How Kanaka Fyah’s Randin Napeahi wrote “Only Jah Jah Knows”

Randin Napeahi, a singer and songwriter for the Hawaiʻi Island-based band Kanaka Fyah, wrote the group’s No. 1 hit on the way home from a gig while the band was on Saddle Road. The Hawaiʻi Island-based band is headed to Oʻahu this week to perform at the Holo Holo Music Festival.

KH
Katie Helland

October 17, 20255 min read

The band Kanaka Fyah will perform at the first Holo Holo Music Festival on Oʻahu this Saturday, Oct. 18, and Sunday, Oct. 19.
The band Kanaka Fyah will perform at the first Holo Holo Music Festival on Oʻahu this Saturday, Oct. 18, and Sunday, Oct. 19. (Courtesy of Kanaka Fyah)

Randin Napeahi, a singer and songwriter for the band Kanaka Fyah, wrote the band’s No. 1 song in about 15 minutes. Today, that song, “Only Jah Jah Knows,” has more than 11 million streams on Spotify.

It is one of the songs Napeahi and the band plan to perform at the first Holo Holo Music Festival on Oʻahu. The two-day music festival showcases island and reggae music and runs Saturday, Oct. 18, through Sunday, Oct. 19, at the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum. The musical line-up includes The Green, Josh Tatofi, J Boog, Katchafire and more.

Napeahi wrote the hit after a gig while the band's bass player was driving the group across the desolate Saddle Road, which runs from Hilo to the junction with Hawaiʻi State Route 190 near Waimea.

Randin Napeahi wrote the hit song “Only Jah Jah Knows” while the band was commuting across Saddle Road after a gig. Today that song has more than 11 million streams on Spotify.
Randin Napeahi wrote the hit song “Only Jah Jah Knows” while the band was commuting across Saddle Road after a gig. Today that song has more than 11 million streams on Spotify. (Courtesy of Kanaka Fyah)

“At the time, I was going through probably one of the lowest points of my life at the moment,” he told Aloha State Daily. “I just remember looking out the window, and my bass player was talking my ear off.”

That’s when inspiration hit. Napeahi asked his bandmate if he could be quiet because he had to write a song.

“And what I was feeling is: ʻI don't know where this road is going to take me, but only God knows,’” he said. 

Watch on YouTube

The first version of “Only Jah Jah Knows” was captured via a voice memo on Napeahi’s phone, while he simultaneously wrote lyrics. 

“I was just freestyling the words,” he said. “Just whatever came to my mind and my heart. Everything was just flowing. To be honest, I probably wrote it in less than 15 minutes. It was fast. I still have the voice memo from the day I wrote it.”

Napeahi made music his full-time gig this year. Prior to that, Napeahi remembers a time when he had no job, a small truck and was “kind of couch surfing,” he said. The band’s drummer was living in the bushes and played the drums using chopsticks from L&L Hawaiian Barbecue, he said. And Kanaka Fyah's bass player had a tent and generator.

“That's where we started off,” he said.

They would gather in the tent, which had a small couch. When the generator ran out of gas, “practice is over,” he said. 

The band transitioned to the name Kanaka Fyah a few years ago. Napeahi got the idea for the name after surfing. He was sitting in his truck looking out at the waves, his friends and the beach, he said.

“And it just came to me: Boom! Kanaka Fyah came to my mind,” Napeahi said. “And I was like, ʻWhoa!’”

He texted the band group chat. Bandmates responded with the fire emoji, and that was it.

On Saturday, Oct. 11, the band had its debut at the Tom Moffatt Waikīkī Shell. Kolohe Kai’s final performances of the “What Aloha Means” tour, including one at Tom Moffatt Waikīkī Shell and another at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center, included guest performances by Kanaka Fyah and Protoje.

In November, Kanaka Fyah will play on the final day of Holo Holo Tacoma which features entertainers such as Common Kings, Katchafire and Stan Walker.

Kanaka Fyah is one of the bands Dan Sheehan, co-owner of the Holo Holo Music Festival’s production company Good Vibez Presents, is featuring in efforts to give younger acts a platform to grow, Sheehan told Aloha State Daily earlier this month. 

For Kanaka Fyah, it all started with a hit song.

“At the moment, I was in a low place,” Napeahi said. “We were just getting small concerts, playing at bars. We were at the start of our career. Now I look back and ʻWow.ʻ We’re playing at some of the biggest stages in Hawaiʻi and soon to be on the Mainland.”

What does Napeahi want people to know?

“No matter what happens in life just keep pursuing what you love,” he said. “It's a crazy world we live in nowadays. It can be a nasty and cruel world. But don't stop being the light. And even if you mess up, still keep doing good in your life. You can always do good for people. There's a lot of hurting people. You never know — just being kind and forgiving somebody or having love — you never know how powerful that is and whose life you can change. So just keep being good in life. That's all I got to say. And all glory to God.”

Follow Kanaka Fyah on Spotify or Instagram, and check for events on the band’s website

Katie Helland can be reached at katie@alohastatedaily.com.

Authors

KH

Katie Helland

Arts, Culture & Entertainment Reporter

Katie Helland is an Arts, Culture & Entertainment Reporter for Aloha State Daily.