Nearly 20 years after two words from FIJI changed his life, Kolohe Kai shares ‘Keep Jamming’

Kolohe Kai

Nearly 20 years ago, island reggae legend George “FIJI” Veikoso wrote two words on a napkin for a 15-year-old Roman De Peralta: “Keep Jamming.”

Roman never forgot them.

On August 14, those words become the heart of Kolohe Kai’s new single “Keep Jamming”, featuring Wavvy, one of Hawaiʻi’s next generation of reggae artists.

The idea had stayed with Roman for years. When he was encouraged to finally turn “Keep Jamming” into a song, he wrote and recorded the track and sent it to FIJI, hoping they could sing it together. FIJI was excited to write his verse, but passed away before they had the chance to finish the song.

After his passing, Roman wasn’t sure what to do with it. In time, he found the answer in Wavvy. The words FIJI had given him as a teenager could now be passed on to another young Hawaiʻi artist, and through them, to the generations coming next.

“Just as this beautiful saying, ‘Keep Jamming’, was passed on to me at a young age, I hope it encourages the next generation of musicians and singers to keep creating, keep playing and keep carrying music forward,” says Roman.

“I’d just love to see more kids jamming ʻukulele on the side of the road, at the beach, instead of stuck on their phones.”

Wavvy’s involvement brought another connection Roman hadn’t expected. They had attended Kolohe Kai’s Paradise album release concert at around the same age Roman was when FIJI wrote those words for him. In their verse, Wavvy shares how Kolohe Kai’s “The Right Thing” had helped give them direction in their own life.

“Hearing them sing how my song, ‘The Right Thing’, gave them direction in life made me tear up,” says Roman. “None of us could ever inspire another artist the way FIJI did, but to have a small role in passing my little torch brings me joy.”

FIJI’s presence can also be heard in the song itself. Towards the end of “Keep Jamming”, Roman sings some of the familiar melodies he grew up hearing in FIJI’s music, something he admits carried a lot of weight when it came time to record them.

“I had this indescribable feeling of absolute disbelief while singing some of Uncle FIJI’s melodies,” he says. “It was such an honour to incorporate some of his hooks in a song inspired by the words he wrote to me so long ago. It felt like a full circle.”

“Keep Jamming” is Roman’s mahalo to FIJI's music and the other artists whose music helped shape him, but the message is just as much for the young musicians coming through now. Pick up an instrument. Make something of your own. Enjoy making music. Keep jamming.

The single is the first new original music from Kolohe Kai since the 2025 album ‘What Aloha Means’ and begins a new run of songs planned over the coming years. Now 17 years into their career and with more than one billion streams across digital platforms, Kolohe Kai are still doing what they started out doing as teenagers in Hawaiʻi: jamming.

‘Keep Jamming’ from Kolohe Kai feat. Wavvy is available on all streaming platforms from Friday August 14.

ENDS