There was a lot of people who doubted, You can never be profitable.

Don't even waste your time.

But my mom was there saying, You can do whatever you want to do.

And my grandpa on my mom's side spoke Hawaiian.

That was the last known family member I knew that speaks Hawaiian fluently.

♪♪♪ Aloha, everyone.

My name is Paul Pu'ukani Sebala from Pipeline 2 Paradise radio here to teach you three words that I think you should know from the Hawaiian language.

First word is probably a word that you heard, aloha.

"Aloha" means hello, goodbye, and it also means love.

If you break down the word aloha, "alo" means presence or sharing, and "ha" is the breath of life.

So it means you're literally sharing the breath of life when you meet somebody.

The second word is mahalo.

And "mahalo" simply means thank you, showing appreciation for your conversation with the person.

So remember that.

Mahalo.

And the third is actually a quick phrase that I want to share when you're leaving your conversation with a person or you're leaving the family, and it's malama pono and a hui ho.

"Malama pono" means take care, and "a hui ho" means until we meet again.

So malama pono and a hui ho, take care until we meet again.

[radio distortion] It is Pipeline 2 Paradise, Las Vegas' 24-hour Hawaiian and Island music station.

What's going on everybody?

It's your boy, Pu'ukani.

♪♪♪ Aloha, my name is Paul Pu'ukani Sebala.

I'm the owner and operator of Pipeline 2 Paradise radio, based right here in Las Vegas.

I was born in Honolulu, Hawaii.

I'm not Hawaiian by blood, or they say by koko, but I was born and raised in the Islands.

I consider myself a local or what we call kama'ina, which means child of the land.

So when somebody asks, Are you Hawaiian?

I'm not Hawaiian by blood, but I am kama'ina, I am born and raised in Hawaii.

For a big portion of my life, we lived in Section 8 low income housing.

My brothers and sisters, we always joke around.

We never felt like we were poor.

My mom would work literally three jobs, and my grandma would also work a full-time job.

And we were still struggling to get by.

And although we lived in a really poor neighborhood, we had everything that we needed.

I think growing up in the Islands, you learn to just appreciate the priceless things, you know, being out at the beach, being together gathering with families, being out in nature, all of that, that doesn't cost anything.

♪♪♪ I remember I went to a shopping mall.

And back then playing marbles, I couldn't afford it.

I remember taking a couple of bags of marbles, going into the store and stealing it and walking out.

A security guard tapped me on the shoulder.

They arrested me.

I remember my mom coming to pick me up and just seeing the tears in her eyes.

And I knew that I let her down.

And ever since that day, I told myself, You will never let her down again.

I, I never want to see that look that she had on her face.

Ever since that day and in everything I do, I try to make her proud.

She's influenced my life 1,000% on everything that I do.

My mom, she wasn't a professional musician, but she loved playing the ukulele.

One of my earliest memories is like we only had one bathroom growing up, and she would lock herself in the bathroom because the acoustics were good.

And she would record herself playing the ukulele on the cassette tape, hitting record and play.

Just hearing her sing and seeing how happy she was playing the ukulele and singing, you know, that rubbed off on me.

She actually gifted me her first ukulele.

Every time I look at it, this reminds me of my mom and just that gift and what she instilled with music.

The language, the history is all in the music.

It's all in there.

So when I moved up here, I wanted to open up a radio station.

I knew that I wanted to stay close to the music.

My mom moved to Las Vegas.

She was getting sick.

She battled diabetes.

We decided, my wife and I, to move a little closer to both our parents.

And then we were starting a family, too.

We found out we were going to have a son.

He was born in Hawaii.

Right before his first birthday, we officially moved to Las Vegas.

There wasn't any 24-hour Hawaiian and Island music radio station.

Prior to moving up here, I worked in terrestrial radio.

So I started doing my homework; I started looking online.

You know, internet still was sort of kind of new.

There wasn't a YouTube video that I could put on an instructional video and said, This is the steps that you need to take.

