Lopaka Rootz: By Mālielani Larish
Transfixed with awe,
a four-year-old Lopaka Rootz gazed upward at Ziggy Marley as he poured his soul into a performance on O‘ahu’s North Shore. Dreadlocks swaying to the irie vibes, Ziggy beamed his smiles directly at Lopaka, planting a seed in the young boy’s mind. Today, as a reggae artist based in Kona, Lopaka brings that same magical and transformative power of music that first captivated him to a consistent schedule of live shows and freshly-released singles. Hard work, perseverance, and a commitment to maintaining his love for music has enabled him to succeed in an industry that he himself deems savage. Musical.ly Inclined Before Lopaka played to sold-out audiences at venues throughout Kona, he amassed 130,000 followers on the app Musical.ly, the precursor to TikTok. He recalls that his coworkers convinced him to use the app, which mainly attracted kids lip syncing to popular songs, as a way to build a fan base. Reluctantly, he accepted the challenge. Armed with his phone and tripod, he filmed music videos at beautiful locations around the island and posted them to his account, LopakaRootzInHawaii. After a video of him covering TLC’s “Waterfalls” at Rainbow Falls went viral, the Musical.ly administration asked him to become a featured broadcaster.
Every night for one year, Lopaka performed for his worldwide fans through a livestream show replete with games and incentives for the audience. When another company acquired Musical.ly in August 2018 and rebranded the app TikTok, Lopaka and his fellow high-profile influencers saw their privileges—what they had worked hard for—taken away, so Lopaka decided to renew his love for music through a new approach. The Aftershock In February 2018, he released a professional music video of his first single “AfterShock,” followed by a string of performances with a full backing band of studio musicians. Unfortunately, “AfterShock” did not create the far-reaching reverberations that Lopaka had hoped for, garnering zero radio play time and a mere handful of shares. He called up KAPA radio program director Jaz Iglesias and asked for guidance. Jaz advised him to play as many shows as possible to get his name on the map. Thus, Lopaka became a community ambassador, playing for free at open mics, benefit concerts for cancer victims, and the Kona Public Library. Soon he was entertaining at weddings, birthday parties, and festivals, and played bass for a local band named Ocean Grown. Perfecting his craft through practice paid off when Lopaka earned the opportunity to open for Mike Love at Kahilu
Lopaka jamming at the 2019 ÿÄinafest in Kohala. photo courtesy of Heather Brovsky