn't like that, you know.

And when they turned it to the radio, to an old Hawai'i station, when they were out of the room, we turned it somewhere else, you know.

And we changed too, you know.

Eventually we came back to where we came from, you know, we went and we came back to the traditional stuff.

It's like the music today, the Jawaiian music Eddie was talking about, you know, it's something that came from a foreign place, adapted by the kids over here.

And sooner or later they come back, you know, they'll come back around to to where they came from again, you know, like we're talking to some, some young men last night at the thing we did last night.

And one of the young boys said, Yeah, I used to play the Jawaiian stuff.

And you know, afterwards, it never got him nowhere, you know, he had to remember where his background came from.

And you know, came right back, right back to the traditional Hawaii music.

Announcer: Are you ready for more music here at Jawaiian Jam?

Once again, on behalf of the all new FM 100 KCCN Radio, we'd like to thank you for supporting all the Jawaiian Jams and for coming here tonight at the Waikiki Shell and enjoying the music of this land.

Are You guys ready?

(Cheering) Let's hear it, let's hear it.

Put your hands together, Ho'aikane!

Band member: You guys ready out there?

(Music) Jamin Wong: We did take a lot of criticism, right, especially from our own we but and respect to all the kupuna, but that's a given.

We get it.

You know Japanese come do the hula, you didn't get the side eye first.

You know, haoles jump in the water at North Shore, they going get the side eye first, right?

Us guys coming by the kupuna.

(unintelligible) You know, aunty going look at me like, what the hell?

So you have to use 'em here, and you gotta make 'em all da kine hula.

Oh, I like that, boy.

Can you sing this song?

Can't get away for drawing them in.

(music) But back then I was like, What is this?

And you know that we losing the culture?

That was a big topic.

It's not nothing new that I'm saying.

Um, yeah, they was trying to, like, man, it was on the news.

It was running down the music.

We losing culture, this and that, this and that.

Some of 'em was in suit and tie saying that.

Some of them was driving BMW saying that, you know what I mean, like, (music) try imagine being a 16 year old.

Actually, I knew the interview wasn't going through some deeper stuff, but I imagine being a 16 year old watching the news, and they start down on the music, because they're not familiar with it, so they're down on the music.

And it's hurting my feelings, because I'm only one kid, and I look up to all these artists.

So now it's only only hardening my my armor.

So now I coming out firing with more.

That's why we wrote “Bulletproof.” Right?

“Bulletproof.” The words is bulletproof if you want to fire shots, we go on fire back bulletproof because they on the attack, because it was attacking us like we was doing something wrong.

That's because we about to get hot, you know.

Hot, hot, hot, hot, hot.

Ho'aikane must have come them are reaching at the top.

Say, everywhere we go, we go rock, non stop.

So why them apart against what we have got our roots and culture was never forgot.

You forget what we set out to do come from we hot.

So we pau, let us get there together.

Why, why, why?

Because you know what's gotta to be better.

This is serious message, not the love letter, but love and unity gender will be in we so when we come and just we go and feel irie for everybody that we're going to want to be ready for us they need.

Oh, Lord have mercy, mercy, mercy.

If you think we play reggae music for the money, you're wrong, right.

Left.

Love Life, life, live.

Bullet Proof.

Stand strong.

Wakarimasen.

Brah!

(singing Island Reggae by Ho'aikane) Oh Lord have mercy.

Back in the day Everybody listen.

Reggae.

In the day and in the night.

Everybody's feeling alright.

In the night, in the day.

Everybody.

Irie, Reggae.

In the day, and in the night.

Everybody's feeling alright.

We love you O'ahu.

God Bless ya.

John: They evolved to the point where they were too original for local Island, Island Music Radio, and eventually the group broke up.

Jamin continued on studying reggae music, Jamaican culture, and has continued to lead and inspire and create music on the Big Island.

Much respect to Jamin Wong the chief raga.

Bruddah Waltah: So um, I grew up in a year of the music of, uh Olomana, Kalapana and C&K.

You guys remember C and K Charlie and Kalani.

Charlie and Kalani.

No, not funny.

Too early for jokes.

Nobody laughing.

Over here, coqui frogs over here.

Liana: I always knew my grandpa was Bruddah Waltah.

We go to every single ho'olaule'a.

It was, he would show up to my May Days play.

Volunteer.

Be that guy and everyone's like, oh Bruddah Waltah's your grandpa?

I'm like, yeah, that's my grandpa.

I think for me, just a huge part was always taking him to his gigs.

And the surprise that I had every single time I would hear him sing would be, I would sit back and be like, Wow, he's actually really good at singing, because I know him as my grandpa, you know, he's just grandpa.

Of course, he's Bruddah Waltah, but a lot of times I would not forget that he had a really good voice and that he was super talented.

But to see him in that element, you know, all the way to the end, come out of himself and become this entertainer, and that really was who he was.

Anaiya: I do want to thank the musicians for being there for him on this time of being sick and like, really, just like giving him comfort to have strength.

You know, it's kind of like a touching.

Thailiana: Yes, because when he got sick, everybody came with a holistic and everybody wanted to help.

Everybody wanted to heal him.

And you know, he was surrounded by so much friends.

Liana: Huge thank you, yeah, to, to everyone.

Like everyone that reached out.

The family reached out to him.

He truly felt that love.

And I think it was really beautiful to see him feel that because he gave so much of it during his lifetime.

(singing Hi'ilawe) Kumaka ka ikena ia Hi'ilawe Ka papa lohi mai a'o maukele Kumaka ka ikena ia Hi'ilawe Ka papa lohi mai a'o maukele Pakele mai au i ka nui manu Hau wala'au nei puni Waipi'o 'A'ole no wau e loa'a mai A he uhiwai au no ke kuahiwi.