I just knew that somebody had to do it.

There was a lot of people who doubted that I could ever make a living out of it.

It'll never work.

You can never be profitable.

Don't even waste your time.

But my mom was there saying, You can do whatever you want to do.

July 7, 2003, I launched Pipeline 2 Paradise radio.

So back then, the biggest challenge that I had was just trying to get people to log on to my website and launched a broadcast and listen to see how it sounds.

I remember the first broadcast.

I wasn't listening.

I was monitoring, and my wife was listening, two listeners.

And it kind of hovered around two to ten listeners for really the first two to three months.

After a couple of months, I got all of that nervousness out.

I knew I had something really good, and if I could just be persistent and consistent that eventually it would grow into something that I can be proud of.

It's a lot of work, but I'm glad I did it.

There was actually two times that I actually gave up.

Unfortunately, our home got robbed, and they took everything.

I didn't want to have anything to do with the station anymore.

But there was this community that I already formed.

Everybody came together and started donating money, and I had enough money to buy new equipment.

And that was just like confirmation to say, Pu'ukani, you got to continue doing this.

I got all of that together, and I relaunched.

The second time was about five years ago.

I just felt burned out.

Maybe this is time to just stop.

And I did.

I remember in that year, man, it just-- I felt empty.

I felt like I was letting down my mom.

I felt like I was letting down people in the community.

If I'm going to do this again, I'm gonna do it 100%.

And that means that I gotta leave my regular job, which is crazy, you know?

Had a great salary going on there, but just-- just the feeling and the reward that I get from doing it is just, I mean, it surpasses any financial amount or anything like that.

I believe the station has helped our Islander community here in Las Vegas.

We have so much pride in just being from Hawaii or being an Islander, what we "N Mea Hawaii" or "all things Hawaiian."

The station I feel has been literally a really vital voice, and that's something that I don't take lightly.

When you hear Hawaiian music, it brings back so many memories, just taking them back home.

Hawaiian music, it's always been a part of my life.

And then I started realizing like the Hawaiian music really carried the Hawaiian language, it taught the culture, it involved Hawaiian dance, and I quickly realized I'm literally sort of perpetuating the Hawaiian culture by sharing Hawaiian music.

We're proud of where we come from.

We're proud of our culture.

I strongly believe Las Vegas has definitely embraced the Hawaiian community.

I kept my promise to my mom and, too, I could hear her say, I'm so proud of you.

Every once in a while I'll see something or she'll visit me in a dream, and that's what she is saying, I'm proud with you, son.

Keep doing what you love.

Everything's going to be okay.

Yeah, so this is my mom.

The ukulele that she has on this tattoo is the first ukulele that she had that she gifted to me.

My mom passed away back in 2007, but I keep my mom on me permanently wherever I go.

So, yeah.

♪♪♪ It is Pipeline 2 Paradise, Las Vegas' 24-hour Hawaiian and Island music station.

Again, we're talking with Izzy Dub in studio.

Izzy, I know you moved here to Las Vegas like myself.

20 years, right, you've been here in Las Vegas?

-Yeah.

Yep, it's been about, yeah.

So and I know when we moved back then, there was a good population.

But man over the last 20 years, a huge migration of people coming from the Islands.

I mean, there's a true presence of Hawaiian and Polynesian people here in Las Vegas, right?

-Yeah, it's huge.

-You said your mom and dad played Hawaiian music.

What is like one of your favorite Hawaiian, traditional Hawaiian songs to sing?

-It was actually a song that my dad used to sing a lot when I was a young kid that wasn't really all about music.

It was actually-- the song is called "Wahine Ilikea."

-Okay.

-And it was-- there's different versions of the song.

I didn't know at the time, and my dad always sang the older version.

-There's like over 24 different renditions of "Wahine Ilikea."

-Mm-mm.

-I know the original song, Dennis Kamakahi, all the way back I think to like 1974 I think is when it was first released.

