This essay written by Fay Yokomizo Akindes examines "Hawaiian rap as liberatory discourse in contemporary Hawaiian politics." (Yokomizo, 83) Sudden Rush is a music group consisting of three Hawaiian male rappers: Shane Veincent, Caleb Richards, and Don Keʻala Kawaʻauhau, Jr. They were the first group to record nā mele pāleoleo (Hawaiian rap) in ʻ93.
Yokomizo starts off the article by giving some background history of Hawaiʻi, and how Christianity and Western capitalism influenced the people of Hawaiʻi. In 1778, Captain Cook landed in Hawaiʻi where there were 800,000 plus Hawaiian living fruitfully off the ‘āina. After Cook’s arrival, Hawai‘i became a place of exportation and importation, and the westerners also brought many diseases that killed off the people leaving less than 48,000 Hawaiians by 1878. The overthrow of the monarchy happened in 1893, and that was just the beginning of a whole load of new issues throughout Hawai‘i.
Music in Hawaiʻi before Western contact included mele oli and mele hula. These forms of music were shared through the dance called hula or chanted as in oli. Later a type of music called hīmeni was formed and that included many Western types of songs. There was a mix of Hawaiian music and haole music and that is what we call hapa haole. Sudden Rush is a group that has incorporated Western rap into their repertoire. Yokomizo claims in her essay that Hawaiian rap or nā mele pāleoleo is different from “Jawaiian,” and that “Jawaiian” is not as accepted as in Hawaiian rap by Sudden Rush.
In Hawaiian literature and music there is much emphasis on kaona or hidden meaning. Hawaiians have amazing talent in hiding their message between the ‘āina and the plants. Kaulana Nā Pua written by Ellen Prendergast is a protest mele that “is easily mistaken as a love song.” (Yokomizo, 89) Sudden Rush uses rap as an alternative to kaona, and they “reclaim their space as Natives of Hawai‘i.” (Yokomizo, 90) Ke‘ala Kawa‘auhau Jr. of Sudden Rush raps in Hawaiian and uses that as an advantage as a political act of resistance. The group participates in the Hawaiian Sovereignty Movement and shares the mana‘o of the people through their rapping.
Yokomizo also addresses Hawaiian diaspora. “Sudden Rushʻs function as messengers of Hawaiian nationalism extends to the diaspora on the continental U.S.,” says Yokomizo. (Yokomizo, 94) The messages in their Hawaiian raps influence the youth of Hawai‘i and the foreigners. The youth of Hawai‘i enjoy rap music, and Sudden Rush uses that power to reach the youth in tremendous ways.
I feel that this article is extremely informative about the influence of Westerners in Hawai‘i, and how we can rise above and turn it around to make it Hawaiian. Sudden Rush is keeping the Hawaiian language in their roots, and inputting the rapping techniques. I feel that is very smart and useful. Music is very influential today, and people are constantly gaining new ideas and concepts via messages in music. Sudden Rush is using their Hawaiian rap as a means of communication; spreading important mana‘o of Hawai‘i and its many pilikia.
Here is a link to watch and listen to Sudden Rush
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgmOO5jiiq0&feature=PlayList&p=DAEC9C7A6662DE5F&playnext=1&index=33
Here is another link to the explanation and lyrics to Kaulana Na Pua so that you can better understand the meaning of kaona.
http://www.huapala.org/Kau/Kaulana_Na_Pua.html
Akindes, Fay Yokomizo. "Sudden Rush: Na Mele Paleoleo (Hawaian Rap) as Liberatory Discourse". 2001. 82-99.
8 comments:
Wow, great post! I’d never heard of them before. I liked the pictures and all the links! I watched the EA YouTube video. I can see how they’ve had a big impact on influencing younger generations to think about political situations in Hawaii. I’m a big advocate of hearing about how expression can found through different forms: art, writing, and music. I agree that music is very influential and can make issues open to a wider diaspora. Using their own language and representing their cultural values and views creates strong persuasion. The fact that they have incorporated Western rap along with this has created a really interesting new hybrid of music that draws even more strength.
I've heard about this group all the way back home in Saipan and I just thought they were singing regular rap songs in Hawaiian, but after moving here and seeing their lyrics translated, I realized they were rapping about much greater issues. The genre of music was obviously of western influence, but it is great to see that they are using it in a way to address and publicize local issues that is somewhat relatable to the youth today.
