Isaac Moreno

Name Isaac Moreno

Social Media @izikfamous

Age 35

Town/Moku All over Hawai'i. Grew up on Moloka'i and O'ahu and currently live in Kapolei

Island Oʻahu

Leadership Category ART/CREATIVE/mUSIC

Nominated by Kimie Miner

Share with us a little about yourself and what you do. I am a musician who creates here in Hawai'i. I use music and multi-media as a way express myself and tell my stories.

Why is the work that you do important to you? The community? I believe the work that I'm doing is important because it shows other indigenous creators and musicians that our stories can live in any genre of music. I also believe that the work that I do creates conversations around what it means to be Native & māhū in modern times. I think the music that I create gives up and coming musicians and artists the permission to push boundaries and explore themselves in spaces that we are usually the minority in.

Share with us the qualities of leadership you admire and how you express those in your life. The quality I admire the most in a leader is the willingness to collaborate with others in order to achieve a result that is greater than any one individual. In my life, I'm always searching the fringes to find artists who don't have a platform or voice to get their ideas heard. Im almost always able to see the potential in everyones talents. In my music it is important to me to collaborate with a variety of artists so that my art isn't tainted by my own singular experience. We are all experiencing consciousness as a collective.

Who has inspired you to do the work that you are doing? My friends are my biggest inspiration. Without their encouragement over the years my confidence wouldn't have grown.

What is one word that describes something you are excited about for the lāhui? Joy

What is one word that describes a pressing issue that is facing our lāhui? Autonomy