New album celebrates the stories of Hawaii's Black community

WBUR | By Here & Now Newsroom

Published July 11, 2025 at 11:57 AM EDT

Kalani Pe’a worked on the album. (Courtesy of Lorne Direnfeld)

The new album “Popoloheno: Songs Of Resilience And Joy” celebrates the stories and culture of Hawaii’s Black community. The project was conceived by Mahealani Uchiyama, who produced it and also performs on it.

Here & Now‘s Scott Tong speaks with her and with Kalani Pe’a, a Grammy-winning singer, who contributed to the album.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

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