Hawaii is paradise. It sounds cheesy to say it, but there's music in the air there.

I can't even speak Hawaiian, but if you go there and listen to a Hawaiian song, you get captured because it's so beautiful, like the melody is just gorgeous and you know Bob Marley is on the radio every single day. It's very reggae-influenced down there. Basically, you haven't been to paradise if you haven't been to Hawaii.

In Hawaii, some of the biggest radio stations are reggae. The local bands are heavily influenced by Bob Marley.

My father moved to Hawaii from Brooklyn and my mother came there as a child from the Philippines. They met at a show where my dad was playing percussion. My mom was a hula dancer.

Doo-wop is special music to me because it's so straightforward and melody-driven and captures emotions.

Ever since I was a kid, this was all I wanted to do. I've wanted to do music. I wanted to sing. It's all I know.