Slam Artist KATANA

Poetry That Cuts Like A Knife

By HuiMusic.com

So it’s been about a year since I met a powerful young Slam Poetry artist Katana. At the time she was hard at work writing and performing all over Hawaii and the mainland at Slam Poetry contests.

 Katana was one of the most dedicated and passionate artists I had met in a long time. But her ambition to grow as an artist and continue to seek better opportunities for expressing her artwork was just as powerful as her smile.

 You see, she kind of reminds me of a Ninja Poet. On the onset, Katana is very personable, soft spoken and carries with her the wisdom of an old soul. But when she reaches into her passions and recites/performs her poetry, you’ll need first aid.  

Katana’s words cut through the skin of ignorance yet raise the level of awareness to today’s lifestyles. But her drive to accomplish her goals are amazing, considering the adversities that women face in today’s world. It may not be as bad as 40 years ago, but it’s still out there.  

But this is not about Katana breaking down barriers; it’s about Katana building a life in the artform known as Slam Poetry. She is an amazing Hawaiian woman, and as far as my opinion is concerned, she should be a role model to all on how to break through myopic narrow-minded attitudes and succeed in whatever goal you have set for yourself, man or woman.  

I was lucky enough to catch Katana between school and the rest of her INSANELY busy life for the following interview:  

• Where were you born?

Honolulu Hawaii

 • Where did you go to school?

I went to school in Ewa Beach , but was home-schooled at the age of 10 and graduated high school at age 16. I am a graduate of The University of Hawaii and have a B.A. in Religion.

 • What does Katana mean?

I was given the name Katana when I was real young because the katana is the sword that the Samurai would use in battle. As a little kid and throughout my teenage years, I was constantly looking for someone or something to battle to lyrically prove myself as a battle MC I was given the name Katana because it was like saying that this little girl's tongue is a blade and it will cut you in battle. As I grew older and started to study the Japanese culture, I learned that I have Samurai blood and that the Samurai were not only warriors, but also very articulate poets. The Samurai also believed that every katana blade had a soul. As I grew from a freestyle lyricist into a poet and songwriter, I began to identify myself as the wise spirit within the katana blade that guides the warrior. Thus -- I am very proud to call myself Katana.

 • When did you start looking at music/poetry as a life mission?

Music and word play has always been intertwined in my life. I started to speak in rhyme at 5 months. I would rap along to the hip hop that was played in my house. My first words were "funky pu$$y" and I would say that in rhythm over and over (I am told this is very advanced for a 5-month-old). I wrote my first poem at age 3 called "Moondrop Dew". (I still have it!) I would speak in rhyme and my mom would write it down for me, or help me write it myself. I am a Libra, so I always felt a need to fight for justice and speak my truth. Earth Wind and Fire, Stevie Wonder, and the Peter Moon Band were always playing in my house as I grew up. By the time I was 5, I had seen Stevie Wonder, Herbie Hancock and Chaka Khan, and the Jackson 5 in concert. I can't say that I knew music and poetry was my "calling", but the energy of such beautiful music and lyrics inspired me to create and express what I heard in my head.

 • How long have you been involved with the Slam movement?

I had in actuality been doing the art coined as slam since I could speak. It was not until a former band member of mine told me he'd seen a movie called "Slam", which featured poetry with a similar energy to that of the poetry I had been writing and freestyling, that I recognized what I was doing as slam. I went to my first Slam at age 18, and totally had a blast.  

• Where was your first public performance?

My brothers had a Hip Hop Crew called Ebony Express. I would perform with them around town as a breakdancer and MC from about age 3. I also got stage experience in Waikiki dancing at world-renowned shows like the Kodak Hula Show. As a teenager, I had a hard time getting paid gigs in hip hop, so I started to street perform in Kalakaua Ave.  

• How many contests have you performed in?

Yikes - I've lost count! LOL! No really, I had such a drive to get noticed that I would perform at any open mike and any venue/contest/battle of the bands that would have me. The only thing my mom never let me do was audition for Disney because she knew that they were not looking for an 8-year-old Japanese girl that was a Hip Hop political activist.  

• Where and what was your highest placing?