This is definitely a song that's like a staple song within the Hawaiian culture, right?

-Absolutely.

-You want to play that song for us?

-Yeah.

I could definitely, yeah.

Okay.

So ladies and gentlemen, again, Izzy Dub.

"Wahine Ilikea" is the name of the song, one of the most traditional Hawaiian songs coming out of the the Islands.

♪♪♪ ♪Pua kalaunu ma ke kai♪ ♪O Honouli Wai♪ ♪Wahine ilikea i ka poli o Molokai♪ ♪N ka heke♪ ♪Nani wale n n waileleuka♪ ♪O Hina o Hho Mooloa♪ ♪N wai ekolu i ka uluwehiwehi♪ ♪O Kamal i ka mlie♪ ♪Pua kalaunu ma ke kai♪ ♪O Honouli Wai♪ ♪Wahine ilikea i ka poli o Molokai♪ ♪N ka heke♪ ♪Nani wale n ka aina Hlawa♪ ♪Home hookipa a ka malihini♪ ♪ina uluwehi i ka noe ahiahi♪ ♪Ua lawe mai ka makani Hoolua♪ ♪Pua kalaunu ma ke kai♪ ♪O Honouli Wai♪ ♪Wahine ilikea i ka polio Molokai♪ ♪N ka heke♪♪ -Yeah!

"Wahine Ilikea."

Izzy Dub live in studio, ladies and gentlemen.

So "Wahine Ilikea" for those who don't know, the title translates to "Fair-Skinned Woman."

So a lot of people think it's about that Dennis Kamakahi wrote the song about a fair-skinned woman.

But for Hawaiians, as you know, is a lot of the songs, there's a lot what they call "kaona," which is like the hidden meaning behind the lyrics.

And so the lyrics compare the way the white mist parts after a rain to reveal the top of the mountain to how a woman reveals herself to her lover.

I love when Hawaiian music comes out, because there's-- majority of the Hawaiian tradition, Hawaiian songs, there's a lot of kaona.

There's a lot of hidden meaning.

What you hear is not really what they're talking about.

A lot of it is talking about love, relationships.

So "Wahine Ilikea" is one of my favorite songs, Izzy.

So thank you, man.

-Yeah.

No, thank you.

Thank you so much.

♪♪♪ -All right, guys.

You know, when I think about culture, I think about language.

I think about the music, of course, and I think about food.

I'm gonna take you guys to one of my favorite Hawaiian restaurants right here in Las Vegas, owned by my good friends.

Her name is Shai.

The place is called 2 Scoops of Aloha.

They serve up traditional Hawaiian food and Island-style plate lunches.

I think you guys are gonna like it.

I'm gonna take you guys there.

♪♪♪ Hey, how's it going, Shai?

-Aloha!

-This place looks amazing.

Congratulations on the new location.

-Thank you.

-Every time I'm here, I don't know what to get.

Tell me what you can make today.

-Well, I know you like traditional Hawaiian food.

So I got that, and we got the Pipeline 2 Paradise, which is named after the radio station.

-Awesome!

I'm down for it.

Let's get it.

-Give me a minute.

-Sounds good.

♪♪♪ Oh, Shai, this looks really good, man.

Da Big Hawaiian, what's in this plate?

-You got lau lau, kalua pig, poi, lomi salmon, haupia, chicken long rice, squid luau, mac salad, Hawaiian roll, and two scoops of rice.

-Man, this looks so good.

You know what?

I'm gonna try something now.

You know I love chicken long rice.

Let me try this right here.

Let's try that.

Oh, hit the spot.

Nice.

I'll try some kalua pig, too, my favorite part of Da Big Hawaiian meal.

-Yeah, we're known for our kalua pig.

-Awesome.

Nice and tasty.

I know there's a lot of Hawaiian restaurants here, but you're one of the very few that serves up authentic Hawaiian food, and I love it.

This is authentic Hawaiian food.

Thank you.

-You're welcome.

-What else we got?

