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Wassup #OTDHipHop fam! My life is a juggling act, in all honesty. Lol. Forgive me for the sporadic content but regardless, you can trust that I’m creating content for yall every day whether it’s music or blogs or videos, etc. But I digress… This week I had the pleasure to chop it up with Rappa Nui, an up and coming music artist & entertainer from the Big Island. Most recently, he’s earned one of the top spots on “Hawaii’s Next Radio Star” via Power 104.3. I figured this would be a good time to hit em up for a blog feature and I’ve always been interested in his work; we talked about the radio competition, his background, and latest single “Let My Guard Down."
Kenui Hamada, “Rappa Nui” is a 27-year old from the Big Island of Hawaii. Initially starting with freestyles in high school, he has been present in Hawaii’s local music scene since his early 20s. He mentioned that he used to look up to bigger local artists and entertainers like Osna and Krystilez. “Growing in the Big Island, everything I do makes a statement. So I’m hella proud looking back ‘cause today I work with my role models.” Osna actually directed, shot, and edited Rappa Nui’s latest single/video “Let My Guard Down” (feat. Ryan Hiraoka). Big props to everyone on the project! “Basically I like making music that everyone can listen to and vibe to. I rap about a lot of different things but this track was more so a ‘feel good’ track, and we got to shoot it back in my hometown,” said Rappa Nui.  Today, Rappa Nui is focused on what he calls “power moves.” He is also a proud father of his daughter Miliana, and expressed how having her in his life makes him want to take his career to the next level even more. He stated, “I don’t want to waste my time anymore. Being a dad just makes me want to strategize everything better so I can reach my goals faster.”
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Welcome to another edition of #WCW!! Today I have the pleasure to introduce my good friend and former classmate, Marjury Cabanlit. We first met in Accounting class a few years ago, and have been friends ever since. We’ve also been interviewed on KNDI 1270 AM radio together. I chose to reach out to her to be interviewed for this segment because I’m inspired by her work ethic, and I’m eager to hear about her recent traveling experiences. Marjury attends Hawaii Pacific University on a scholarship and is studying towards her degree in Management Information Systems.  Since we met, Marjury has been on a number of international trips, academic related and personal. As a full time student, Peer Academic Coach, and various volunteer activities, I highly commend Marjury for putting in the work she needs to in order to succeed. It is also more inspiring because she is originally from the province of Misamis Occidental located in Mindanao, Southern Philippines.
Below are some things we chatted about: Jehzan: What high school did you attend? Marjury: I attended for four years and graduated from Waipahu High School. Jehzan: Why did you choose to attend Hawaii Pacific University (HPU)? What’s your major? Marjury: The school offered me the highest privilege of merit scholarship, it was the Presidential Scholarship then for four years. So why not? Also, I liked the fact that it is a private university with smaller class size. I am pursuing Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in Management Information Systems. I chose to study this field because I wanted to learn not just about computers and their coding, but also the major business principles. Nowadays, everything is business, therefore, it would be helpful to be learning business classes at the same time as information systems classes.
Jehzan: It’s so awesome to see you traveling to different places! What inspires you to travel? Marjury: Ever since when I was a kid (about seven years old) I already dreamed of traveling, the backpacking, going to places I have never been, taking awesome pictures and recording videos, and blog about them. Jehzan: Where have you visited recently? Have your trips been school related or personal? Marjury: In November 2015, I was very fortunate to be one of the recipients of the Kakehashi Program scholarship through Hawaii Pacific University, sending 20 students to Japan for nine-day study tour out of over a hundred applicants who were initially interested. It was an all-paid expense trip that is why I applied and did not want to miss it considering that that opportunity might only come once in a lifetime (at least in my college career). Then, on December 2015, I traveled alone back to the Philippines. However, I had a layover at Taipei. It was another place for me to have stepped onto with a 16-hr layover. I just loved traveling despite of the long layovers. Then January of 2017 came and I traveled to Los Angeles for the first time to visit relatives there for a one-week stay. I visited the Hollywood sign, the Beverly Hills, Universal Studios, Disneyland, Walk of Fame, Santa Monica Pier’s Pacific Park, etc. Just this past May, I traveled to Vancouver, BC, Canada with my cousin for a one-week vacation and visit our relatives there. It is our first time as well to go to Canada. On that weekend of our stay, my cousin and I decided to visit someone special at San Antonio, Texas, USA so we booked our flights right away. We had layovers at Denver, Colorado and Houston Texas. Though I know that with sleepless nights and restless flights, I would feel tired. But in my mind, I like traveling, exploring new places, meeting new people, experiencing another culture at a bargain (because I availed with plane ticket deals). Traveling may not be for everyone but for me, it is.
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OTDHipHop is an independent music blog and network, curated by Rapper/Blogger Jehzan Exclusive.
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