Freddy’s devout love for music
ONCE upon a time, Hisakasu “Frederick” Kado or Freddy Kado as he is more commonly known, graced the stage of five-star hotels and entertained society’s elite with his unique and soulful voice.
After COVID-19 literally drove the tourism sector to its knees last year and rendered entertainers out of work, Freddy relocated his family from Nadi to Rewa – where he was born and raised.
Today, the 51-year-old can be seen deftly manoeuvring his fibreglass boat around the narrow waterways to get to his family estate secluded in the Rewa Delta.
How did the boy from Mataikalabu get into music and how he become an integral part of one of Fiji’s music powerhouses, Black Rose, and took iTaukei chants to the international stage?
This is his story.
Freddy was the sixth child to his father who was Japanese and mother from Namuka-i-Lau. Growing up as one of 10 siblings, he had an eventful childhood.
“We used to take an outboard from our estate (Mataikalabu) to the Laqere Bridge where our cars were usually parked and we’d travel to school daily to Stella Maris then to Marist Brothers High School,” the 51-year-old recalled.
“We also travelled to Suva from Mataikalabu through Lokia landing.
“When I was 17, I started attending a lot of youth camps and mass and that’s where I started learning to play guitar and I started developing my passion for music.
“I started playing guitar and learning Catholic songs. “From singing mass songs to
sigidrigi later in the evening. Music became my life
“Though I didn’t start playing until my late teens, music and entertainment had always been a part of my life from an early age.
“Living in our estate in Rewa, we were part of the Naililili Catholic Church. My namesake Frederick Hiroshi Kado, dad’s older brother, was chair of the church counsel while my father was in charge of finance.
“Because our family was very connected with the church we partook a lot in the Adi Naililili pageant.
“We always won the entertainment because my siblings and I not only sang but incorporated dances from my family’s diverse background into the entertainment we put together.”
Freddy’s affiliation with the Catholic Church led to his faith being deepened and when he was 21, he heard the voice of God and joined the seminary to pursue a vocation in the priesthood.
“I was supposed to do that for seven years. However, with two years left to go, I left the seminary. That decision upset my mother who was a staunch Catholic.
“When I joined the seminary, I was already so accustomed to Catholic music that I impressed them right away.
“I already knew the hymns and how to play music for most of the songs there were.
“I was appointed choir master as a first year student in the seminary, which was unheard of at the time because positions like that were mostly given to people in their final year.
“I think I was the youngest in our time to be given that role.”
Freddy’s decision to leave the seminary had not been entered into lightly, he had a yearning for answering to the vocation but there was also a desire to venture deeper into music.
“I had a counsellor who monitored my progress and advised me along the way.
“So one day he asked me ‘What have you liked the most in the few years you’ve been here at the seminary?’
“And I told him that I really enjoyed the music experience on campus. That’s when he told me to go home. That was not the place for me and I won’t be able to pursue my passion for music holistically if I stayed there.
“The seminary is a place where they breed you for priesthood and to minister to people, while leading a celibate life.
“My heart was in music so he encouraged me to go and pursue music and use my music to minister to people.”
In 1996, Freddy debuted as a musician in a band that took iTaukei chants, fused them with Euro-dance beats and gave this to the world.
The group was Black Rose. “For about five years I performed with Black Rose and then in 2003, I decided I wanted to do my own thing
“From 2001 to 2002, I freelanced and in 2003 my children’s mother and I formed the band called ‘Divine’.
“That lasted for about 11 years before the band broke up and I formed my own company called ‘Wanup Entertainment’ — a business that I continue to operate to this day.
“It’s a group of entertainers, all under the umbrella company of Wanup Entertainment. We get gigs and send our performers out along with equipment.
“But since the COVID 19 pandemic, I’ve let go of most of my team because when we get a gig, I want the entire team to get a cut but unfortunately, gigs are numbered now and the rates low. So we make do with what we get.
“If I absolutely need a hand then I have a few staff that I can still call on, otherwise, I go as a one-man band.
“I’ve even learnt to play keyboard so I can manage on my own.
“Since COVID has restricted the number of gigs we’ve gotten, I’ve left Nadi to stay in our family home in Kinoya and operate the company right here from Suva.”
Freddy said he hoped that as soon as COVID restrictions were lifted and businesses normalised, Wanup Entertainment could return to some form of normalcy and all their entertainers can start earning again.
He added that although he performs ‘worldly’ music he never forgets that his musical journey started at church and when approached by the Catholic Church to conduct choir he is more than willing to.
“In order to be an entertainer you need to sound good, look good and be good. That is my philosophy and one that I think most entertainers would do well to apply in their lives.
“Or anyone for that matter that may be looking to pursue a career as an entertainer.
“You can be talented and not have the right attitude that will not take you far in the industry.
“You need to be educated and carry yourself with humility while being confident in your art.
“I always remind any entertainers that come under my company that they may sound like Vince Gill or Michael Jackson but that doesn’t mean they are Vince Gill or Michael Jackson.
“If they come to me already soaring, I clip those wings.
“Humble yourselves. Only then will you garner the respect of other entertainers in the industry and your audience.
“Only then will you beat stereotypes that define the entertainment industry. Performing is a profession, treat it as such.
“Entertainers have the responsibility of showing everyone else that we are worthy of the same respect someone would show to someone in the medical profession or teaching, etc.”
Freddy said these were principles he hoped would rub off on his colleagues and his children who also had a knack for music and sometimes perform with him.
“I believe that since my passion for music started in church I’ve always tried to maintain a good reputation in the industry.
“My years in the seminary have contributed a lot to my journey and the providence of the almighty has done wonders in my life.’