Willie K

In 2000 Willie K—guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter born William Kahaiali'i—issued Awthilima: Reflections and thereby signaled his re-engagement with longstanding Hawaiian musical traditions. As the offspring of the noted Hawaiian performer Manu Kahaiali'i, he had already played a pivotal part in shaping contemporary Hawaiian styles, channeling equal influence from jazz, blues, and R&B to lend an updated flavor to island-rooted sounds. Growing up on Maui, he acquired seasoned credentials while still young, appearing at age ten alongside his brothers in his father’s group and later maintaining simultaneous memberships in as many as eight separate high-school ensembles. A short-lived relocation to San Francisco intended to advance his professional prospects ended after several years when he returned to Maui. Although his opening three albums earned Na Hoku Hanohano awards—Hawaii’s counterpart to the Grammy, conferred by the Hawaiian Academy of Recording Arts—his subsequent pair of Round Island releases proved less well received. Greater achievement arrived through his production of three albums for Amy Hanaiali’i, for which he captured two Producer of the Year honors and assisted her in securing Album of the Year, Best Female Vocalist, Song of the Year, and Hawaiian Album of the Year. While pausing work on a further Hanaiali’i project, he completed his own holiday recording, Willie Kalikimaka, which featured a duet with Willie Nelson on “Away in a Manger.” The collection became 1999’s top-selling Christmas album and reached the summit of Billboard’s worldbeat chart. Continuing his longstanding Monday-night residency at Hapa’s Nightclub in Kihei, Maui, Willie K also unveiled the career-spanning anthology The Uncle in Me that same year.