Who's the best rapper ever to come out of Hawaii? Don't feel bad if you have no clue. Neither did I… until I received Not Too Intelligent but Extremely Resourceful by recent Seattle transplant John Tsunam (AKA Jason Adams). We have a winner.

Finding a gifted MC from Hawaii is almost like discovering a death-metal guitarist from Tunisia. What are the freakin' odds? So it's natural to wonder if Tsunam is an anomaly in our 50th state.

"I wish I was the diamond in the rough," Tsunam counters. "There's a wealth of talent [in Hawaii]! A lot of people [have been] doing it there for like 10 years. For some reason they refuse to record and release, ha ha. One thing, though: Hawaii's hiphop scene is tightly knit… and not because of the size of the island."

Tsunam says he moved to Seattle "in a herd." "Capitol Hill is home to a commune of like 20 Hawaii transplants; no joke. Half are kids I knew from the hiphop scene there. We don't go out much, though. Instead we lounge heavy at my place and watch TV… [We're] too cool for the Cha Cha--ooh."

Instead, the displaced islanders "all work on music together and hang out together. Lots of Uzi-tooth presarios and crate kids out there doin' it. Hawaii definitely has a unique sound, though… hiphop leans more toward the left there," he explains.

Tsunam ain't kidding. Resourceful boasts an all-star stable of producers whose subtle dislocations of underground-hiphop moves will induce involuntary head-nodding in fans of Buck 65, Doseone, and Wu-Tang Clan. "Basically, the producers are a mix of people from [Hawaii crew] Plague Language and people I worked with when I was in Prolit," Tsunam says.

He crams more words and ideas into Resourceful's eight tracks and 24 minutes than most rappers muster in a decade. His verbals flow like vomit from frat boys' liquor-lubed gullets--but they, uh, smell better. Tsunam's hyper-aware observations about the atomized self-striving to maintain sanity in a mad world bring the emo, but cut the crap. Throughout Resourceful, the crafty beatmakers buttress Tsunam's word storms with melancholy, intricate backings that ooze soul-jazz gravitas.

Tsunam's rapid-fire raps signify a mind frantic, yet focused. He favors swift meters because "I like the challenge and intricacy. I've always been attracted to the rhythms and cadences of Uzi tooth. It's difficult to do it well, too. You have to choose words that sound clean and effortless together, and are very audible and distinguishable. [But] I try not to make my rhyme speed my identity as an MC."

It's a truism that hiphop's virus is global, but there still aren't many in the game with Tsunam's ethnic heritage. "I'm half Caucasian and half Vietnamese, and that makes for an interesting upbringing. I think I have a firm grasp on my cultural background and my identity doesn't have to pick just one side. I sometimes think/write about my heritage versus my own lifestyle. I'm a West Virginia coal miner's grandson… who has 30 relatives living in Third-World poverty 10,000 miles away from me."

Until he lands that lucrative deal with Rhymesayers (listening, Slug?), this Seinfeld-loving wordsmith pays the bills slicing seafood. "I'd like to say being a sushi chef reflects my rap or vice versa, but, honestly, it's just my job," Tsunam says, laughing. "I will say this, though: I'm an indie artist to the max, so my sushi-cheffin' money directly affects my rap 'career.' I pay for all my promotion, CD printing, etc., right out of pocket. I'm not even saying this to sound cool in that 'I'm oh-so punk DIY' way. I'm just poor and unfamous… and if a label came calling, I'd answer (artistic integrity retained, of course)."

While Resourceful racks up impressive college-radio airplay, Tsunam fills notebooks with copious verbiage as he toils on multiple projects. Expect a book/CD soon, Snowed In, done with photographer/girlfriend Kani and the Mod Advice for Primal Man: Your Nature Needs an Upgrade EP cut with producer Rev. Left.

But his new album (due in March) with knob-twiddler Nocturne really gets him stoked. "It's themed and cohesive and mapped out right," Tsunam enthuses, "blended well, [with] interludes that link and vocals that complement beats that complement moods." Enlist in that speed-listening class now…

segal@thestranger.com