What happened to Walter Aipolani aka Bruddah Waltah? Tributes pour in as the Father of Hawaiian Reggae passes away

Walter Aipolani, better known as Bruddah Waltah passed away on Friday, August 18. The news was shared on his Facebook account by his daughter, Aipolani Ohana a couple of hours back. The post was captioned as follows:

“To all of our family & friends, it is with a heavy heart that we announce the passing of our husband, Father, Brother, Grandpa, Tutu Man, Bruddah Waltah Aipolani.”

The Facebook post also revealed how the musical artist breathed his last in the presence of his closest family members in his own home in Hilo, Hawaii. While the cause of his death was not released, it is a known fact that Bruddah Waltah had been suffering from an aggressive form of liver cancer since mid-2021.

In fact, Bruddah Waltah himself was present at a concert last year in July on Hawaii's Big Island that was organized by Hawaii musicians as a tribute and to raise money for his medical costs. He spoke about his battle with cancer while receiving chemotherapy and said that he might never sing again.

---

Bruddah Waltah died at the age of 68

Walter Aipolani, a Hawaiian singer, guitarist, and songwriter most likely succumbed to liver cancer from which he was struggling for a year. He was 68 years old at the time of his passing. He became well-known in the 1980s by playing gigs in Waikiki, which is also how he obtained his nickname, Bruddah Waltah.

Often regarded as the Father of Hawaiian Reggae, he got the title as he and his band Island Afternoon was responsible for taking Hawaiian-style reggae music to the global stage in the 1980s and 1990s.

His last public appearance was last year in July when he attended the Big Island concert in his tribute that also helped him draw donations for his cancer diagnosis. A star-studded lineup of Hawaiian musicians performed in the concert including Mark Yamanaka and Friends, Randy Lorenzo, Ben Kaili and Friends, Iwalani Kalima and Hula Halau O Kou Lima Nani E, Christy Leina’ala Lassiter, Kalapana Awa Band, Ikaika Marzo, Lightning Larry Dupio, and Russell Mauga among others.

Ku'ehu Mauga served as the emcee for the charity event, which was hosted at the Palace Theatre in Hilo, the hometown of Bruddah Waltah. While Bruddah Waltah did not perform at the show, he pre-recorded two songs that later became part of the Palace Theater’s pandemic video series titled Live From the Empty Palace.

The two songs that Bruddah Waltah chose were the 1938 hapa-haole tune Church in an Old Hawaiian Town originally sung by Johnny Noble and later popularized by Aipolani and To Love Somebody from his own debut album (1967) based on his evergreen love for The Bee Gees.

Apart from the benefit concert, Bruddah Waltah was also semi-active on social media platforms such as Facebook and often gave a glimpse of his health. His last post was in late May 2023. A few of his last performances happened in the first half of 2022. They were in Tacoma, Vancouver, Portland, Hawaii mainland (for the Aloha Festival), and at the Na Hoku Hanohano Awards function in Honolulu.

---

Netizens pay tribute to Bruddah Waltah

During his last concert in Honolulu in 2022, Aipolani told Hawaii Tribune-Herald:

“I tell everybody, I’m going till the wheels fall off. Then, on my gravestone, it’s going to say, ‘The wheels fell off.”

After almost a year, the legend has passed away but has left behind his legacy. In fact, his family while sharing the news of his demise posted on Facebook:

"We thank you all for the love...and support during this time...His love and his music has touched the lives of so many. We'll miss him in this lifetime but we know we will see him again..."

Tributes came pouring in from fans all over the internet. Here’s a glimpse:

Aipolani was born in Oahu but spent his early years in Keaukaha where his sister Deedee danced with another Hawaiian legend Edith Kanaka’ole. Later, in 1979, when Waltah got the opportunity of hearing Bob Marley live, that became the turning point in his life and musical career, as told to Hawaii Tribune-Herald a few years back.

It was then he changed his music from rock to reggae. He was also influenced by Elton John, The Beatles, and Creedence Clearwater Revival. Today, the world remembers him as the man behind hit Hawaiian reggae songs such as Keep Hawaiian Lands in Hawaiian Lands, Sweet Lady of Waiahole, My Hawaiian Car, No Woman, No Cry (originally sung by Marley, but Aipolani changed it to local lyrics), and the reggae version of Beatles’ hit number Don’t Let Me Down.