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By John Berger
Special to the Star-BulletinWhen Salevaa Atisanoe -- better known to the world as retired sumo ozeki Konishiki -- decided to make his debut as a rap artist, he wanted his first album to be more than a celebrity's project.
He insisted on balancing his producers' solid rap tracks with lyrics that reflected his roots as a Hawaii-born Samoan and his years as a sumotori in Japan.
"I wanted it to be an introduction to who I am, that I'm originally from Hawaii, and about Japan, because I've spent 18 years of my life there. It's all an introduction to who Konishiki is and where he's from," he explained during a telephone interview from Japan.
"I come from a very strong Samoan family. If you listen to the lyrics it just tells you what my life is."
Konishiki returns to Hawaii this weekend to promote the album, "KMS," which the Japanese record label Pioneer has released here on the 125th Street Records N Stuff label. His schedule includes a number of album signing and meet-and-greet sessions through the weekend. On Monday he'll go one-on-one with some of the powerbrokers at local radio stations."Some radio stations say they don't play local artists, but I'm not your everyday local artist. (My music) isn't Hawaiian or Jawaiian, it's just another level of music. It's hard for them to understand, but it's up to them (to play it or not)."
Getting the local "suits" to play something off the album is an immediate objective in a larger plan. He hopes to use his recordings to give contemporary island music greater national and international exposure. A recent spread in Rolling Stone magazine should help the cause.
"I want the local music that we have to cross over on a world level -- or at least within the United States -- the way that Jamaican music has crossed over into being a worldwide music. We have a lot of young talent and I'm trying to find ways to mix it into pop or rock or the hip-hop scene or urban music."
Konishiki also will be overseeing preparations for the Second Annual Konishiki Charity Golf Tournament at Pearl Country Club on the 29th. The event is sold out, but those who want information can call Henry Ko at 341-3545. The tournament helps fund the Konishiki Kids Foundation (847-3655), which he founded four years ago as a way of giving back to his hometown of Nanakuli and the Waianae coast. Konishiki has taken groups of kids to Japan for several years. He has bigger plans.
The former sumotori makes these appearances tomorrow: KONISHIKI IN THE HOUSE
Hanohano Room, Sheraton Waikiki: 8 to 11 a.m. Cost: $19 plus tax and tip; includes breakfast buffet. Call 922-4422.
"I know the hardships of a kid growing up in Nanakuli. I felt we were separated from the whole island. My ultimate goal is to build a community center on the Leeward Coast where kids can learn about art or computers or dance or stage. Things to keep the kids busy and off the streets."
Although Konishiki is congenial on the phone, there is anger in his voice when he speaks of local government priorities that place buildings and special interests ahead of funding for people, particularly along the Waianae coast.
"They kill local people with taxes, and turn around and waste money on things like the convention center. If you go out to Nanakuli, there's nothing for the kids. We don't have the programs we need.
"We understand that Hawaii is held together by tourism, but at the same time the people who were born and raised here are forced to leave because there's nothing for them anymore. How can you have Aloha Spirit when you can't even hold your own?"
Some who followed Konishiki's career as a sumotori say that his willingness to speak his mind didn't endear him to the sumo establishment and may have cost him promotion from ozeki to yokozuna despite his impressive career record.
Published accounts suggest that he received especially brutal hazing in his early years, even by the harsh standards of the sumo training system.
"I cherish every minute I had in sumo and I'm thankful I became a sumotori because it really opened up the market for what I'm doing now," he says.
"The lifestyle is different, the culture is different, and the language is different (but) I knew what I wanted and where I wanted to go.
"Everything I've done with sumo has helped me be a better person and gain more patience with everything I do."
Konishiki has been a celebrity spokesman for companies such as Suntory, Sanyo and United Airlines, and the TV Commercial Research Center named him Japan's most popular commercial "talento" of 1998 (his first year as a free agent after retiring from sumo). Japanese toy companies have manufactured lines of Konishiki action figures and accessories, and he is said to rank with Hello Kitty, Mickey Mouse and Ultraman in popularity with children.
He says that at this point in his life, his pursuits are not about money or celebrity status. Family is foremost. Community and culture are next.
"I dedicate everything I do to my parents because they're the ones who originally immigrated from Samoa. I was born and raised in Hawaii but my culture is Samoan. I speak my language. I know my culture. ... My happy times are when I go home and see a big smile on my mom's face with the family together."
He hopes to be a role model for island youth in other ways. When a local DJ asked him recently how many plate lunches "with extra everything" he consumes at a sitting, Konishiki responded with a short lecture on the importance of eating in moderation. He said he's lost 100 pounds since he retired in 1997 and plans to lose more while continuing to work out.
"One of my personal goals is good health. Big is beautiful, but we've lost a lot of people -- a lot of friends -- through weight-caused problems. (Obesity) isn't a laughing matter.
"I'm not saying I'm the perfect person, but I'm trying to be the person who can show people you have to be big and healthy at the same time."
Other projects in the works include development of a line of clothing and a guest appearance on "Baywatch Hawaii."
"I'm still the guy who went to high school with my boys. My career is my career, but there's time you just put everything aside and be yourself.
"I'm more myself now than any time in the last 18 years. I'm doing something that I really love and I want people to understand that (for) everything I do there's something way down the road in the reason why I do it. I hope that kids like the album but I (also) want them to see that they can do it. If they think they can do it better than me, good, go out and do it!"
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