George "Fiji" Veikoso | |
---|---|
Birth name | George Brooks Veikoso |
Also known as | FIJI, George FIJI |
Born | Fiji | 10 May 1970
Origin | Tailevu, Fiji Islands |
Genres | Reggae, world, R&B, ska, jazz, Hip hop |
Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, vocalist |
Instrument(s) | Vocals |
Years active | 1978–present |
Labels | Indigenous Alliance |
Website | fijitheartist |
George Brooks Veikoso (born 10 May 1970), known professionally as Fiji, is a Fijian musician, vocalist, songwriter, music producer and occasional actor. He was born in Fiji and is from the province of Tailevu. He was raised in Fiji. [1]
His first professional singing appearance earned him $5 from the audience. He liked singing in the church as a kid. He credits 3 relatives for helping him reach his goals which includes his uncle, Isireli Racule who worked on Elvis Presley's, Drums of the Islands , his other uncle and Fijian jazz star, Sakiusa Bulicokocoko and Paul Stevens. He joined Fijian band Rootstrata in 1987 but left the same year for Hawaii due to the 1987 Fijian coups d'état. [2]
In 1998 he won the Na Hoku Hanohano Award for Male Vocalist of the year and Favorite Entertainer of the year. [3]
He has earned numerous other industry accolades and awards “Favorite Entertainer of the Year” and “People's Choice Award”. FIJI's collaboration on the "Island Warriors" compilation album earned a Grammy-nomination for Best Reggae Album. [4]
Fiji also co-wrote and sang the season 11 theme-song "Let Me Be the One"with Glenn Medeiros for the TV show, Baywatch and he has acted in the 2002, surfer film Blue Crush . [5]
He has produced and released many albums during his career such as “Evolution” and “Born and Raised” to name a few. One of his all time and most popular songs is “Lia”. [6]
In December 2021, he won the Pacific Music Awards, Manukau Institute of Technology Lifetime Achievement Award for his decades-long contribution to the Polynesian reggae scene. [7]
The music of Polynesia is a diverse set of musical traditions from islands within a large area of the central and southern Pacific Ocean, approximately a triangle with New Zealand, Hawaii and Easter Island forming its corners. Traditional Polynesian music is largely an inseparable part of a broader performance art form, incorporating dance and recital of oral traditions; most literature considers Polynesian music and dance together. Polynesian music expanded with colonial European contact and incorporated instruments and styles introduced through a process of acculturation that continues to the present day. Although the European tradition of hymn-singing brought by Christian missionaries was probably the most important influence, others are evident; Hawaii's influential kī hōʻalu music incorporated the Spanish guitar introduced in the late 19th century, and later introduced the steel guitar to country music. Hip hop and R&B influences have created a contemporary Urban Pasifika music genre with a strong Polynesian identity and supported by the annual Pacific Music Awards in New Zealand.
Carleton Lewis Kealiʻinaniaimokuokalani Reichel popularly known as Kealiʻi Reichel, is a popular and bestselling singer, songwriter, choreographer, dancer, chanter, scholar, teacher, and personality from Hawaiʻi. He has spent his life educating the world about Hawaiian culture through music and dance.
Ledward Kaapana is a Hawaiian musician, best known for playing in the slack key guitar style. In 2011, he received a National Heritage Fellowship, the United States government's highest honor in the folk and traditional arts. He also plays steel guitar, ukulele, autoharp, and bass guitar, and is a baritone and falsetto vocalist. He received Na Hoku Hanohano Awards from the Hawai'i Academy of Recording Arts (HARA), and has been nominated for Grammy Awards.
Jake Shimabukuro is a ukulele virtuoso and composer from Hawaii known for his fast and complex finger work. His music combines elements of jazz, blues, funk, rock, bluegrass, classical, folk, and flamenco. Shimabukuro has written numerous original compositions, including the entire soundtracks to two Japanese films, Hula Girls (2007) and Sideways (2009), the Japanese remake of the same name.
Dennis David Kahekilimamaoikalanikeha Kamakahi was a Hawaiian slack key guitarist, recording artist, music composer, and Christian minister. He was a three-time Grammy Award winner, and in 2009 he was inducted into the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame.
Amy Hānaialiʻi Gilliom is an American vocalist and songwriter.
