SONS OF MANASSEH
Sons of Manasseh consists of Tongan and Samoan musicians, who have joined musical forces to create melodies that heal the soul, unite communities and promote true Island Reggae. They pride themselves in the love they have for their Pacific Islander culture and people. Their main purpose is to motivate Pacific Islander youth to make right decisions and to be proud of their Pacific heritage. Their upcoming album “Blowfree” (will be released February 14, 2008) strives to infuse various music genres creating a sound that is uniquely representative of their Tongan and Samoan identities, experiences, and culture. Sons of Manasseh believe that they have the best of both worlds in one sound. Don’t miss Sons of Manasseh live at the E- Center in West Valley City, UT on Friday, December 07, 2007.
PT: Where did you get the name Sons of Manasseh and what’s the meaning behind it? SOM: Originally Manasseh is the name of the first born of Joseph that was sold into Egypt in the Bible. Manasseh is the grandson of Jacob later known as Israel. Israel has 12 tribes and Manasseh is from the tribe of Joseph. As Polynesians we are descendants of the tribe of Joseph, we use Manasseh as a metaphor for Unity, Happiness and Family. The definition of Manasseh is “to forget” and there are many who have forgotten who we really are and where we come from. There is hatred, racism, even murder amongst our people and until we realize that we are all of the same tribe, the same lineage, the same family we will then realize exactly who we are. We are a covenant people of the Lord! Our goal as musicians is to make music that will unite our people, strengthen and enlighten our youth, motivate our children to stay positive and show love!!!
PT: How would you describe the kind of music your band creates? SOM: R&B married to Reggae; some say we’re a 4 headed monster, because we have 2 different styles of ragga muffz…we got that Lover’s roc if you want that, and our Music Producer (big upps to Tu) he’s got that Ear Candy for sale, but other than that were just another ol’ Poly band.
PT: Which of your songs would you say has been the most empowering and why? SOM: Our song Mrs. Brown. This song was written for all our Polynesian sisters since we don’t know all of them specifically by name we wrote a song for them. .
PT: If you had the chance to collaborate with anyone in the music scene, who would it be and why? SOM: Bob Marley…that would be another reason out of many to look out for that ‘BLOWFREE” album coming real soon. PT: Tell us something about your band that would surprise your fans? SOM: We are all first timers at this band/music thing, yes we are rookies, but even more we’ve only been together for 16 months.
PT: What does it mean to your band to live a “life filled with purpose”? SOM: As a band our goal is to change music; meaning to make good, clean, fun music that can enrich, inspire, uplift our youth and of course unite our people, if we’re not doing that we have NO purpose, and that’s important to us.
PT: What do you feel are the biggest misperceptions about Pacific Islander peoples? SOM: The biggest misperception is that we are ignorant, violent, unlearned, lazy, etc. We hope that through our music and being good examples to others we can change these misperceptions.
PT: What do you feel is our contribution as Pacific peoples to the rest of the world? SOM: Patriotism—to know, love and respect our own individual culture because we love ours.
PT: One of the main purposes of the upcoming concert in Utah is to create a positive awareness of our Pacific Islander communities and to promote the importance of education among our young people, hence the theme “live and learn”. Please share with us your views as an artist and a member of our Pacific Islander community on the importance of Education. SOM: As a college graduate, I know of the importance of receiving an education and teaching ourselves different crafts so that we can be effective in society. It also allows us to be worthy candidates for different types of jobs that will help us to provide and support for our individual families. Having an education qualifies us and opens up different opportunities. No one in a million years would have ever imagined me with a high school diploma, so you can picture their faces at my college graduation party. How grateful I am for that opportunity to receive an education. Education was the main reason why our families migrated from the islands? If our youth can look back and picture the love their family had for them as they migrated from the islands to the mainland, they would learn selflessness and sacrifice. If we take some time to really think about the fact that they left their comfort zone so their children’s children can benefit. Imagine leaving to a foreign land, building a comfortable home and planting different seeds not for you to receive the harvest but for your children to reap what you have sewn, imagine the type of love you would have to possess to do such a thing. This type of love eventually becomes the definition to unity, culture, education, and history. When love becomes the reflection in all things we begin to understand who we really are as a people. Sons of Manasseh’s Myspace http://www.myspace.com/sonsofmanasseh
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