The drum machine that made hip-hop in the early days was the Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer, and Hawaii is the (808) area code.

Hawaii got wrecked 13 days before its 64th birthday as a US state.
Roland = 64
Maui = 64
8×8 = 64

He was from Osaka, Japan.
Osaka, Japan = 64
Osaka = 88

He turned 50 in 1980, the year the 808 came out.