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"Reggae Woman" HutchiBoye (SkrapYard)
Hutch Hutchins — known in years past as Hutchi Boy-E, and now as HutchiBoye — has been involved with the island music scene since the 1970s. He was Hawaii’s foremost funk bassist in the early 1980s and the leader of a band, Studi-Yo, that was second to none in the isles when it came to playing pure hard-core funk. Unfortunately for Studi-Yo, pure funk was not particularly welcome in Waikiki clubs in those days, and as time passed Hutchins founded SkrapYard Records and made a transition into recording. He did a few projects of his own but spent most of his time producing other artists.
His last big project as recording artist Hutchi Boy-E was back in 2002 when he released a compilation album of tracks from three different projects he was working on. The title song of the album was a light-hearted, kid-friendly, contemporary hapa-haole song titled "The Lolo Popolo" ("Popolo" is Hawaiian slang for African-Americans; it refers to the black berries of a culturally significant island plant. Hutchins is African-American and doesn’t consider the term to be offensive).
Twelve years later Hutchins is back as recording artist HutchiBoye. Rather than do a full-length CD with all the manufacturing and distributing costs, he’s releasing his work as a series of download-only single releases. "Reggae Woman" is the first one he’s put on the market. It is an intriguing introduction to the series.
He sings with increasing fervor to a beautiful woman "with dreads in her hair" and a "sexy walk," imploring her to "romance me, romance me." The energy level rises with each verse. The lyric images are timeless.
Hutchins describes the song as "soft reggae," a blending of traditional Jamaican rhythms with studio electronics and pop and urban influences. It’s a one-man project where he plays all the instruments and sings all the vocal parts. Give him extra credit for not affecting a faux-rasta, imitation-Jamaican accent.
It is always great to see a talented artist grow. Hutchins has been known for decades as a powerful slam-and-thump bassist whose work backed other performers. "Reggae Woman" spotlights his range as a singer and his abilities as a lyricist.
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