It’s a celebration!

With their recently released LP, Celebration, Common Kings again have successfully provided us with sweet island party vibes, a deft concoction of reggae, R&B and hip-hop seasoned with a taste of the tropics. Their sixth full-length album commemorates a dozen years since their first release while continuing to grow in popularity globally. The group, consisting of Samoan-born Hawaiian lead singer Sasualei “JR. King” Maliga, Hawaii-raised Samoan guitarist Taumata “Mata” Grey, Fiji-born bassist Ivan “Uncle Lui” Kirimaua and L.A.-born Tongan drummer Jerome “Big Rome” Taito, has  transcended their 2011 Polynesian reggae beginnings to achieve pop crossover success.

Bandmember JR. King says, “It’s a culmination of our careers, jamming 20 years, raising families, living life and making music, all of it coming together and being able to share that with the world.”

As a fellow Polynesian growing up in the Tongan community who has been a  lifelong reggae fan and eventual reggae artist in my own right,  my primary musical influences shared by friends and family included Jamaican roots legends such as Bob Marley and Peter Tosh as well as British reggae like UB40 and Natural Ites. Additionally, we were massive fans of African reggae artists such as Lucky Dube and Alpha Blondy,  with songs like “Back to My Roots” and “Cocody Rock” prevalent favorites within our Poly community. In fact, Tongans were so crazy about Jamaican music that once someone robbed a record store in our neighborhood and took only the reggae section.

While my own local community chiefly gravitated towards roots reggae, Polynesians at large certainly bring a wider love of music to the fold and this is aptly represented by the diverse influences of the Common Kings.

These varied influences, a core element integral to their success, mark a significant theme of Celebration. Their carefully crafted, signature sound can only come from blending the talent and experience of all four band members and their two decades together making music. “We have very unique and different musical influences between us all,” noted the band. “JR. King grew up in a household that appreciated R&B music from across all eras. With all of his sisters who knew how to sing, JR. was able to easily pick up singing and learned about all R&B, old school, and Motown records. Some of JR.’s musical influences include Musiq Soulchild, Raophael Saadiq, D’Angelo, Stevie Wonder, and Earth Wind & Fire. Taumata Grey grew up in a musical household. With his father being a traveling musician, Taumata, was naturally inclined to singer/songwriters like Van Morrison, George Benson, and Jim Croce, whereas Uncle Lui and Big Rome grew up with a church background. While their roots were Gospel, later on in life they were able to listen to and be influenced by other artists like Bob Marley, Michael Jackson, Gypsy Kings, Maroon 5, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Foo Fighters. The culmination of these influences gives you exactly what and who we are as Common Kings. When you mix all of us together, you get an array of head-rocking beats, feel-good vibes, and crazy, fun-loving attitude that is not only captivating but also influential to the future of our music scene.”

While the individual members of Common Kings may bring different influences to the table, one thing they all share in common is their Polynesian ancestry, which not only contributes to their art but also bonds them together through the ups and downs of a lengthy career in the music industry.

“Our Polynesian ancestry plays such an important role in our music and also in our relationships with each other and everyone else we’ve ever come across,” explained the band. “We are all individually from different parts of Polynesia: JR King hails from Hawaii & Samoa, Taumata hails from Samoa, Uncle Lui hails from Fiji, and Big Rome hails from Tonga. Although we are from different islands, we treat each other as if we’re like brothers. In Polynesia there is a lot of importance placed on family and faith and that has really been the difference that kept us playing music together for 20+ years. We are brothers first, fellow musicians second.”

Today, Common Kings, with their foundation of Hawaiian harmonies,  are considered one of the biggest inspirations and cornerstones of modern-day Polynesian music. As a testament to both their proven artistry and respected place in the music business, Common Kings recruited a cast of heavy hitters to perfect this album, including reggae stars like Grammy award winner Kabaka Pyramid, Royal Blu and Demarco, Spanish rapper Spread LOF, as well as world-renowned international Polynesian artists such as J Boog, The Green, and Sammy Johnson.

The album blasts off with the anthemic “Do My Thing” featuring Royal Blu, a blazing reggae banger with a killer riddim reminiscent of “Welcome to Jamrock.”

The Hawaiian-influenced “Raggamuffin” follows with J Boog adding his distinct voice to accentuate that island vibe. The track includes a playful interlude that references “Tu Pun Pun,” the classic dancehall tune made popular by Puerto Rican artist, El General. The band credited their “sister” and tour manager, Stefanie “La Mija” Bolaños-Mataele, with the “great idea” of putting in the El General reference, saying that the song “has been such an influence in island music across the world that it totally made sense to add that Latin flavor.”