Thanks for the great summary! I really liked this class reading. Although I'm not familiar with the group Sudden Rush, I can appreciate their fusion of Hawaiian language with the rap genre as a political tool. As Akindes writes, "The American colonizers understood the centrality and power of language" (82), and obviously the members of Sudden Rush do too.
I hope that Sudden Rush and other groups with the same goals can continue to be successful in spreading their message, even though doing so may not necessarily bring them overwhelming financial success. Even though rap and hip hop also began as political tools, they have evolved into commercial enterprises that are now defined, to a large extent, by corporate America.
Born and raised in Hawaii, I learned about Sudden Rush at a very young age. I did not fully understand the group and there music till I was in high school. I did know that Sudden Rush had a huge impact on the history of Hawaii, and that there music was not only beautiful to listen to, but inspired the thoughts and movements of Hawaiians everywhere.
One of there songs, Ea, is a deep song,, speaking about the past and what we Hawaiians went through, and how we pretty much got robbed.
“Another freeway another heiau dies.”
What they were speaking about in this sentence is how the white people are spreading over our lands, building on sacred Hawaiian land, on our shrines, and how they don’t care.
Also, the song Kaulana Na Pua was always a beautiful song to me. I remember hearing it in my Hawaiian class in high school and how the artists would sing it with such beauty, and I remember how my kumu yelled at us and explained so passionately what that song was about, how it was NOT supposed to be a pretty song, a beautiful song, or a delicate song.
"Ea." Ea. By Sudden Rush. MP3.
Great post Shanelle! I really like this music group as well. However, I didn't realize how much of their music is really influenced by Hawaiian. I guess when listening to the radio we don't really stop to pay attention to the words or the message behind it much, but this group seems to have much more meaning to their songs. I never really thought to look at the kaona in our everyday music. I'm so use to just looking for it in songs that are just in olelo Hawaii. I agree that this is a very important to incorporate Hawaiian meanings. I think it will help Hawaiians and non Hawaiians alike in understanding the culture and just learn a little more. I think it also helps when groups like Sudden Rush do this because it opens the age gap to the younger youth. Especially, to those who may not be so interested in listening to music that is in just Hawaiian. I think it's definitely a step in the right direction in perpetuating the Hawaiian language and Hawaiian culture as a whole.
Thanks for the great links you posted, Shanelle! It was really interesting to compare Jawaiian music, Hawaiian rap, and traditional hulas and how they can convey their messages to the listeners.
As a non-Hawaiian speaker, without knowing the background of the annexation and the true meaning of songs like Kaulana na Pua, the average first-time listener would probably just think of it as a calm and soothing song! The meaning would be almost hidden to strangers/foreigners, fully communicated only to listeners who know Hawaiian and Hawaiian history. On the other hand, I think that the time the mele was created may also play a part in this, since there were many more Hawaiian speakers in the 19th century.
In contrast to that mele, I think music groups like Sudden Rush also make use of the Hawaiian language to convey their political message, but in a much more overt way. The lyrics are a mix of English and Hawaiian, using the Western style of rap as their means. After seeing the posted Youtube video, I believe that people watching Sudden Rush might not always understand all the references or the Hawaiian words the group uses, but even without any background knowledge, there can be no doubt that their music is a method of political protest.
Thanks for the youtube video, I was going to mention that its kind of hard to evaluate the article without knowing the Sudden Rush's music or see some lyrics to a song. Unlike kaona in Hawaiian music that was explained in the article, this band is very bold and says it like it is. Its wonderful to see people be active and participate in what they believe in, in a way that is positive.
I think the best quote out of this article was said by the singer of Sudden Rush, Ke'ala. He said, "same boat, just different water" in regards to the colonization and exploitation of Hawaiians among so many others. The comment is succinct and so very true.
Great summary. After reading this article and some of the other recent ones, I have noticed that some aspects of our local culture cannot be defined specifically. Music, as culture, has evolved into a more pop American culture. With this transformation, I feel that one can only define our current culture with the word "local." Respected by Hawaiians and separate from America, our culture is somewhat on its own path. With that said, it's hard to compare it to anything else. Additional words and descriptions can give you an idea of what the song sounds like, or what the culture is about, but unless you live here, it's just a foreign concept. Thus I can only say that whatever music Sudden Rush is playing, cultural entities are embedded within its lyrics and composition.
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