LONEWOLFPRIE

Prie continues to make a name for himself with some great songs and a style that I enjoy listening to, and now he’s trying something that hasn’t been done: a cover version of a Nicki Minaj song. You’re probably thinking “wait, I can go to YouTube and find tons” but can you find a cover done by a guy, and one that’s serious and not a parody? You may be able to (and I’m sure there are), but you’re not going to find one this good. - John Book

Hip-hop in Hawai’i right now should have the same kind of attention that various Canadian hip-hop scenes had in the mid to late 90's, where everyone wanted to know what was the hot shit happening up north. In truth, if you are a fan of the music, there is no reason why you should hold yourself back from discovering new sounds from areas unknown, and that includes Hawai’i. I have shined the spotlight on his music because I like how Prie does his thing on the mic, and he’s doing it again with a brand new track called “We Fly Hi”, which has him with his live band, Sample, backing him up. This is the first episode of his brand new We Fly Hi video series, as he plans on serving up a new video every month. - John Book

When you’re in a forest surrounded by cans of PBR and Coors Light, what do you do? Well, you could recycle the fans and turn it in for some change, or you could be like Prie and say “get me a chair, I’m going to make a music video.”

Okay, maybe that’s not exactly the concept Prie had for this one, but along with director Aaron Kai, they put together this video for “It’s Cool”, the Mp3 of which you can download here for free. Okole maluna Prie, and keep on taking it to the next level. - John Book

Brand new from the main man Prie is a new mixtape called Sweet Dreams & Nightmares, and he is making it available for free. I don’t have my own link to pass along, but you can head to 2dopeboyz.com to download it. I’ll provide my own link very soon. - John Book

Prie is going to do some damage this year, I can feel it. If you don’t believe me, listen to this track and then tell him why you feel he SHOULD be doing damage this year. I like what he’s doing and I want everyone to hear this. Go. Right now. - John Book

As promised, here goes Prie’s latest mixtape project, Room Service. Download, tracklist and video down bottom. - Justice Equality Supreme

Prie recently shot some visuals for the cut It’s Cool off his mixtape We Fly HI 2. - Justice Equality Supreme

Hawai?i’s next rising star Prie finally unveils his latest project, Sweet Dreams & Nightmaers. Tracklist and download after the break. Happy (belated) born day Prizzy! - Justice Equality Supreme

Prizzy unveils the final, full version of The Weeknd set to appear as a bonus cut on 1991: “Life of The Good & Bad” out next year. For now, make sure to grab his latest project, Sweet Dreams & Nightmares. - Justice Equality Supreme

Every month Prie and his live band Sample will be blessing his fans all over with a new music video every month with original songs from Prie with his live band backing up we hope you people enjoy this new series and spread the word. - Justice Equality Supreme

Special photo contributor Riana Stellburg of Rudified Media hit up local rapper Prie’s mixtape release party at NextDoor Friday night, hosted by Kluv, with performances by Prie himself, Pro and Ill Hill Society. - Tracy Chan

“Nextcoast” at NextDoor with local hip-hop artist Prie - BY BRIAN TSENG

The scene in Hawaii has definitely grown, but I believe it’s the youth who make it all much bigger,” said Creed. “From artists like Prie and the Broke Mokes to the Ill Hill Society and Pro — as long as these cats pave the way and enlighten the upcoming youth, I believe the scene will continue to blow up. - Jason Genegabus

Live performances by Prie & Sample, Deadbeats, Welwing, Stephen Agustin at Next Door. - KELLI BULLOCK

Hip-hop duo dead prez headlined “Golden” at Nextdoor on Wednesday, April 4. Local hip-hop artist Prie and the band Sample opened the show along with local DJs Westafa and Technique. - KAT WADE

L.A. rapper makes his Hawaii debut, with Monarx, Night Marchers, Prie with Sample, Badnewsrapdudes and DJ Packo - Gary Chun

