Roman De Peralta honors Hawaii music legends in new "Keep Jamming" video
A new Hawaii music release turns a decades-old piece of encouragement into a tribute passing the torch to younger island artists — a feel-good moment for the local music scene.
- The song "Keep Jamming" grew out of a note Fiji scrawled on a napkin for a 15-year-old Roman De Peralta at a Windward Mall concert.
- Fiji was set to record a verse but died last year, so the spot went to the young group Wavy instead.
- The music video stages a literal handoff, moving from Henry Kapono through Danny Kennedy, Fiji, and Mailani Garza down to an 11-year-old boy.
- Wavy called recording with De Peralta and producer Local County Boy a full-circle moment after growing up on his music.
Outlook: The video is out now, with a documentary series on its making and more collaborations between Hawaii's established and emerging artists likely to follow.