Photo taken by Kim Todd @kimtodd.me
CJ FIYA
@cj_fIya
Keyz: What inspires you to be an ar st?
CJ: The main thing that inspires me to be an
ar st is really my love for crea vity and the
art itself. I record because that's the best
way I know how to express my own
crea vity, but I didn't always know I would
end up being a rapper or hip hop ar st as I
like to label myself. (lol) I've always been
into drawing and pain ng, but my first love
was poetry. I've always loved words and
excelled in English and spelling.
Keyz: That's a great quality to have,
especially in your field. How long have you
been a recording ar st?
CJ: About 4 years now. I first a empted
recording in 2009, a er mee ng another
ar st named Noah Neevz. We borrowed
keys to the Winward Community College
music lab and made a track on Garageband.
We were all excited even tho the quality was
horrible, but it planted that bug, divining us
to drive to really do it.
Keyz: How would you describe the hip hop
scene in Hawaii and what makes you a
standout ar st?
CJ: Sadly to say, but there isn't really much
of a hip-hop scene here in Hawaii. This
definately adds to the lack of support and
the struggle to gain no ce. The radio
sta ons don't give support to local hip hop
ar st, because it's more centered on
Reggae. This makes it hard for a hip hop
ar st. But the main reason I think it's not as
strong of a community is that alot of the
local talent keep to their circle and don't
collab on shows or project with anyone else.
I've always been about community
togetherness. You can ask anyone I
associate with and I'll be the first to tell you
that ar st need to come together. Hawaii
has created some of the best musicians and
most known celebri es out there, just no
one here is known for hip hop. To anwer
part two of your ques on of why I stand out
is first my willingness to work with people
and my drive. Plus my music stands out on
its own. The main thing people tell me is my
ability to be melodic and switch up flows,
which keeps em entertained.
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