Hip-hop artist The Grouch headlined a show at Nextdoor on Saturday, June 2. Local hip-hop artist Prie and the band Sample was the night’s opening act. - JOAH BULEY

Local hip-hop artist Prie celebrated the release of his latest mixtape, “Room Service,” with a performance at Nextdoor on Friday, July 29. - BY BRIAN TSENG

A NEWER ADDITION to the local hip-hop scene is Sample, an eccentric crew that also meshes well despite different backgrounds. The five-member band includes Kalani “DJ Packo” Pokipala, bass player Bart Anderson, drummer Kelii Wong, keyboard player Gotaro Oshitari and lyricist Prie Falaniko.
“Together we are like a hamburger plate,” said Wong. “With DJ Packo we are like a Loco Moco.” After getting together to work on a project with local hip-hop crew Lightsleepers Hawaii, they decided to experiment further by venturing out as a performing group.
After about a year of playing together, Sample brings a different take to the local scene by sampling classic hip-hop and funk beats with live instruments.
“We are not trying to reinvent the wheel,” said Anderson. “We are trying to make it live. Hip-hop doesn’t exist without the sample.”
Being the elders in the band, Anderson and Wong grew up listening to artists like the Beastie Boys and Tribe Called Quest. The younger members (Falaniko and Oshitari) bring new flavor by introducing a different realm of sound by artists like Pac Div and Kendrick Lamar.
“It’s good because we sort of keep the old school sound with what we grew up with, and at the same time (the younger members of our group) keep us up with current hip-hop,” said Wong. “It’s a collective of what we want to perform, from old ’90s classics to Prie’s new stuff, or (material from) artists we are working with … inspires us to perform it live.”
Performing solo at the “MayJah RayJah” is Falaniko, who goes by his first name on stage. Growing up in a single-parent home and living in public housing, Prie said he did not have an ordinary childhood.
“I was always evicted in and out with my mom,” he said. “I grew up around gangs. I saw things that I wasn’t suppose to see.”
After living in Las Vegas for a while, Prie and his mother moved back to Hawaii in 2007 after his cousin was murdered. Using music as therapy — like his hip-hop idol Tupac — to get over his cousin’s death, he started to see music as a way to also tell his life story.
“It was an eye opener. … (My cousin) was like a brother to me,” said Prie. “I stopped being in gangs (after his death), stopped being in and out of jail … it changed my life for the better.”
One of the songs Prie said has special meaning is “Losing My Mind.” As an outsider looking in, he said the song gives listeners a deeper look at him as an artist.
“People get to see what I go through as an artist,” he said. “All the stress that I’ve encountered and all that makes me the man that I am today. … It shows my pain.”
Sample is currently working on a video, along with prospective live recording projects. The group hopes to tour soon on the mainland.