With touring being another hugely  important part of their success, they also lovingly gave props to “La Mija” for her important role in getting things done while traveling. “ Touring is not all glitz and glamor that people might make it out to be. It is a tough, rough road that either breaks you, or makes you.  So in this type of environment, in order to shine and ‘make it’ you need to put together an amazing team that is all like-minded in the pursuance of perfection. At the center of it all is our sister Stefanie.  She is a Boss that makes everything happen for us on the road. Having someone like this is so vital for us as Common Kings to bring the best show wherever we are.”

The album’s title track comes next, a subdued hip-hop joint with a low end sure to rattle walls that speaks to the tradition of taking shots to honor a special occasion.

Another element that played a significant role in creating the diverse sound of Celebration was the fact that it was a product of various songwriting and recording sessions that took place around the country, including Miami, Hawaii, Orange County, and Nashville “to explore different atmospheres.”  As an example of this, the band mentioned, “Miami was kind of the first place we decided to run a writing camp. Florida has always had an abundance of talented songwriters and producers, so during the pandemic it made sense for us to travel there and work on the album. The tropical coastal vibes in Miami made it easy for us to tap into our creative energies and allowed for some amazing collaborations with artists in the Latin music scene. ”

This can be heard in several tracks, including the autobiographical , “Came Up,” which tells the band’s story via a wicked hip-hop beat while kicking  the energy up a notch with contributions from Kabaka Pyramid and Spread LOF, who brings more of that Latin essence. As mentioned by Common Kings, “We keep a list of artists/bands that we would love to have a feature from, and even prior to his recent win, Kabaka was always on the top of our list. We definitely heard how amazingly talented Kabaka was from listening to his prior work, and on one of the songs, we needed to have that raw, off-the-dome type of performance, and Kabaka certainly delivered beyond expectations. Anytime we get asked to be on a feature, we are always looking to uplift that song and make it better than it was originally. And Kabaka did exactly that for our track ‘Came Up.’”

The Miami influence can also be heard in  “Stay With Me, ”a laid-back love song that has a reggaeton feel to it. If that song is not raging on the radio, then I don’t know what a pop song sounds like because this track is at the level of Major Lazer, Skrillex, and Justin Bieber.

The Common Kings would not be where they are today without supreme singing ability and this takes the forefront in “Angel,” another mellow yet danceable love song where they are joined by r&b/pop singer/songwriter Marc E. Bassy formerly of the band 2am Club,  and “City of Champions,” a stripped-down ballad that pays homage to their home base of Los Angeles. This track came out of a Miami session with producer, Poo Bear, celebrated as the primary songwriter for Justin Bieber.

Amongst the twelve strong songs on Celebration, several other tracks really stand out.

“Hideaway” is a modern reggae gem with a catchy chorus sung by Jr. King in his falsetto range that should find itself on contemporary playlists around the world. “He’s a master impersonator,” says band guitarist Mata. “He can sing like anyone from Luther Vandross and Prince to Axl Rose and Mick Jagger.”

JR himself comments, “Our take on reggae is more feel-good, fun and loving, relaxed in that Hawaiian way,” he continues, “We’re not a political band.”

“One Day” is another scorching reggae anthem that visualizes/manifests monetary glory.  With NFL training camps coming to a close and the new season about to start up, this track would be perfect blaring in locker rooms with athletes trying to earn a spot on the roster, make a name for themselves and take a huge step towards a financial windfall. One verse playfully states, “Splish splash, jacuzzi full of cash, tub full of bub, bet you never seen that, hallway, full of sensi, my life’s a green light, gas pedal all day,” while the chorus of “I win win win, I win win win, I win win win, all day” should fire up the troops.

“Queen Majesty” is a lover’s rock/r&b mashup masterpiece with Hawaiian reggae allstars, The Green, and native Australian crooner, Sammy Johnson, as if British reggae meets the massive harmonies of the South Pacific.

When asked whether they put a lot of thought into the order of the songs on the album, the band responded, “We are very committed to the song order on the album and take it very seriously. Our perspective on a whole album is that you are telling a 40-60-minute story through music. So, every song plays an important role in controlling the narrative for the audience. With ‘Do My Thing,’  it hits you right away and brings you into this community of head bobbing and singing that you can’t help but join in on the hook as soon as you hear it. And then we hit the audience with something different with ‘Raggamuffin’ that takes you on a catchy sway that is bound to take you to the islands. So you see, just from these two tracks, is an example of our train of thought in regards to the song order on the albums.”

With this release, four great chefs have come together in a kitchen using many different ingredients to create a fresh yet familiar sonic experience. Celebration’s crossover sound should resonate with the international reggae, hip-hop and pop markets and undoubtedly take the band to even new heights.