Multi Nā Hōkū Hanohano Award-winning artist Josh Tatofi will perform at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center on Feb. 21 for a fun-infused concert perfect for a date night. Courtesy photo

One of Hawaii’s most talented musicians, Josh Tatofi has been on a creative roll, releasing the memorable ballad “You and Me” two weeks ago and offering a Christmas EP for the holidays. It crowned a year that included a stream of music like the live ballad “You’re the Best Thing,” a cover of Johnny Nash’s “Tears on My Pillow,” videos from his tour of Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific, the Samoan love song “Le Tu’una Oe,” and a brilliant video for his original song “Who’s That Girl?”

We can add director to his list of talents as Tatofi directed a seven-minute mini movie for “Who’s That Girl?” set in a 1950s high school with Paula Fuga acting as the principal. It’s so far earned over 600,000 views.

“I’ve always been a film buff,” says Tatofi. “I love movies, and while playing music, I learned how to use a camera because I wanted to start shooting music videos. About a decade later from the first music video, I thought to turn it up a level, and I ended up using a lot of the union guys, grip and gaffers and assistant directors, taking a little break after ‘NCIS.’ It was kind of a perfect time. I actually had a crew of 50 and a cast of 100, so I literally filmed a mini movie. We shot it all in one day, a 14-hour shoot. I wanted to kind of sit in that Steven Spielberg seat and not only be the artist, but direct it. There were a lot of friends and family that decided to join in, and it was such a great time.”

The Grammy nominated and multi Nā Hōkū Hanohano Award-winning artist said the ’50s setting was inspired by the movie “Grease.” “We kind of took a piece out of ‘Grease,’ as if John Travolta went to Hawaii,” he says.

For the future, he looks forward to directing more videos. “It’s a different skill set,” he says. “It’s a nice yin yang to the music industry.”

A prolific artist releasing songs in Tongan, Samoan, Hawaiian and English, he is relishing his various creative pursuits. “Everything that lets me enjoy life,” he says. “I’m definitely blessed and fortunate to be in a place where I can be more creative. God has really blessed me to be in a position where I can spend a little bit more time being on the creative side. So I feel like I’m just doing what anyone would do in my position. Ultimately, I’m just having fun, man. The last decade, I feel like I’ve just been work, work, work, work. And now I’m just trying to incorporate the fun into the work. The work doesn’t stop, but now it’s fun infused.”

The son of Tivaini “Tiva” Tatofi of Kapena fame, he grew up fluent in Tongan. “I want to say it was my first language, but it was definitely hand in hand with my beginning learning English,” he says.

A Baldwin High School graduate, he moved to Maui from Oahu when he was 15. “Then I moved to Hilo, and went to Colorado State for school for two years, and then moved to Hilo, and then back to Honolulu. I’m very much still in Maui for the most part. I feel like I’m there at least once a month.”

With his dad and uncle Timoni Tatofi performing in Kapena, he was destined for life as a musician. “I always knew I was going to be,” he says. I didn’t want to be anything else.”

While he is blessed with a beautiful voice, one family member wasn’t so supportive of his career early on. “My older sister, Elizabeth, had a little band, and she said I couldn’t join. She said I was off or something like that, and she’d probably say the same thing even today.”

Proclaimed the “Luther Vandross of Hawaii,” at the age of 19 Tatofi recorded an album with Maui’s Ekolu. Collaborating with Kapena DeLima, the son of Kapena’s Kelly Boy DeLima, he produced a bunch of island reggae hits that highlighted his smooth, soulful vocals. Then he released his first Hawaiian language song, the romantic ballad “Pua Kiele,” which was the title of his first full-length Hawaiian album.

Besides a Grammy nomination, it earned him Hōkū Awards in 2017 for Male Vocalist of the Year and Island Music Album of the Year.

Asked about the transition to Hawaiian music, he says, “It was like my way of learning where my home is. Like many others, I live in Hawaii, but I kind of started deep diving into, like, do I know Hawaii? Do I know my home and so on and so forth? Hopping into Hawaiian music wasn’t new music for everyone else, but it was like a new learning for me about this lovely place that we call home.”

His sophomore Hawaiian album, “Ua Kui A Lawa,” was a huge hit at the 2020 Hōkūs. Nominated for more categories than any other artist, he won Album of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, Island Music Album of the Year, Entertainer of the Year and Single of the Year for “Melia.” Primarily singing original songs on the album in Hawaiian with some Tahitian, it included a cover of Dionne Warwick’s hit “I’ll Never Walk This Way Again.”

Besides his own releases, he has contributed to significant recording projects like the Grammy nominated album “Hawaiian Lullaby,” organized by Kimie Miner, and sung on the compilation album “Lei Nahonoapiʻilani: Songs of West Maui.” He also joined Kealiʻi Reichel, Amy Hanaialiʻi, and Robert Cazimero on the video and song “Ku Haʻaheo” in tribute to the protectors of Mauna Kea.

“I only want to be where I’ll do justice to the project,” he explains. “I’m actually not on a lot of records. I don’t have a lot of collabs like a lot of other artists. I just really pick and choose. If it feels right and I feel like the outcome is right, then I’ll go ahead and move forward. Those projects had all great purpose. It was such an honor to be a part of those projects.”

For the future, “we have a lot of tours coming up this year and a lot of new music. I just released ‘You and Me,’ and throughout the year, I’ll be releasing some tracks as I go.”

Billed as a “Date Night with Josh Tatofi,” he returns to the MACC for a show on Feb. 21. He says he will “go the memory lane, and make some new memories as well. We’ll have some Hawaiian music, some island reggae music and some R&B music all infused. It’s a date night, so we just want to make a set for lovers and that’s what we’re going to do.”

Tatofi performs in the MACC’s Castle Theater at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 21. Kawika Boro will open. Tickets are $35, $45, $55, $65, and a limited number of $125 Gold Circle seating, plus applicable fees.