-We got the Luncheon Meat Special, which is named after Pipeline 2 Paradise.

-What do we got in this plate?

-We got luncheon meat, rice bedding, two eggs, and a Hawaiian grilled sweet roll.

-You know what I love about this plate, Shai?

One, that you named it after the radio station, and, two, the luncheon meat is the luncheon meat that we grew up on, right?

Everybody loves this style of luncheon meat.

I love it.

Homemade.

Homemade, perfect.

You know, all this food that you're giving here, the traditional Hawaiian food, the P2P Breakfast, man, it just connects me back to home, and so thank you so much to 2 Scoops of Aloha for serving up this type of food.

-We try to have traditional Hawaiian food on top of, you know, local lunch plates, you know, food we want to eat, food that we want to serve that we can't get from the Islands.

-I love it.

-You're welcome.

-Truly appreciate it.

Guys, if you guys are looking for traditional Hawaiian food and just Island-style plate lunches that'll connect you back home, 2 Scoops of Aloha.

Come check out my cousin Shai and the entire ohana.

They're doing a great job here at 2 Scoops of Aloha.

-Yes, come by.

We're the only Hawaiian restaurant on Las Vegas Boulevard.

So that's a plus.

And actually we got voted again this year for Best of Las Vegas for 2023.

-Congratulations.

-Yes.

And when you can, check out Pipeline 2 Paradise on the net, everything on the Nineth Island Connections.

-Thank you, Shai.

-You're welcome.

See you soon.

[laughter] I don't know, too much?

-No, that was good.

♪♪♪ Live in studio with Izzy Dub from the group HaleAmanO.

So I gotta ask, you're Hawaiian, is there a mixture or just-- -Yes, there's a mixture, yeah.

I am also Chinese and Puerto Rican.

-Okay.

So does your culture influence-- like, I know you write a lot of original music.

Does it influence your writing and your original music like, culture-wise?

-Because I didn't really study a lot of it, especially since I moved to Alaska and then here-- -Okay.

- --I didn't really study the culture as I should have.

-You're talking, the Hawaiian side you're talking about?

-The Hawaiian side.

Because of that, I don't want to say anything incorrect, and I don't want to be wrong.

And last thing I want to do is have someone, you know, call me, like my auntie or uncle be like, What are you talking about?

-The Hawaiian is coming from your mom's side?

-Both.

-Both sides, okay.

-Does any of them speak 'lelo Hawaii?

-No.

-Okay.

-My dad spoke some, but it was more like conversational.

-Right.

-And my grandpa on my mom's side spoke Hawaiian.

That was the last known family member I knew that speaks Hawaiian fluently.

-The good thing is the music you play, Island music, you're always around the Hawaiian culture.

So I'm sure, you know, as you grow, a lot of that will start to influence your music.

-Mm-hmm.

-Izzy Dub, I know you got a lot of originals.

You mind singing for us?

You want to go ahead and sing maybe one of your originals?

Can you do that?

-I can do that.

Yeah, I got you.

-Tell everybody what song, how did it all come about, and jam 'em.

-All right.

This song I'm going to be jamming is called "My Kinda Lady."

And this song actually started off, I was in the mood, and I was like, Hey, who wants a song?

And this girl hit me up.

She was my friend, Leslie.

And she was like, Can you write me a song?

And I was just like, Give me three things about you.

And she's like, Okay.

And I was like, I'm going to add three things about me about you.

And we first met at a party at a-- actually, you know what?

It's in the song.

So I'll let you guys know.

Here we go.

