Onthe1: Special Delivery

By Jennifer Cueva DeLeon

Veterans and virgins of Hawai‘i hip-hop performed on Sept. 29 at Onthe1: Special Delivery, the most recent hip-hop event at UHM. The epic show that took place in the Hemenway Courtyard and featured Kavet the Catalyst, Soul Pacific, AudibleLabRats, Vitalsee, Tempo Valley, and DJ Observ.

The all ages, free event hosted by Jake the Snake of KTUH’s GenuineHI show manifested itself according to his definition of GenuineHI as a movement that aims to uplift Hawai‘i through art, love and positivity. Onthe1: Special Delivery was the third of Jake the Snake’s hip-hop events, at UHM. The first was in November of 2005. With the current frequency of one show per semester, some are saying it isn’t enough.

The turnout was well over two hundred people, which is typically unanticipated for entirely local events. However, with the acts on the bill, some hip-hop heads wouldn’t expect less.

Veterans Tempo Valley kicked off the night, displaying their propensity for fusing reggae, poetry and hip-hop with acoustic guitar, bass and MPC beats. They were resident Wednesday performers at Don Ho’s in Aloha Tower, a venue with age limit restrictions. Onthe1 exposed Tempo Valley to wider demographic, and opened up a wider demographic to Tempo Valley—a very win-win situation.

The AudibleLabRats were recently in a winning situation as they won the title of runners up in the 2006 Milestones Musical Innovators Competition. At Onthe1 The AudibleLabRats rocked it live with their MPC beats as well, letting the crowd in on unreleased tracks from their upcoming album, which will be released later this year.

Light on profanity but heavy on audience participation, Soul Pacific kept the crowd moving. Nothing inhibited the crowd from screaming “Ah!” during the group’s song “My Style,” which is of course customary during a Soul Pacific set. The group turned the interjection we make in response to tongue depressors into a fun expression of approval.

Highly approved Kavet the Catalyst, a veteran of hip-hop in Hawai‘i, has been passing the microphone to other artists lately as he organizes and promotes events. But he performed a rare set of his own work old and new, making Onthe1 that much more of a special delivery.

Delivering sounds in between sets was emerging disk jockey DJ Observ who has actually been part of the Kavet the Catalyst following for years now. Observ is well known for his work with Creed Chameleon and Educated Guess, collectively known as The Usual.

The not so usual name on the bill was Vitalsee. Originally based in Mililani, with members now on the west coast of the continent, Vitalsee concluded Onthe1, their first show, with dancing reminiscent of the late 90s boy band 2gether. Their “wicked humorously worded flow” made their otherwise silly dance moves admirable. The comical yet compelling group is inexorably entertaining, making them ideal for companionship on a deserted island.

And sometimes O‘ahu is regarded as a deserted island when it comes to music scenes, but Onthe1: Special Delivery set the hip-hop bar high for Hawai‘i. Hawai‘i can only hope that another delivery will help to raise that bar even higher.

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