Song: Kaopuiki Aloha

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Review from 2019
Song: Kaopuiki Aloha 

The second song off the self-titled first album by Hapa (1993) was immediately a favorite of mine when I heard it in my first weeks living in Hawai`i and listening to KINE radio. It became my theme song for all journeys, first on the islands, then New England, Southern California, and Michigan. Full of mana (power and spirit), the song blends my two cultures: inherited Midwestern and adopted kama`aina. There is the driving heartbeat of my white/black origins perfectly mixed with the soothing peacefulness of Hawaiian music. Hapa means “half” and this song brings two worlds together- all without words.

I owned my spiritual identity in Hawai`i, and it has stayed at my core. This song speaks to who I am- a blend of cultures alive in spirit.

Listen to the song HERE.

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