(Izzy Dub performs "My Kinda Lady") ♪I met this girl one day at this one party♪ ♪She was grooving and moving♪ ♪What more can I say♪ ♪My ukulele did the talking♪ ♪And at the end of the night she bought a CD♪ ♪I was standing♪ ♪I had no place to sit♪ ♪And then she said to me♪ ♪You could sit right here♪ ♪And I'm like who is this chick♪ ♪She down with it♪ ♪Can't believe my eyes♪ ♪Everytime she smiles♪ ♪She twinkles like a star within the night♪ ♪Wanna talk to her♪ ♪See what she like♪ ♪Giving all my time♪ ♪Figure out♪ ♪She's my kind of lady♪ ♪She calls me honey baby♪ ♪That's the way she mentions me♪ ♪Said she wanted the mixed up, the vibe, the jam, and all in between♪ ♪I called the boys up♪ ♪We started talking♪ ♪And at the end of the week we all agreed♪ ♪So I called her♪ ♪Said we were getting ready♪ ♪And then I told her I'll see you on your special day♪ ♪And I'm like who is this chick♪ ♪She down with it♪ ♪Can't believe my eyes♪ ♪Everytime she smiles♪ ♪She twinkles like a star within the night♪ ♪Wanna talk to her♪ ♪See what she like♪ ♪Giving all my time♪ ♪Figure out♪ ♪She's my kind of lady♪ ♪Whoa, yeah♪ ♪Then she was♪ ♪And I can see she was happy as can be♪ ♪Whispers in my ear♪ ♪Can you start right now♪ ♪And I said yes I can start right now♪ ♪And I'm like who is this chick♪ ♪She down with it♪ ♪Can't believe my eyes♪ ♪Everytime she smiles♪ ♪She twinkles like a star within the night♪ ♪Wanna talk to her♪ ♪See what she like♪ ♪Giving all my time♪ ♪Figure out♪ ♪She's my kind of lady♪ ♪Who is this chick♪ ♪She down with it♪ ♪Can't believe my eyes♪ ♪Everytime she smiles♪ ♪She twinkles like a star within the night♪ ♪Wanna talk to her♪ ♪See what she like♪ ♪Giving all my time♪ ♪Figure out♪ ♪She's my kind of lady♪♪ [applause] -Yeah!

Music of the Izzy Dub.

Original.

"My Kind of Lady" for Leslie.

So you just threw that out there, and she said, Make me a song.

So can you make us a song?

How does that work there?

[laughter] Did you ever record that song?

-I did, yes.

I wrote this song, and then I recorded with the band, actually.

-Oh, okay.

-Yeah.

It's on our second album, actually.

-All right.

I gotta go check it out.

♪♪♪ Now, let's take a trip down Las Vegas Boulevard onto memory lane.

Donald Tai Loy Ho, commonly known as Don Ho, was a Hawaiian traditional pop musician, singer, and entertainer in the late 1960s.

Ho was a headliner in Las Vegas similar to Elvis.

When you look at these two superstars, their destinies seem as intertwined as Hawaii and the Ninth Island that is Vegas.

Legend has it that Elvis had heard Don Ho's rendition of "I'll Remember You," and Elvis fell in love with it since it reflected his growing admiration of Hawaiian music while filming his hit movie Paradise, Hawaiian Style.

As fate would have it, both Elvis Presley and Do Ho recorded their own versions of the song "I'll Remember You," making it immensely popular.

It's amazing to listen to both versions back-to-back and to hear both the similarities and differences of Ho's and Presley's performances.

Kui Lee, the songwriter of "I'll Remember You," died of cancer only a few months after Elvis' album was released.

For that reason, Presley's record-setting Aloha From Hawaii via satellite concert was actually a fundraiser for a cancer fund set up in Lee's name.

Most people are familiar with Elvis' time as an Army man, but did you know that Don Ho was a US Air Force veteran?

In his Las Vegas stage show, he enjoyed asking veterans of World War II to raise their hands.

The veterans of the Pacific Theater were invited to join the hula dancers on stage during the closing song.

Two musical superstars, both ex-military guys, both singing the same Hawaiian song, both crossing paths while performing in both Hawaii and Vegas.

Now, that's fate Ninth Island style.

-That's the show.

Watch more Vegas All In stories and moments whenever you want to.

Go online and search @vegasallinpbs, and we'll see you there.