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Jamin “Chief Ragga” Wong was 8 when his father, Jamieson “Wongie” Kauinohea Wong Sr., moved the family from Oahu to the Big Island. When his father started playing music with a Big Island group named Ho‘aikane in the late 80s, Jamin Wong tagged along and played a drum machine. Later, his father bought him a drum set and he taught himself enough to play it.
Ho‘aikane started out playing Hawaiian music literally on the back porch. As Jawaiian music took over local radio, the group morphed into one of the biggest names in Jawaiian music. By the time Wong graduated from Konawaena High School, he was a full-time professional entertainer.
As their musical horizons broadened, Ho‘aikane grew beyond the simple reggae-lite remakes favored by local “island music” radio and developed a more worldly fusion of reggae, hip hop, rap and pop that they introduced with two milestone albums, “Bulletproof” and “Massive.” Local radio shut them out.
Ho‘aikane faded away. Wong soldiered on as a solo artist. Eventually he, too, faded from public consciousness, but even when he was supporting himself building rock walls, he was writing and recording new music.
A chance meeting with founding member Russell Mauga inspired Wong and his father to resurrect Ho‘aikane. Mauga regained ownership of the group’s name, and they started work on a new Ho‘aikane album. Jamieson Wong Sr. died in 2019, a few days after the final mix was finished.
Jamin Wong, 45, celebrated the release of the album, “Back on the Porch,” in July. The album is available for purchase at hoaikane-merch.myshopify.com.
What made this the time for a new Ho‘aikane album?
I got back in for my father. I’m already Chief Ragga, I’m doing my (solo) thing, but it all goes back to Ho‘aikane — even when (former members) Derek (Tolentino) and Walter (Tavares) didn’t want to be a part of it. When I was recording with Bob St. John I called them, but nobody was catching the flame. Uncle Russell is the key. When he left the band, he gave me his six-string ukulele. Now he’s back in the fray for a reason.
The first song and the last song sound like guys playing “old style.” Are those unreleased Ho‘aikane tracks from the early days or new recordings?
They’re new, but when we recorded those we did it the old way. We got around the microphone and we sat in one circle and just did it the old way. Straight, traditional Hawaiian, one take.
Where did the idea come from?
When Uncle Russell wanted to get back in, the title “Back on the Porch” was the first thing that popped into my head. I wrote that song immediately after I knew the band was going to get back together. Uncle Russell is the tie to the roots. The three originals were Russell and John Mauga and Walter, and then when they moved to Kona, that’s when they got (slack key guitarist) Noland Ha‘o.
The entertainment business is full of hype, so let’s clarify that you didn’t give yourself the name “Chief Ragga.”
Pato Banton gave me that name. Ho‘aikane had recorded one of his songs, “Gwarn!,” and when we opened for him he called me up onstage. I knew the lyrics so I went, and afterwards he called me “Chief Ragga” onstage. “Ragga” can have several meanings, but it worked in my favor.
How do things look to you these days?
Now that I’m older I get it, but back then (in the 1990s) I was always wondering why some artists got the red carpet rolled out for them and some of us didn’t. “Bulletproof” was like a straight shot to the people who were trying to hold us down. All the haters in the game. The hate is so real. This era is made for me because there are no gatekeepers to hold you back.
What’s next?
In my mind my daughter, Shayde I Roots, was supposed to be the star because she sings much better than I do. Her voice was like Alicia Keys singing reggae. After she died (in 2017) I couldn’t listen to her music. Now I can and I’m bringing her music back, remastering her songs and dropping singles.
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Reach John Berger at jberger@staradvertiser.com.
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