THE ADDITION of hip-hop to this year’s “MayJah RayJah” lineup will give Hawaii’s hip-hop scene some needed exposure.
“It’s a good thing because people can finally have a taste,” said Prie. “This gives a chance for people to be open to other genres … that (Hawaii hip-hop) is something to be proud of.”
Ronquillo agreed and said this year’s concert shows where Hawaii hip-hop can go.
“Hawaii hip-hop is very small but this event brings us on a bigger stage and this will allow us to show what hip hop is all about,” he said.
The artists also agree that since Hawaii is separated from the mainland, the Internet has helped showcase Hawaii’s hip-hop talent. Prie gained recognition when he started posting his songs on YouTube, which lead him to local recording label Flip Da Bird.
“I want people to take us seriously … to realize that there is a hood in every city and for Hawaii to get respect,” said Prie.
Ronquillo said that because of social networking, it has become easier to stay connected with fellow artists across the globe.
“Before, we didn’t have those connections. The mainland has the advantage of having those connections with major labels,” he said. “Because of social networking, this allows people to create a lot connections while having a lot of artists know about Hawaii (hip-hop).
“I created a Facebook group page called Hawaii Emcee Scene and added like six people. If you look at it now, there are about 400 members on the page. (It just) goes to show how the Internet is taking over.”
With Hawaii being known as a diverse melting pot of cultures, Ronquillo said that Hawaii’s hip-hop scene has no distinctive sound, therefore giving Hawaii better marketability.
“We don’t have a certain a sound. … We are very diverse,” said Ronquilo. “There are a lot of people that didn’t grow up here (in the Hawaii hip-hop scene), but when they settled in, they embraced the culture.”
Prie can personally relate to Ronquillo’s statement, and admitted that moving from Vegas to Hawaii was an adjustment that took some time getting used to.
“I hated it when I came back home, I didn’t know anybody here. … But what inspires me is Hawaii,” said Prie. “Everyone has so much Aloha and that is something you don’t get on the mainland. This is a god blessed place. You can’t get any better than this.”
Both the Angry Locals and Sample say hip-hop is not just a genre of music, but a part of their lives. They continue to work hard to keep hip-hop alive because of their love for the music.
“I want people to not only better understand my story as a person (through my music), but just know that whatever they are going through, that they are not alone,” said Prie. “I want them to understand that there is this kid that turned nothing into something coming from a place like Hawaii and from a place that has been frowned upon.
“I just want my fans to have a better understanding, that it’s okay to be from Hawaii, to be a hip hop artist (and) to do what you love.” - JERMEL-LYNN QUILLOPO

As the old saying goes, “a rising tide lifts all ships,” and that’s exactly what will happen tonight for local hip-hop fans in Chinatown. BambuTwo’s theVenue and Manifest, both relatively newer additions to the neighborhood, will host “competing” events, but it’s a good bet you’ll see many of the same faces in both places.
The “Indie 50 Hip-Hop Festival” gets underway at 9:30 p.m. Friday at theVenue, with live performances by Creed Chameleon with Tempo Valley and DJ Packo, Ill Hill Society with the R-U-N Band, Mental Case with Perfect Strangahz, Pro and Eternal. Live artwork is also planned by Ckaweeks; DJ Une will be at theVenue to keep the music going all night long.
Another new artist tapped to perform at “Indie 50? is Prie Falaniko, a 19-year old Kalihi resident who was born in Hawaii before moving to Las Vegas at a young age. He returned in 2007 and set about making a name for himself on the local scene by releasing mixtapes; his latest, “Rookie of the Year,” is available for free download here. - Jason Genegabus

IN THE MIX: PRIE STILL ‘FLYING HI’ | 1. The local rapper may be just 19 years old, but Prie is making some pretty grown-up moves in the Hawaii hip-hop game. Learn more about his new mixtape, “We Fly HI 2: Still Flying,” - Aaron Yoshino

Paying tribute to the sound of hip hop's golden era, Hawaii's own live hip hop band Sample, has been making everlasting impressions in the local music scene.

As the veteran musician of the band, bassist Bart Anderson has been a music junkie since the 80s. Anderson found inspiration from singer/bassist Les Claypool of rock band Primus, and jazz pianist Thelonius Monk, among many other metal, funk, and hip hop groups such as the Fat Boys and the Beastie Boys, with his first album being Raising Hell.

View slideshow: Prie and Sample
"I'm an OCD music freak," says Minneapolis native Anderson, who is a self-taught musician with a background in saxophone, viola, and electric guitar. "All avenues and genres are appreciated, but I always go back to hip hop, especially from the 90s."

Moving to Hawaii almost eight years ago, Anderson brought his mainland hip hop knowledge and decided to form a band with other musicians who shared similar music interests.

After teaming up with drummer Kelii Wong, Kalani Pokipala known as DJ Packo, keyboardist Gotaro Oshitari, and rapper Prie Falaniko who goes by Prie, the exposure and success of the group has been nothing but positive.

