Tears fell from Kamalei ’s eyes as he spoke about what the song means to him .
This week, Native Hawaiian singerKamalei Kawa’awowed the judges during his blindauditiononThe Voice.
He gave a powerful rendition ofBob Marleyand the Wailers' “Redemption Song” that had Chance the Rapper turning around during the first line.
Reba also turned, looking captivated as she watched the end of the performance.
“Aloha mai kākou,” Kamalei said before introducing himself as a 26-year-old from Paukukalo, Maui.
“Doing ‘Redemption Song’ in front of millions of people — it brought something out of me,” Chance said. “It’s a very radical song, and it means a lot to all oppressed peoples around the world. And I think having you on here and representing Pacific Islanders, indigenous people, Hawaiians, people around the world, I think it’s really important to have on the show.”
Kamalei said his goal is “to represent all Native people.” With tears in his eyes, he continued, “I get emotional talking about it. My favorite line from the song is ‘Emancipate yourself from mental slavery.’ That’s what we need to hear today. Don’t let those chains hold you down.”
“It’s up to us to holomua, as we say in Hawaiian, to move forward and emancipate yourselves.”
For those who don’t know, the Kingdom of Hawai’i used to be an independent nation. After US troops overthrew Queen Lili’uokalani in 1893, the kingdom was illegally annexed in 1898 — despite some Congress members pointing out it wasunconstitutional.
Today , adisproportionatenumber of Native Hawaiians are push into homelessness and out of their ancestral lands while the wealthyswoop inand leverage thousands of estate . From the Navypoisoningdrinking water in the Red Hill water supply crisis to the years - longbattleagainst the Thirty Meter Telescope while spiritual and ethnical beliefs were disregarded to the government’sfailurefollowing the annihilative Maui fires , Native Hawaiians have front countless disasters at the hands of the US . I absolutely love Kamalei ’s substance to push forward and keep campaign the good fight .
“That song touched my heart,“Rebasaid. “I knew that I had heard it before, but not like the way you sang it. It’s something about you being so proud of your heritage and carrying on the ways of your people that it just came through in that song. It was very spiritual to me.”
Kamalei ended up choosing Team Chance, and I’m here for it!
You can watch the full audition here:
Congratulations on an incredible performance, Kamalei! I’m rooting for you!
NBC
