Multiple award-winning artists, as well as up-and-coming musicians from Hawaii Island, have come together as the Alohaland Collective and released “Our Kuleana,” rallying alongside the community to stop the spread of COVID-19.
“As the opening kahea states, ‘No kakou ke kuleana!’ It’s our responsibility and together we can do this,” said Kainani Kahaunaele, vocalist on the project and five-time Na Hoku Hanohano Award winner.
The “Our Kuleana” movement started several weeks ago as Big Island COVID-19 numbers began to spike, galvanizing community to stop the spread of the virus. From thousands of social media posts of individuals taking the #ourkuleana challenge wearing masks, to a growing social media following @ourkuleanahawaii, the movement now has an anthem!
Hilo’s own Brandon Nakano and 12 other Hawaii Island musicians brought their talents together in a matter of days to record the single, “Our Kuleana.”
“The Our Kuleana campaign had just rolled out and composing and recording this song was a way for me to express what I was feeling and be able to help. Our biggest kuleana is to aloha each other!” Nakano said.
Nakano made the call out to the Alohaland Collective less than three weeks ago and “Our Kuleana” is already available for download on iTunes and will soon be streaming on Spotify and Pandora.
“The way this recording came together is a prime example of what is at the core of the campaign — community coming together to take responsibility for community,” noted Randy Kurohara of Community First, the Hawaii Island nonprofit coordinating the Our Kuleana campaign.
Award winning musician Bruddah Waltah Aipolani shared his simple yet compelling motivation for being a part of the project, “My kupuna and my keiki are the reason why I feel this is my kuleana!”
Kurohara echoed these sentiments, noting that “We all have a kuleana to fulfill in order to stop the spread of the virus – government and health organizations and officials as well as all of us in the community.”
For more information on Our Kuleana, visit www.ourkuleanahawaii.com.