Bruddah Waltah
The Father of Hawaiian Reggae
Alittle about a musical legend..from a Daughterʻs perspective….
Bruddah Waltah is his stage name, but to me and my brother, heʻs simply “Dad.”
For as long as we can remember, our dad has always been a musician. Music was what he did, and the music that he did was always different from what everyone else was doing. When he sang, people got up and danced. When my dad got on stage, we knew the party was about to get started!!
Mastering his craft came so naturally. To my brother and me, there was nobody better than our Dad! His show was jammed packed with music that made you dance, music that took you back, and music that made you proud to be local.
It is only recently that our dad started to intertwine storytelling into his solo shows and his audience loved it. His sense of humor made people laugh as they related with him, and although at times a bit raw, he remained genuinely himself.
Today......
Fast forward to today… Enduring Covid as an entertainer presented so many challenges. My dad missed performing Live and entertaining. He missed traveling and connecting with his friends from afar. Somehow he managed to provide for him and my mom. He did Live performances on social media, recorded songs here and there, and took various gigs albeit few. We were happy that life had slowed down a bit because it gave us time to spend together as a family. He took walks often with my mom and their dogs in the morning, and if I ever wanted to know where my parents were, all I had to do was check Facebook because my dad posted everything online. He was vibrant and appeared healthy and strong.
Life is a Gift....
Recently, my dad was diagnosed with an aggressive form of liver cancer. While going through the protocol of whatʻs required, he encountered major complications. In a matter of hours, his situation went from bad to worse. If youʻre following him on any of his social media platforms Iʻm sure youʻve noticed that his spirit has been somewhat down. He’s even questioned if he will ever be strong enough to sing again. He has a long road of healing ahead of him however as a family, we are hopeful!
