Now, the music that soars over the peaks of the upper octaves has a new voice. Its owner isn't someone you'd expect.

Ryan Kamakakehau Fernandez is black.

"Yes. I am," laughed Fernandez.

He reacts this way because everyone who sees and hears him for the first time is shocked.

"They back up a little bit and they just trip," he said.

Fernandez lives on Maui. The hand of fate brought him there 22 years ago.

Robyn Naeole wanted a son. She found him a long way from Hawaii, a six-week-old african-american orphan in Little Rock, Ark.

"I'm just so grateful for everything, all my family" he said.

Growing up, his famlly surrounded him with Hawaiian culture. He graduated from a Hawaiian language immersion school. He speaks it fluently. He's in love with Hawaiian music, particularly falsetto singing.

"For me this is kind of a responsibility. The culture was given to me. I need to give it back and show the respect for my kupuna," he said.

He learned leo kie kie or falsetto singing by imitating his family's favorites, Richard Hoopii and Genoa Keawe.

"When I first started grasping leo kie kie, those are the people I listened to the most," he said.

Fernandez debut album is due in March. He composed ten of the twelve songs. His voice is the only one on every one of the tracks.

"Everybody does their harmonies by themselves but not at that nose bleed section point of no return," said Jason Sadang of Kealaokala Records.

Fernandez has turned his love of Hawaiian music and culture into a career. When he's not performing, he teaches hula at an senior citizens center in Wailuku. Most hours of the day are spent in the recording studio.

"We also like to have fun and dab into island music, island reggae, R&B," Sadang said.

Fernandez sings those styles too.

In 2003, Maui was introduced to Fernandez when he won Richard Hoopii's prestigious falsetto singing contest.

Now the rest of the state is learning about him.

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