Irie Love Taylor is an American R&B Reggae singer and songwriter. She first gained notice as one of the finalists on the "Brown Bags to Stardom" competition in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1999. She was signed by John Iervolino onto his record label, Quiet Storm Records. She was featured as the only new artist on his world music compilation entitled Roots Music Volume 2: Private Beach Party for which they used her likeness to promote the album.
Rylee Anuheakeʻalaokalokelani Jenkins, better known as Anuhea, is a Hawaiian musician, singer and songwriter.
Eric Lee is a Hawaiian musician, singer, songwriter, and producer. His work has appeared on more than 30 albums, including his work with The Kanile'a Collection, Nā Kama, The Ka'ala Boys, The Mākaha Sons, and his solo albums, Crossroads, Kawehilani, and his Twentieth Anniversary Anthology.
Marlene Mikahala Sai is a Hawaiian classic-style female solo singer, born in Honolulu of Hawaiian–Chinese heritage. The San Francisco Chronicle refers to Marlene Sai as one of the true icons of the islands. The Santa Cruz Sentinel refers to Sai as a living legend of Hawaiian music. PBS Hawaii's Leslie Wilcox says of Sai "There are only a handful of true divas in Hawaiian music, women who wrap their powerful voices with grace, elegance and beauty. You can add to the list Marlene Sai."
Makana, born Matthew Swalinkavich, is a slack-key guitar player, singer, and composer.
The Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards, occasionally called the Nā Hōkū Awards or Hoku Awards, are the premier music awards in Hawaii. They are considered to be Hawaii's equivalent of the Grammy Awards. "Nā Hōkū Hanohano" means "Stars of Distinction" in Hawaiian – "hōkū" means "star", "nā" makes it plural, and "hanohano" means "glorious, worthy of praises". The awards were founded in 1978 by radio personality Krash Kealoha of KCCN-AM, a radio station which focused on traditional Hawaiian music. He launched the first awards with the support of the owner of the radio station Sydney Grayson, and his fellow DJs Kimo Kahoʻāno and Jacqueline “Skylark” Rossetti.
Kimié Kauikeolani Miner better known as Kimié, is an Grammy Award nominated producer, American singer-songwriter and musician of Native Hawaiian and Portuguese descent. In November 2019 Miner earned her first Grammy Award nomination for the compilation album titled "Hawaiian Lullaby" as a producer along with producer Imua Garza. It was released in 2019 under her label Haku Collective. Hawaiian Lullaby was nominated in the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards under the Best Regional Roots Music Album category. Miner is an independent artist formerly managed by Kimo Kennedy of Arium Music and Kekoa Kapua of FR Management.
Jaye Nāpua Greig-Nakasone, known professionally as Nāpua Greig, is a Hawaiian musician, vocalist, songwriter, record producer, kumu hula, and educator from Maui, Hawaii. Known primarily for her contributions as kumu hula of Hālau Nā Lei Kaumaka O Uka, she arranges traditional Hawaiian music as well, performing and recording with instruments such as ukulele, ipu, and other traditional Hawaiian hula implements. She has released four solo albums, each earning a Nā Hōkū Hanohano Award.
Raiatea Mokihana Maile Helm is a Hawaiian music vocalist from Molokaʻi, Hawaiʻi. She has earned four Na Hoku Hanohano awards, as well as two Grammy nominations for Best Hawaiian Music Album.
Tenelle Christine Luafalemana is an American Samoan singer-songwriter from Carson, California. She represented American Samoa in the American Song Contest where she placed 6th in the Grand Final.
Common Kings are an American, Hawaiian, and Samoan reggae rock/pop band from Orange County, California. The band's debut album, Lost in Paradise, was nominated for a Grammy Award.
Kalani Peʻa is a three-time Grammy Award winning singer-songwriter of Hawaiian music. He released his first album, E Walea, in 2016, which won the 2017 Grammy award for Best Regional Roots Music Album. Peʻa released his second album, No 'Ane'i, in 2018, which won the Grammy Award for Best Regional Roots Music Album at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards.
Carlson Kamaka Kūkona, III, otherwise simply known as Kamaka Kūkona, is an American musician, vocalist, songwriter, record producer, kumu hula, and educator.
Jerry Fealofani Afemata, better known by his stage name J Boog, is an American-Samoan reggae singer and songwriter. J Boog has released three albums that reached the top ten of the Billboard Reggae Albums chart, debuting with Hear Me Roar in 2007. His next two albums, Backyard Boogie (2011) and Wash House Ting (2016), both reached number one on the Reggae Albums chart.