Iolani grad writes Kamakahi obit
Nate Chinen, a '94 Iolani graduate, wrote a beautiful obituary for beloved Hawaiian Rennaissance songwriter and slack-key guitarist Dennis Kamakahi.
From Chinen’s piece:
Dennis Kamakahi, a prolific Hawaiian songwriter, an influential slack-key guitarist and a central figure in the 1970s cultural movement known as the Hawaiian renaissance, died on Monday in Honolulu. He was 61.
The cause was lung cancer, his wife, Robin, said.
With his music, Mr. Kamakahi (pronounced KAH-mah-KAH-hee) formed a bridge between ancient and modern cultures. He paid frequent tribute to previous generations of Hawaiian songwriters, and his own songs have strong echoes of the cadence and narrative of traditional hula chants, along with pop harmony and inflection.
Read the full story here.