Pacific Media Group’s statewide local music radio stations—HI93 Oahu (KQMQ), HI92 Maui (KLHI), HI95 Kauai (KSRF), and KAPA-FM Hawaii Island—put on a statewide talent contest in collaboration with Hawaii’s Finest to help discover Hawaii’s next top artist. We narrowed down the search to 14 semi-finalists, all vying for a chance to win $1,000, a recording session, and a spot at a future Hawaii’s Finest concert.

Week five, hosted by HI93’s Pu’unui, saw two more semi-finalists grace the stage:  Bobby “Local Boy Hittah” Cummings from Lihue, Kauai and Jioji from Kahalu’u, headlined by Hammah House and Malino. We promised you more diverse styles—and well, we always deliver on our promises.

Talent #9: Bobby “Local Boy Hittah” Cummings

First at bat, we have Bobby “Local Boy Hittah” Cummings won the local talent contest in Kauai with our sister station Hi95 Kauai and was traveled in by the grace of our partners. He flew from Lihue on Southwest Air and was shuttled to his hotel, The SurfJack Hotel and Swim Club by Roberts Hawaii! He serves us with two exciting originals. The first is “Listen My Brother”—a pure reggae track that’s so rich and raw. Here, we see Local Boy Hittah’s talents on full display from his singing to his rapping. He’s got a unique and distinct voice that gives an old-school reggae feel, which is very nice. His next song is titled “People Talk.” The Kauai native continues to show off his vocal and songwriting chops in another solid performance. Local Boy Hittah wasted no time finding his groove and it garnered immediate cheers from the fans. Truly a great showing and a hot start to the evening.

Learn more about Local Boy Hittah and what drew him to music in our Before The Stage interview. Follow him at @bobbydarincummings on Instagram.

Talent #10: Jioji from Kahalu’u

Next up on stage is Jioji from Kahalu’u. He’s an artist who aims to bring more positivity to the world through his raps—and he’s most definitely on the right track. His first song, he performed a soon-to-be-released single titled “Letter to My Soul,” a motivating hip-hop track about changing the world for the better. The next song is “Home,” where Jioji raps over Mark Morrison’s “Return of the Mack.” This was a very fun performance and one that got the fans moving. He finishes with “B.L.T.B. (Blind Leading The Blind),” a song that dives into the struggles on the island. Simply put, Jioji was electric. He’s a great lyricist and rapper with a positive message. I think hip-hop lovers should have him on their radar.

Learn more about Jioji and what special place inspired his musical aspirations in our Before The Stage interview. Follow him at @jiojifromkahaluumusic on Instagram.

Overall Thoughts

This week was for hip-hop fans. Local Boy Hittah and Jioji both brought the heat to HB Social Club. Local Boy Hittah gave us a reggae-rap fusion while Jioji gave us straight hip-hop. Both prove to be talented lyricists who are more than capable of creating solid original music. Plus, they’re natural performers who had no trouble getting comfortable on stage. They basked in the spotlight, even having a little fun with the crowd.

Week five is definitely one to remember.

We’re Entering the Penultimate Week

We are now heading into the last two weeks of performances. The 2024 HI Finest Talent Contest is flying by and we can’t believe it’s almost over. There’s just so much talent already with four more on the way. It should be an exciting couple of weeks.

Don’t miss week six as we have two more contestants hitting the stage: Kepa Revelle from Hilo and Hillside Islanders from Makakilo. Our headliners will be High Watah and the winner of the 2022 HI Finest Talent Contest, Hui Pu.