Page 40 - Islands Business March 2024

Music Music

JOSH TATOFI’S ALOHA FOR

HAWAIIAN MELE

By Rowena Singh Tongan song, or Samoan song, or Maori song or Tahitian song.
The South Pacific islanders are such beautiful people.
Hawaiian artist - Hoku Award winner and Grammy nominee, “My foundation of whatever genre of music I sing is R&B,
Josh Tatofi - picked up the Best International Pacific Artist whether I sing an island reggae song or Hawaiian song or
award at New Zealand’s Pacific Music Awards in 2023, adding
to his growing international profile while building on a legacy
of family, culture and his own journey as a musician.
The win in New Zealand last year was for his songs ‘Prisoner
of Love’, ‘Sweet Loven’, ‘ Landslide’, ‘Still the One’, ‘Pua
Ahi’hi’, ‘Good Morning Beautiful’ and ‘Tomorrow’.
“It’s not just a great thing for myself but for our culture,
our people. The award itself is not what it’s all about, it’s
the meaning behind the award, representing our people of
the South Pacific. I’m just glad to be among other talented
musicians and artists. Just super blessed that I received the
award,” Tatofi told Islands Business.
Tatofi, who sold out at Honolulu’s 6,800-seat Blaisdell Arena
in Hawaii last February, was born and raised in Honolulu. His
father, established local musician Tivaini Tatofi, is an original
member of the acclaimed reggae band, Kapena. By the age
of 13, Josh had begun performing throughout the
Hawaiian Islands, establishing himself as
a respected vocalist while gaining the
recognition of his audiences and his
peers. By the age of
19, Josh recorded
an album with
the popular
Maui band,
‘Ekolu.
“I started my
music journey as
a kid,” says Tatofi.
“My dad is a local celebrity
musician here in Hawaii. He is one
of the lead singers and bass player for
the group, Kapena. And at a young age, it really
started off with me really wanting to be like dad. That
spiralled into me being like him.
“I was born and raised here in Hawaii,” says Tatofi. “In
2014, I sat down and looked at my overall career and what
I was doing and I wanted to have a lot more meaning to
it than just going out and singing. Hawaiian music has
definitely brought that attention, that inspiration and
that motivation to not just do better as a singer but as
a cultural practitioner. It gave me a lot more meaning
in what I was doing. I feel the same way recording the

40 Islands Business, March 2024
40 Islands Business, March 2024