top of page

WA\\ AN - STRANDED IN HAWAII EP REVIEW


Pablo Waiian is a 19-year old emcee/rapper based in Makati City, and he is a member of Kartell’em. Kartell'em is an up-and-upcoming rap collective based from Makati, and they are slowly garnering a small following in the hip-hop scene. For a while, I’ve been following the guy’s music, and so far it’s been a great year not only for him and his music but also for his newly formed collective (Kartell’em). He has released outstanding singles in his SoundCloud profile like the politically charged lyrics of “R.O.C.C. (RepublicOfCrack&Crocodile)” and the sweet and simple “Sing Along 4 U”.

Waiian has just released his debut solo EP titled “Stranded in Hawaii.” The project houses seven (7) tracks and the length of the entire material are 25+ minutes.

New school hip-hop in 2017 is looking to transition into a more thought-provoking direction. Following this type of direction are international acts like Isaiah Rashad, Vince Staples, J. Cole, (even though I did not want to mention him in my personal taste but he’s a significant influence to many) and Local rappers like Sica, Good Habit, and KJah. When there’s the fun and reckless side of hip-hop, there is also an uphill slope of artists where they incorporate the boom-bap production, dramatic storytelling, and convincing delivery. However, Waiian balances the fun by playing around with his flow and sinks in the incisive written in the latter part of his tracks.

Opening this EP is the first track titled “Cycles,” Waiian’s observations talk about him and the inevitability of growing up. The lyrics show that his adolescence starts to show some cracks here and there, but in this EP, the young rapper’s fire in his heart won’t burn out anytime soon. The first track is fantastic for being insightful and aware that growing up is terrifying. Some lines stuck to me like:

“People are full of shit, my life’s so full of it.” and “Speaking to my fellow young ones / Just sayin' that we can only be young once / So enjoy it before your freedom gets robbed / I’m 19, and sooner I’m gonna get a job.”

The second track titled “Sing Along 4 U” is yet another one of those mellow tracks which Waiian can complement his flow. The track stays steady and fluid throughout. It’s one of my favorite tracks of the entire year. The guitar plucking instrumental and the samples here adds to the charm of the track.

The third track “Signed Up” is a track where Waiian needs to come back to from time to time just to compare his writings now and back. I believe that Waiian is still an evolving artist and he’s still in the process of finding his taste. Nevertheless, his character in tracks like “Pears” and “What If” are phenomenal for showing so much personality and substance. His bird’s eye view is intriguing for a 19-year old rapper.

In the somewhat negative side to this project, Waiian slightly has this monotonous flow, but he does keep away from being a dull rapper by being charismatic one with his writings. His last track “Parasites” lacks a little bit of attitude/intensity; It’s a “been there, done that” scheme with his flow. The hardest part in that track is the beat, and it didn’t follow up to be a closer. Overall, I love how "Stranded in Hawaii" presented his skills on the mic. It just needs a little bit of time and a little bit of development for the rapper’s lyrics.

The first four (4) tracks are exceptionally great, and the last three were just okay to listen. Don’t get me wrong; it feels refreshing to see a rapper do something else other than the same trap hype that everyone’s been doing right now, and it’s been awhile since I heard this type of style in hip-hop. The production in this 7-track project fits his style well. Waiian is a confident rapper although he needs to mature with his writings a bit more. Feeling young and rapping about it isn’t bad so I’d give it to Waiian for being himself in this project. Check out the EP and hear it now guys!

FAVORITE TRCKS: CYCLES, SING ALONG 4 U, WHAT IF

 Recent   
 Posts  
bottom of page