Kapena

Founding member Kelly Boy DeLima guides Kapena, the Hawaiian group that has bridged two generations while earning recognition for fusing reggae and pop into longstanding island traditions. The band originated in 1985 within Honolulu’s Kaimuki district, where DeLima joined forces with brothers Teimoni Tatofi and Tivaini Tatofi to create a lineup celebrated across Hawaii for its tireless live schedule. Their first recording appeared in 1986 as the live album Satisfaction Guaranteed, captured at Sparky’s Lounge, which established their reputation and cleared the path for the 1988 release Kapena and More; that album secured Na Hoku Hanohano Awards for Best Hawaiian Contemporary Album and Group of the Year.

Throughout the 1990s the group maintained an intensive touring calendar while issuing fresh material such as Wild Heart in 1992 and Future Frontiers in 1995, together with two separate greatest-hits collections. Toward the close of the decade the original members began to step back, leading DeLima in 1998 to bring his children into the fold. Over the following years the Tatofi brothers gradually withdrew, allowing Kapena DeLima, Kalena DeLima, and Lilo DeLima to join their father as permanent members and steer the sound toward contemporary rock and reggae influences, including hip-hop passages on the 2012 album Kapena Is da Crew.

The group marked the thirtieth anniversary of its formation in 2015 with a two-disc anthology spanning both early and later lineups. After issuing several singles that explored EDM and mainstream pop directions, Kapena returned in 2017 with the more traditional-sounding Palena 'Ole.