Fiji heeds fans,
returns to roots

3rd Annual "Winter Bash" With Fiji, Natural Vibrations, Ho'onu'a, Go Jimmy Go, B.E.T., Ten Feet, O-Shen, Koa'uka, Red Degree, Kanalo and Kawao Where: Waikiki Shell When: 5 p.m. tomorrow (gates open at 3) Tickets: $16.50 to $25 Call: 566-0644

WHEN ISLAND music heavyweight Fiji headlines tomorrow night's "Winter Bash" at the Waikiki Shell, it will be the singer's first performance on Oahu in more than a year.

The last was in June 2003, when he shared the stage at Don Ho's with B.E.T. and made a guest appearance during the Makaha Sons' first "Take a Walk in the Country" concert. It's been even longer -- 2 1/2 years -- since he's played outdoors in Waikiki.

So what's Fiji been up to?

"I've been working on a lot of things, trying to get things crackin' up in the mainland," he said from a friend's apartment in Los Angeles last week. "I always miss home."

After spending most of 2004 in Southern California and touring on the mainland, Fiji returns to Honolulu in support of his latest album, "Independence Day."

He considers it a return to what made him a favorite among island listeners, some of whom had been turned off by his previous release, a crossover record that he hoped would open the ears of mainland record labels to R&B talent in Hawaii.

"It was kind of like, just trying to explore the possibilities," he said of "Transition," which was released in 2002. "There's a lot of fear when it comes to island music crossing over."

But just as he made a name for himself as a pioneer among local recording artists with 1999's "Gratitude" and 1997's Na Hoku Hanohano Award-winning "Born and Raised," Fiji kept pushing the creative envelope with his last album. But some fans thought he was losing touch with his Polynesian roots.

"A lot of them felt like I was forgetting the reason why they happen to love me," he said. "I never wanted my fans to get it twisted ... I wanted to keep the audience ... looking more at the potential."

The lukewarm response to "Transition" and subsequent snub as a nominee in 2002's Hoku Awards helped teach him an important lesson: "As much as we have to be artists and try to progress, it's very important that we realize that the sales side ... is totally different from the artistic side. That's one of the things I had to learn the hard way."

WITH FIVE albums over the past decade, Fiji is now a veteran in the local music scene. And the release of "Independence Day," on the new Jahnra Music Group label in conjunction with San Francisco's Strictly Roots Crew, is his first step towards taking complete control of his career. With five children, Fiji is adamant about being able to provide for his family.

"Being a father, it was important that I continue to take care of my kids," he said.

After touring in support of the new album, including in New Zealand, Australia and Tahiti, the singer will return to L.A. to wrap up a separate R&B project that's due out this fall. He's also working on a new release from fellow Jahnra artist Raw Sun.

"Ever since I've moved away, I've been trying to get things going and move in a different direction," Fiji said. "(But) no matter what I do, you know, I'm going to keep doing these albums.

"I just want to show my island people that they're first and foremost in my heart. I ain't forgetting them and I appreciate every opportunity that I've been given."