Most recently, I won the $10,000 12-week-long Open Mike contest at Zanzabar nightclub and have won several MC Battles at the Wave and Eurasia Night Clubs. I have won Slams in Hawaii and California , but I am most proud of winning the crowd over at the Steve Harvey Showcase at the el Ray Theater in California . OMG -- Even Steve Harvey was dissing me when introducing me to the audience. They had moved me to be first to go on, because the producers just knew that the Asian girl in a sequin Chinese dress who was doing poetry would be booed off stage. They were wrong, and by the end of my piece, the crowd was jumping out of their seats because I was myself.  

I never look at my wins or losses. If I have reached another human being through my art, despite race or gender, I have accomplished my goal.  

• How does Hawaii react to the Slam scene?

Hawaii was really hungry for Slam. We in Hawaii are too stuck with the "we live in paradise, life is a party" entertainment. I think a lot of people were starving for artists with more substance to their self-expression. 

• Big following?

We have a big following that is very loyal. Our following is constantly growing. Older generations are seeing Russell Simmons Def Jam on HBO and are getting inspired to write and share their work. We have people of all ages at Red Shark Events. 

• What caused you to take things into your own hands and open your production/promotional company?

Loaded question, Honu!!! LOL! Well -- having had the privilege to be featured at several venues on the continent, I discovered that people had no idea that, #1 there are indigenous peoples in Hawaii, #2, the Hawaiian people were masters of the spoken word because our culture is based on oral tradition, and #3, modern islanders have very unique things to add to the art of Slam because our culture is so eclectic here.I then became Hawaii 's first nationally recognized Slam Master in order to create a bridge between island and mainland poets. But I began to feel as if I created my own Frankenstein. The essence of verbal self-expression was getting lost for the sake of "winning over the crowd" or "getting a high score". I am a rebel and always rebelling, even if against my own standards. I opened up my own gallery because I felt that people in Hawaii were beginning to orthodox labels on spoken word and art in general due to lack of exposure. Hawaii is very small; if you see the same things over and over again, very little growth happens as an artist. Our goal at Katanamz Sky and Red Shark Productions is to inspire self-expression and creation without thought and worry. Art is a language of communication. We at Katanamz Sky speak our own dialect of art. I aim for Red Shark and Katanamz Sky to feature and showcase Hip Hop and Spoken Word that come from that core deep inside each artist that I like to call survival. I am a Pacifican. I am hoping to unify other Pacificans in Hawaii , Polynesia , Japan and the West Coast of the continent through a movement of resistance expressed by Hip Hop and Slam Poetry.

• Are there “haters” within the movement (promotional competitors who talk smack)?

TOTALLY! Just because I check a brother, doesn't mean I disrespect my brothers. The male ego has really given me a hard time. People have spread a lot of bad rumors about me and said nasty things like I hate men...???. It's not easy being the one who is different. And I tell you, I have really let these things get to me and get me down. Because of the "haters", I was ready to throw in the towel. On stage I come across as very aggressive, but I think I am aggressive to what I interpret as injustice, because I am actually very sensitive. It wasn't until one day last year when I was watching TV at home when Mario Africa, a civil rights leader from Philadelphia , was being interviewed on a local television show and asked if Hawaii has any outstanding young leaders to vocalize a need for change. When he replied that he had met a young Hip Hop artist named Katana, and expressed that my words had moved him ... I was floored. I knew then that I had to submit to my drive to create and my drive to rebel, despite what anyone else says or does.  

• What shows are coming up?

We will be opening Katanamz Sky in the New Year and the documentary about me called "Quiet Girls" will be in independent Film Festivals shortly. For info, you can contact redsharkevents@hotmail.com.  

• You releasing a CD soon?

Yup Yup. I am working very hard on it. In this CD I have really grown up. I am a much different artist than when I started the project, because since I started this project, I have been to hell and back. I have grown into a woman while developing this project and it shows in my songwriting. I am no longer the little tomboy wearing a beanie spitting battle rhymes. In this album, I take ownership of my slanted eyes, yellow-tinted skin, sexuality and love for men. I also make it known that Asian women and women in general deserve respect at all times. This album is very much apart of my vision of global resistance towards neglect and abuse of women. I love to dance. I've danced hip hop, hula and Tahitian since I could walk, so I have to have my dance songs in there ... or it just wouldn't be me.