Rap has been gone 17 years, but his spirit, humor live on

By Lee Cataluna
Advertiser Staff Writer

I'd be willing to bet that every day somewhere in these islands, the words of Rap Reiplinger are spoken.

Somewhere, a woman turns to her co-worker and yells, "Russell, you get pen?"

Some guy whacks his buddy on the shoulder and asks, "How come I come, I stay you go?"

Someone pours a glass of wine and announces, "Not too sweet, not too rancid, but jesssss right!"

And everyone cracks up.

It's hard to believe it's been 17 years since Hawai'i said goodbye to Rap Reiplinger.

You wouldn't know it listening to local radio stations. His wildly imaginative comedy recordings are still as hilarious today as they were when he first hit the scene in the late 1970s.

James Kawika Piimauna "Rap" Reiplinger was just 33 when he died in January 1984. He had been missing for nearly a week when his body was found on a Maunawili hillside. There were all sorts of rumors that followed, but the cause of death was eventually ruled an overdose of cocaine.

Reporters who covered Reiplinger's memorial said his friends told jokes during the service, believing Reiplinger would want people to laugh at such a time.

You get the idea he'd be pleased we're still laughing.

But Reiplinger's comedy albums, television specials and commercials did more than amuse us. His ideas moved beyond racial insults and local stereotypes. He made us see local humor in a whole new light, and through the years, inspired many Hawai'i writers, comedians, radio personalities and actors.

Bu Lai'a took the "better than poi, better than pig" from Reiplinger's Wendell's Laulau bit and made it his own.

A commercial mimicking "Pilikia Hotline" is currently on air. ("Barry get the ukus! Barry get the ukus!")

A group of local businessmen even named the short-lived Mahalo Airlines after one of Reiplinger's recordings. That alone is a monument to the aloha felt for Reiplinger: His Mahalo Airlines was a joke, with party balloons for flotation devices and emergency exit doors located only in the cockpit. It's amazing anyone would pick that name. It's amazing anyone got on those planes. But people did, reciting Rap's whole routine as they climbed aboard.

Businessman and frequent emcee Devon Nekoba, who can recite the entire "shaka therapy" routine, puts it this way: "Everybody at one time or another has quoted or misquoted him."

Playwright Lisa Matsumoto has had many of Replinger's routines memorized since childhood. "At the time, I had no idea how being a fan of Rap's local-style comedy would later influence my career in theater. I'm sure all those years of imitating Aunty Marialani ... had to have some kind of impact somewhere in my subconscious."

When someone beloved dies, there's always talk of that person's spirit living on. It's been 17 years, and Rap Reiplinger's spirit is alive in every cook who can't resist uttering the words to a roast chicken, "Take a hit baby; going be hot in there."

Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Her e-mail address is lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com.