Evile Lapana Ieriko Jr., known professionally as Pana, has a keen ear for detail and an innate ability to take inspiration from anything. Pana has established himself as a force to be reckoned with in the Island Reggae space.
You might have heard of him and if you don’t, you definitely know the music he has worked on whether it be songwriting or producing, such as “Your Lovin’ Is Enough,” “Utu Bang Bang,” & “Someone Else.”
Pana was born and raised on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, where he was exposed to a wide variety of musical genres from a young age. His father, a guitarist and singer in the church, was a major musical influence. Pana started playing drums in elementary school and continued through high school, where he also became interested in recording and making beats.
After high school, Pana attended Honolulu Community College, where he earned a degree in music business. He then toured and played music right out of college. “Things kind of just took off,” he says. “Opportunities started coming.”
Pana’s music is inspired by “whatever sounds good to me,” he says. “It could be the weirdest things, not even music related. It could be visuals or videos, movies - just things that are cool.” His creative process is fluid and open to all forms of inspiration.
The Business of Music
When asked about challenges, Pana cited the business side of music as being particularly difficult to navigate. “Business is business,” he says. “People do business in different ways.” He advises aspiring artists to learn the business side of music to avoid getting burned.
RETWEET! Pana’s favorite project that he has worked on is his own EP, Hibiscus. “It’s always going to be special to me,” he beams.
Pana’s advice to up-and-coming producers is to “find an artist or someone that is trying to be an artist, find one, work with them, come up together and kind of keep that relationship because it’s a mutual progression.”
He also stresses the importance of learning the business side of music and being interested in every aspect of the business.
“I think that’s (learning the business) a crucial part of understanding how everything works and kind of protecting yourself and equipping yourself to what you’re going to get into. A lot of people lose their passion for music because of bad business.”
Uhm…I hope you’re taking notes, because I am! Pana is a talented and versatile music producer with much more ahead of him. He is currently working on new music and plans to release another EP in the near future. Make sure to stay up to date because he just finished two projects with two artists set to release soon!
Fun Fact
- Johnny Suite is Pana’s first cousin.
Images provided by the featured individuals or sourced from their public social media profiles and online platforms. All rights remain with the original creators. Originally published in PMN+ Magazine, February 2025 (Vol. 2 No. 2).
February 2025 · Digital Magazine
