Hip Hop, Island Style
Joining forces with B.E.T., the son of former boxing champ Jesus Salud is punching up island music with the sounds of rap
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Rapping at Ala Moana Center’s
Centerstage
Hokus that we are in the reggae category, but our album is not all reggae.”
B.E.T.‘s recent single with I.A. takes them back to where they began and offers their fans another taste of just how diverse their music style is.
“Me, I’m an old school hip-hop lover, and he (I.A.) kind of reminded me of that, and so I said I could support that,” says Papa T. “He has a positive and a pretty good local message. I love positive hip-hop with good messages.”
As for I.A, his first album, Kamaaina Classic, just finished recording with the help of his production partners D-The-Enemy and Devious - and is currently undergoing the final mixing and mastering by Julian Tydelski. The release date is scheduled for late August, early September. “On my album what I basically did was break down Hawaii’s culture into hiphop,” says I.A. “So I talk about everything from hula to the truck scene, because you know everybody in Hawaii has a truck.
“The single I have now with B.E.T. is basically saying this is Hawaii and this is how it is out here - just letting everybody know that there’s more here than just grass skirts and we don’t live in grass huts.”
I.A. and the B.E.T. boys are working to move island
hip-hop mainstream
I.A. describes his music styles as a way for locals to reminisce and tourists to have a lyrical vacation. “I would say you put Braddah Iz in a blender and JayZ in a blender and you got me,” he adds.
His interest in hip-hop began about 10 years ago when he began writing his own material. In high school he started getting more serious about it and when he returned to the islands in 2003, he decided it was the right time to pursue it.
Nationally known hip-hop artists such as Big Daddy Kane, Jay-Z, Nas, Tupac and Notorious BIG are at the top of I.A.‘s list of musical influences. As for everyday influences, I.A. credits his mom and dad.
“My parents are my inspiration because they really taught me how to be humble,” says I.A. “My dad was always just dad and not like a big boxing star or anything like that.”
I.A. remembers going to most of his dad’s boxing matches, but following in dad’s footsteps was never in the plans.
“When you are the son of The Hawaiian Punch, you want to be the next one to step up,” says I.A. “But him being a boxer, he realized it was a tough sport to be in and a hard life - so he steered me away from it. I found my talent in music.”
Music in Hawaii is bigger than it’s ever been with a lot of unique sounds and sub-genres. The hip-hop scene itself has grown into an underground monster with a lot of talented pioneers producing breakthrough material.
“I think if we stick together as far as hip-hop in Hawaii we have something out here,” says I.A.
“We have a lot of talent, a lot of sounds and I feel Hawaii brings a whole different sub-genre to the table.”
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