Rap’s Hawaii

Rap’s comedic genius was a remarkable talent to witness, especially when you watched him develop a new idea. I first worked with Rap when he organized the comedy team of Booga Booga with Ed Ka’ahea and James Grant Benton. The brand of comedy that Rap introduced reminded US of our childhood and the local ways in which we grew up. It was very personal and poignant and it remains that way today. Everyone beganusing Rap’s “bits” in every day life and he became a part of the fabric of our community. His humor is repeated daily by a legion of his fans. Rap’s comedy lives on in this amazing collection of some of his best routines. Television allowed Rap the added demension of acting and all of a sudden, you could envision Da Old Man, Aunty Marialani, the Mahalo Airlines Pilot, and Willie Maunawili. The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences awarded an Emmy to Rap’s Hawaii for the Outstanding Television Special of the Year. The true reward, for those of US who long for hanabatta days, is that we continue to laugh with Rap, a world class comedian. Mahalo to all those who enriched Rap’s life by making these opportunities available and creating a permanant record of his comedy so generations to come can continue to laugh. – Jon de Mello.