Liana: So for his celebration of life, we actually had a concert type thing that lasted all day, and we invited a bunch of... Anaiya: A bunch of local artists, bands that he used to sing with, or bands that, like were friends with him as well.

Yeah.

Shawn: Bruddah Waltah Aipolani, I'm gonna miss that guy.

We already miss him.

He definitely helped to shape the island music scene here, the island reggae scene here.

And he, he really was for native rights, for Kanaka rights, and, you know, fought to the end.

Russell: To the Aipolani 'ohana, and all he has contributed, we will never forget you.

Thailiana: I loved him so much.

Big puka, my life, all the traveling stopped, stopped, and everything stopped.

It got real quiet, you know.

And I struggled for a year, but I kind of like got close to God, and he picked me up, and I'm okay now, you know.

And I have a hope that I will see him again.

So I'm gonna hang on to that, you know.

(singing) Hi'ilawe, Hi'ilawe.

(Cheering) Bruddah Waltah: I going check my da kine, my bank account right now.

(laughing) Mahalo, if you guys gave.

mahalo.

From me and my family.

See you guys.

Tomorrow, we'll try again.

(laughing) Totally, totally.

Love you guys.

My family.

Bye bye.

Russell: In the year 2016 I was at home, and I had a knock on my door, and I opened the door, the Wongs was at my front door, Chief Papa Wongie, Joby, Luke and Auntie Mama Jose.

They all came to visit.

So we had a conversation, and we wanted to reunite.

Jamin: All the trials and tribulations led to this moment where we are reuniting again with the original, original co founder, Uncle Russell Mauga, and my dad as well, who has played a big part in the sound of the Jawaiian reggae bass sound, you know that everybody got influenced by today.

And um, I think what we get going on with Ho'aikane right now is very special, because it extends not only from the original and the foundation, but it's extending to the bloodlines.

Isaiah: Many of you know my dad is the founder of Ho'aikane, Waltah Boy Tavares.

And due to his medical condition and stuff, he's no longer able to play music.

So I have the honor and the privilege to step in and try and fill my dad's shoes.

Definitely some big shoes to fill.

But I love it.

I know Joby loves it, just keeping it going, man, for the next generation, and just keeping it going for our families, you know, for our dads.

(Reunited band performing) Jamin: Now that we're kind of getting bigger again now we getting all the gigs again, my dad when as me for write one song for the new album.

And let me, let me just say this too about this album, my dad, my dad was passing away.

I was let me just say, my dad was passing away at the end part of us bringing the album home.

I remember, you know, they always say, like, you know, when you reach in that part, you never burst of energy in your soul.

Yeah.

So he did get up and say hurry up, finish the album.

I went in a studio, like, 48 hours.

I was in a studio trying to mix, and when I was finally done with it, put all the speakers out into the yard like this, in 33 yard, all the speakers, right?

Guess so.

I woke my dad up and he came out, and we listened to the whole album, top to bottom, and then the next day he passed away.

(singing) Yeah, so rest in peace, Jamieson Wong, thank you for buying me my first drum set.

Russell: Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to the lead, founding member of Ho'aikane, where it all began for me and this fine, wonderful man which I love so dearly.

This is Waltah Boy Tavares.

Without this man here, Ho'aikane would have not have been created or existed and with the love of music.

You are a very big part, the biggest part of Ho'aikane.

Isaiah: What's your favorite Ho'aikane song?

Waltah Boy: I can, I don't know.

Isaiah: Jockey Move?

Waltah Boy: Jockey Move.

Isaiah: Jockey Move?

All: Jockey Move?

(laughing) Russell: Romeo Waltah Boy: Romeo Russell: Yeah (singing) Look who's dancing.

(laughing) (Singing) Jamin: Honestly, I'm super grateful that I'm able to do this, that I'm able to do this music thing and to run around the stage at this age.

Keep up with keep up with the Joneses.

(Singing) Jamin: Guys like us, we not going stop.

Might as well play the game with us 'cause we ain't giving up.

We not going quit.

We're always going be here.

(Singing) Talk to me, my brother and love one another.

It's great to see this land is for you and me.

(Singing) Keep Hawaiian Lands in Hawaiian Hands yeah.

Keep Hawaiian Lands in Hawaiian Hands yeah.

On the road, we go.

Far from life, we stroll.

It's an uphill climb, yeah.

Stays with you all the time.

Keep Hawaiian Lands in Hawaiian Hands yeah.

Keep Hawaiian Lands in Hawaiian Hands yeah.

Keep Hawaiian Lands in Hawaiian Hands yeah.

Keep Hawaiian Lands in Hawaiian Hands yeah.

Hawaiians say: Ua mau ke ea o ka 'aina i ka pono.

Ua mau ke ea o ka 'aina i ka pono.

Ua mau ke ea o ka 'aina i ka pono.

Ua mau ke ea o ka 'aina i ka pono.

This is our plea, our destiny flight.

We've got to be free to claim our right.

Stand up.

Be heard, and declare our creed.

We've got preserve our dying breed.

We've got to keep Hawaiian Lands in Hawaiian Hands, yeah.

Keep Hawaiian Lands in Hawaiian Hands yeah.

Keep Hawaiian Lands in Hawaiian Hands yeah.

Keep Hawaiian Lands in Hawaiian Hands yeah.

Hawaiians say: Ua mau ke ea o ka 'aina i ka pono.

Ua mau ke ea o ka 'aina i ka pono.

Ua mau ke ea o ka 'aina i ka pono.

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