Hapa haole music

Hapa haole music ( in Hawaiian) is a genre of Hawaiian music which utilizes primarily English lyrics with themes and instruments attributed to Hawaii, such as the ukulele and steel guitar. Although

Etymology#

“Hapa haole” is a Hawaiian term referring to someone of part-Hawaiian, part-foreign ancestry. It emerged after Christian missionaries in Hawaii introduced the term “half” to Hawaiians, which became “hapa” in Hawaiian.

Style#

Hapa haole is described as Hawaiian music that uses primarily English lyrics, with both real and mock Hawaiian words sometimes included. Its lyrical content usually focuses on the people, culture, and nature of the Hawaiian Islands. Early hapa haole was influenced by music popular in the mainland United States in the early 20th century, especially ragtime. Throughout its evolution, hapa haole began to comprise other styles of music, including Hawaiian swing, rock and roll, and rap with English lyrics.

History#

Around the beginning of the 20th century, stringed instruments, such as the ukulele and the steel guitar, overtook traditional wind instruments as the ones most commonly used by Hawaiian musicians. During this time, the phrase “hapa haole” first began to be used in reference to any Hawaiian song that had mostly English lyrics and influence from American genres. Hapa haole music was introduced to the mainland United States at multiple points through the 1910s. The 1912 Broadway musical The Bird of Paradise contained multiple songs from the genre. “On the Beach at Waikiki”, a hapa haole composition by Henry Kailimai which was performed at the exposition, went on to become a major hit in the mainland, one of the first of the genre to do so. Following these initial introductions of the genre in the mainland, hapa haole and Hawaiian music as a whole began to find a large amount of attention and commercial success across the country. Later on, during the Hawaiian Renaissance of the 1970s, the genre was the subject of criticism due to its perceived inauthenticity. Although it had beginnings in Hawaiian traditional music and ragtime, the genre evolved alongside American popular music, and now comprises other styles, including swing, rock and roll, and rap.

Genre family: 20th-century music genres, American styles of music
Region: Hawaii