Josh Tatofi
1.23.23
Name: Josh Tupou Tatofi
Family: My mom and dad came from Tonga. My dad moved to Hawaii when he was around 12 in 1976 and went back and forth between Hawaii and Tonga. He then got married to my mom in Tonga in 1988, then they both moved to Hawaii. My dad attended Kaimuki high school and was a part of Kapena, which inspired my love for music.
Occupation: Musician
Favorite Polynesian Food: Lupulu
"In 2012 Waiolu records and I released my very first album ever and I was nominated most promising artist. I went into the awards with high hopes that I was going to win, to be honest, because I thought I was one of the best in the industry. I don’t think I felt entitled, I just felt I had a good chance. I especially felt the hype from the people around me. If I won the rookie of the year artist, I hoped they would see I am here to stay. This award would symbolize for me to stay, but in the end I lost.
I was at the Hoku Awards that year and I was trying to keep a straight face. I was more disappointed in myself thinking, “Brah what I am doing and I can’t even win this award.” I was so shame especially coming from the son of a member of the original Kapena, the weight of this award was heavy and all the marbles were on this one award. After not getting the award I ended up second guessing myself if this is what I wanted to do.
It wasn’t until I decided for myself that I didn’t want to do anything else but music.
The weight of accolades from that point on didn’t become the focus. I can't believe I let this award decide what I was going to do with my life, how about the practices, countless hours, and gigs that I worked towards. Did it all mean nothing?
At the end of the day, it wasn’t for the trophy in the first place and I went back to a happy place of music. I took out the voting of the Rookie of the Year award and what people thought and went back to the music. When I was nominated for a Grammy my agent told me we were in it and I didn’t even know I was in it. If you ever make accolades or money, the motivation for your work, you’ll never succeed. It should never be the forefront of what you are passionate about. It all started with that loss, I have been humble. We need to make sure we keep our heads down and hearts high.”
“Being Polynesian plays a huge role in my life. It keeps you rooted man; it keeps both feet on the ground. Even when we travel the world, there’s something about being Polynesian, we are such a special type of people and this can be in our favor if we let it. Some people take it as this is where I have to stay, but what our parents want for us, is to be whatever we want to be. It happens all the time, it keeps you working hard because naturally you are proud that they are proud. Our people are a happy and prideful people, if we use our culture with pride, you are force to be reckoned with.
Enjoy life and work hard. Work hard on top of finding your passion and what you want to do and listening to yourself and respecting yourself. We live in a time, where family can be a blessing and a curse, the blessing is they are always there and the curse is they’ll never force you to get out of your comfort zone. We have more space to risk than other people around the world. Our parents set the foundation to be better and try different things. IF all just goes wild, then you go home and reassess and reevaluate and go on. All that falls under working hard. IF you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life.”
“There’s something about being Polynesian, we are such a special type of people and this can be in our favor if we let it. "