Lopaka Rootz: Uplifting Listeners with Positive Vibes
By Mālielani Larish
Transfixed with awe, a four-year-old Lopaka Rootz gazed upward at Ziggy Marley as he poured his soul into a performance on O‘ahu’s North Shore. Dreadlocks swaying to the irie vibes, Ziggy beamed his smiles directly at Lopaka, planting a seed in the young boy’s mind. Today, as a reggae artist based in Kona, Lopaka brings that same magical and transformative power of music that first captivated him to a consistent schedule of live shows and freshly-released singles. Hard work, perseverance, and a commitment to maintaining his love for music has enabled him to succeed in an industry that he himself deems savage.
Musical.ly Inclined
Before Lopaka played to sold-out audiences at venues throughout Kona, he amassed 130,000 followers on the app Musical.ly, the precursor to TikTok. He recalls that his co-workers convinced him to use the app, which mainly attracted kids lip syncing to popular songs, as a way to build a fan base. Reluctantly, he accepted the challenge.
Armed with his phone and tripod, he filmed music videos at beautiful locations around the island and posted them to his account, LopakaRootzInHawaii. After a video of him covering TLC’s “Waterfalls” at Rainbow Falls went viral, the Musical.ly administration asked him to become a featured broadcaster. Every night for one year, Lopaka performed for his worldwide fans through a livestream show replete with games and incentives for the audience. When another company acquired Musical.ly in August 2018 and rebranded the app TikTok, Lopaka and his fellow high-profile influencers saw their privileges—what they had worked hard for—taken away, so Lopaka decided to renew his love for music through a new approach.
The Aftershock
In February 2018, he released a professional music video of his first single “AfterShock,” followed by a string of performances with a full backing band of studio musicians. Unfortunately, “AfterShock” did not create the far-reaching reverberations that Lopaka had hoped for, garnering zero radio play time and a mere handful of shares. He called up KAPA radio program director Jaz Iglesias and asked for guidance. Jaz advised him to play as many shows as possible to get his name on the map. Thus, Lopaka became a community ambassador, playing for free at open mics, benefit concerts for cancer victims, and the Kona Public Library. Soon he was entertaining at weddings, birthday parties, and festivals, and played bass for a local band named Ocean Grown.
Perfecting his craft through practice paid off when Lopaka earned the opportunity to open for Mike Love at Kahilu Theater in May 2019. Backstage, Lopaka asked the elder Love for his tips on how to improve as a musician. His sage counsel? “You just got to fall on your face in front of people. That is how you are going to get better.”
Lopaka has embraced the same philosophy. “You can’t get hung up on your mistakes,” he says. “Instead, you keep going and smoothly incorporate those little imperfections into what emerges as a beautiful symphony.”
Lopaka used to get frustrated when his efforts to promote a new single met with little success. After researching the topic, Lopaka has become a self-taught wizard of social media. He is happy to help promote other aspiring artists and share his promotional skills with them, saying that the work of social media effectively gets cut in half when musicians support one another’s shares.
Lopaka excels at finding opportunities to publicize his music—he contacted O‘ahu-based KHON2’s Living 808 show to inquire about doing an interview with them after learning that a friend had landed airtime on the show. More than willing to oblige, the TV program featured an interview with him, paired with clips from one of his most popular music videos. Lopaka filmed the interview during a lunch break from work, proving his ability to work full-time and still juggle the demands of promoting and performing as a musician.
Lopaka plays a show at least once a week. He is grateful for his full-time job because it gives him the freedom to select what gigs he wants to do and not stress about his earnings. During this economic doldrum caused by the pandemic, businesses cannot offer him as much compensation as they did in the past. The businesses—like Papa Kona’s, My Bar, and Poi Dog Deli—appreciate the fact that Lopaka’s performances attract packed houses of customers.
“He brings the best vibes to our establishment,” says Rocco Vick, owner of My Bar Kona. “We love working with him—he’s amazing!”
Celeste Cline, co-owner of Poi Dog Deli, says that “the best part is watching him build to a full song by himself using his looper and several different instruments, as well as his voice. He can create songs that sound like they come from a six-piece band, all by himself!”
Lopaka’s popular singles include “The Ocean,” “The Three L’s (Live, Love, Learn),” “GiveEm,” “Takin’ It Easy,” “She’s the One,” and “Eddie.” His second release, “The Ocean” flowed into Lopaka’s mind as he was relaxing with his guitar and watching the surfers at a beach near Kona; it captures the soul-soothing feeling of connecting to the ocean and music on a profound level. “Eddie” is a song based upon the story of Hōkūle‘a crew member, lifeguard, and surfer Eddie Aikau. The high-energy instrumentals of “Eddie” mimic the intensity of what it must have felt like for the heroic waterman to charge a 40-foot wave at full speed, and the mellow interludes invite the listener to feel the calm between sets.
Divine Timing
The release of one of Lopaka’s most widely-played singles, “Living My Best Life,” coincided with the statewide lockdown prompted by COVID-19 in March 2020. It was exactly what people needed to assuage the growing fear and gloom. Some radio DJs intentionally played the song after Civil Defense announcements reporting on the latest rise in cases, reminding people to Smile and be grateful for the beautiful day and that they are Blessed to be alive and sharing these positive vibes.
Some listeners have told Lopaka that they were in a very dark place and that his song came on at just the right moment, giving them enough hope to get through. Lopaka himself experienced the repercussions of the pandemic; his hours were cut in half and his mom lost her job at a Kona farmersʻ market.
“It’s not always peaches and cream for me, too,” Lopaka acknowledges. “You just have to know that like everything, it will pass.”
Lopaka credits two talented friends and owners of videography companies, Kona-based Toy Monkey and Hilo-based videographer Prime Footage, with believing in his ability to write a hit song and giving him the idea for the song’s catchphrase. Slammed by the economic downturn themselves, both videography companies created the “Living My Best Life” challenge, encouraging residents to post photos of what they were grateful for, with the chance to win prizes. As Lopaka walked around his home thinking of reasons that he was grateful, he penned a hook around the chorus and “Living My Best Life” emerged. Less than a month after its release, the song landed on KWXX’s Top 5 at 5 list.
Inspired to Uplift
An integral part of his upbringing, Bob Marleyʻs music inspired Lopaka to look for the positive and use his mind to examine deeper currents in the narratives around him. Stick Figure, Soldiers of Jah Army, Rebelution, and Tribal Seeds have also heavily influenced Lopaka’s music. He especially values Stick Figure’s ability to appeal to listeners who may be feeling depressed by pairing positive messages with minor chords, thereby meeting people at their current emotional level while stimulating them to perceive other possibilities.
Country singer George Strait served as another one of Lopaka’s early musical influences—he recalls learning how to play one of Strait’s hit singles, “Blue Clear Sky,” as a teen at his father’s house in Pennsylvania. In a full-circle manifestation of events, Lopaka had the pleasure of releasing his own reggae version of the classic in October 2020 (with all proper legal licenses secured). For Lopaka, that fresh blossoming of love that the song talks about represents the transformative power that music has had in his life.
Lopaka trusts that his songs will live on without him, enabling him to leave a part of his soul on this earth that will continue to uplift people even when he is no longer here.
“Music is my love and passion,” Lopaka says. “The money and popularity, none of that in the end really matters. It’s about doing what we love, and I want to uplift people.”
Judging by the feedback of fan Celeste Cline, who says Lopaka is “an embodiment of the aloha spirit,” he is succeeding in exactly that. ❖
For more information:
Instagram @LopakaRootz
facebook.com/LopakaRootzmusic/
