NAZ KAWAKAMI
EDITOR / WRITER / PHOTOGRAPHER
(@nazkawakami)
portrait of naz's face post-ass-kick by Nick Zinner. ABOUT:
I am the Editor in Chief of Monster Children. I’m a bit creatively bankrupt and unable to think of a funny way to blow this off (see James Royce’s for an example of someone who did it right), here are some facts about me that I’d put on a resume if I were applying for a job as an editor at Monster Children.
My name is Nazareth Kekainalu Kawakami. I am twenty nine years old. I am Hawaiian and Japanese but I look like neither of those things and my confused sense of identity bothers me very much. I was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawai’i. My brother, father, and sister all surfed growing up, so I skated, and went to shows, and snuck into parties I wasn’t invited to, and threw my own, and took lots of photos, and put on art shows, and was despicable for most of my teens and twenties.
I have a bachelor’s degree in English with a focus in theatre and narrative theory from the University of Hawai’i at Manoa where I was also an overnight DJ and Director at KTUH (the university radio station) and where I was specifically asked not to contribute to Ka Leo (the school newspaper).
I have written about music, war, politics, skateboarding, social inequality, surfing, elections, economics, art, nightlife, film, crime, counterculture, and science professionally for eleven years. I have had work featured in publications like Business Insider, NPR, Flux, Vice, and Jenkem, and have contributed to work published by MSNBC, the AP, and The Guardian.
I have also written award-winning plays and movies, most notably, Every Day In Kaimuki (dir. Alika Tengan) which premiered at Sundance Film Festival in 2022.
I like long walks on the beach, Pina Coladas, Oxford commas, and getting caught in the rain.
send love letters to naz@monsterchildren.com
hate mail to sam@monsterchildren.com
READ:
I wanted another bite of that steaming hot Fontaines D.C. soup, but I got something else instead.
Following the release of two incredible parts in one week, we asked Antonio Durao if Antonio Durao agrees with the rumor that Antonio Durao is the best skater alive.
‘We’ve come to terms with ourselves, what we are as a band, how we are good; we’ve never fucked it up, so there’s no reason for us to believe that we will fuck it up, so let’s just not doubt it.’
There was a palpable delight at the sheer strangeness of the occasion - an anticipation for simply anything to happen, and most importantly, for it to happen here. What were we all here to see? What were we all engaging in? In a word: music. In another word: boat.
On virality, intention, and the occasional ‘Fuck You’ set.
Student asks the master what the maser thinks of the student paying homage to the master.
Go where the locals go, your broken heart be damned.
Talking about bits, unions, sexual time travelers, ketchup, and more.
A messy conversation with one of our favorite bands who happen to be playing the SXSW Official Monster Children Showcase presented by Sonny’s Porch.
One of our writers got lost and another partied too hard, but it was fun nonetheless.
The video featuring Jahmir Brown and Carl Aikens is scored by Alex’s new musical project, Group Climate.
A free Valentine from NYC to you.
Reclaiming indigenous imagery one mural at a time.
It’s illegal and we are only telling you what you’re not supposed to do so that you know what you’re not supposed to do.
Our conversation with the gallerist multi-hyphenate actor as it appears in issue #73, available now.