Performances at shows with underground hip hop notables The Grouch and Eligh, Ruff Ryders symbolic rapper DMX, producer/DJ 9th Wonder, and socialist duo Dead Prez, have helped build the group's already growing fan base.

Oshitari, who has a background in guitar and shamisen (Japanese guitar-like instrument), began learning piano in the fourth grade and only lasted for two years.

"I wish I never quit taking lessons because I could've been so much better," says Oshitari. "My mom should've kept me in training."

Despite his break from piano, coming back to it has brought him much success. As a full-time freelance musician who decided to leave college for a music career, he has toured and recorded with artists such as The Wailers, J Boog, and Rebel Souljahz. For several years, he has also performed at music festivals on the mainland, such as the Monterey Jazz Festival and the Humboldt Music Festival.

"I'm just trying to make good music," says Oshitari who finds inspiration from artists D'Angelo, The Beatles, Thelonius Monk, and Bob Marley and The Wailers. "It's my calling."

With over 15 years of music experience, drummer Kelii Wong, who works full-time at a hospital, also sees music as a life career, hoping to take the band on a mainland tour.

While in his high school marching band and drumline, Wong found inspiration from jazz drummer Buddy Rich and rock drummer Lars Ulrich. He became part of a band called "Family Fun", playing punk/ska. And like Oshitari and Anderson, Wong also found inspiration from live hip hop group The Roots.

Adding to the chemistry of the band, DJ Packo bridges the live instrumentation with QBert-inspired vinyl talent.

In 1997, while listening to hip hop turntablists Invisibl Skratch Piklz (ISP), Beat Junkies, and Total Eclipse, DJ Packo began to realize the power of music.

"I never thought about how music was as healing as it is," says DJ Packo, who admits to never excelling in DJ battles, but continues to progress.

"Ask anyone, and they'll tell you that he's the best DJ on the island," says Oshitari.

Fortunate for the band, DJ Packo came into the hip hop community during the fall of the vinyl DJ, when people were turning to the digital ease of mixing CDs. He was able to capture the essence of true turntablism before it went to Serato and other DJ software.

"Every DJ should know the foundation. People now, rely on the visual and forget to use their other senses. You have to learn how to train your ear," says DJ Packo, who uses Technics and a Rane mixer. "I really hope new DJs don't lose the art form."

Though at a tender age of 20, rapper Prie brings a mature respect for the band's choice of playing classic hip hop songs even though he grew up years after the golden era was already over.

"Prie appreciates what we appreciate," says Anderson. "He has a hard work ethic and is super motivated. His delivery and flow are really polished."

First inspired by rappers 50 Cent, Busta Rhymes, and Eminem, and recording his first song while in sixth grade, Prie learned early how to mold his writing skills.

"When I first started, I wasn't writing about real stuff. I was writing about stuff I'd hear, like getting drunk in the club and rollin' in a Beamer," says Prie. "But I lost my little brother in 2006 and started to really listen to Tupac. That's when I started writing about real stuff. Tupac's Makaveli album blew my mind. I could relate to his struggles."

Regarded as an iconic hip hop figure, Tupac Shakur vocalized his struggles in ways that resonate in generations after his death. These real-life situations have touched many, including Prie, whose struggles have, in turn, touched his own fans.

"I grew up in a bad area and I still live in a pretty bad area," says Prie who was born in Hawaii, moved to Las Vegas, and came back. "The difference between my music and other artists here, is that they just rap about Hawaii life, but I have the best of both worlds."

By turning his negative situations into positive ones through everyday writing, Prie hopes to put out the same kind of empowering music as Tupac.

"I usually freestyle first, then I start jotting down what I said," says Prie about the songwriting process. "I have tons of composition books filled with lyrics."

With lots of content to choose from, Prie's work never stops with both Sample and his solo tracks.

Now with a video series called “We Fly High” and a mixtape called “Sweet Dreams & Nightmares”, Prie, along with Sample, continues to gain exposure, experience, and a growing audience. - Tina Jamias