INTERVIEW : KONSHENS
Interview by : Sébastien Jobart
Pictures by : DR
on Wednesday, July 02nd 2014 - 9 225 views
Currently on tour in Europe, Konshens is preparing his second album, "From The Hotel Room". Not a collection of X-rated songs, as he explains everyone assumes, but a "nomadic" album made in the many hotel rooms he has passed through on the road over the past two years.
When Konshens turns up at our office, it is with his wife and his whole crew (including Javada, a young artist recently signed to his label who is about to release his mixtape): no fewer than five people to welcome along with him. We are short of chairs and it is a bit of a squeeze, but the interview can begin.
Reggaefrance / Your new album is called “From the Hotel Room”. Is the hotel where you spend the most time?
Konshens / Yeah! You're the first person to get it; most people think it's about X-rated songs. We've been on the road for two and a half years and we had to take the studio with us. The album was produced in hotel rooms, in different parts of the world.
Who are the producers on the album?
Most are productions by Subkonshus Music, which is my label. But there are also productions by Frankie Music, Truckback, Rvssian, a soca producer called Kubiyashi, D&H, Dready, a young producer, Washroom… I think that's everything.
What themes do you develop on the album?
I don't want to say too much, but know that there's a vibe for each country, seen through my eyes. Each song illustrates the vibe I could feel in each of the countries I've visited. There will be songs for every mood, for every occasion.
 Si tu as de l’ambition, tu as moins de temps pour faire des choses stupides. 
You mentioned the French guys from D&H, with whom you've been working for a while.
I've been working with them for a very long time. I appreciate the quality of their work, yuh understand?. They can be proud of their work, whether it's dancehall, reggae, or whatever. It's good music. So naturally, I'm never very far away!
Recently we heard you with other French guys, Dub Akom, on the Way Back riddim…
That track was also meant to be on the album, but the riddim came out before the album so...
You only want exclusive tracks on this album?
Not 100% exclusive, but I wanted each song to be linked to the album as a whole. It would have been better if the song had been exclusive…
In your songs, you address young people, explaining that hard work pays off. Is that how you were raised?
In a way… My life has been made of trial and error, successes and failures. I've tried a lot of things and so far, it's this state of mind that works for me, this motto, understand? Believe in yourself above all, and don't sell yourself out. Ambition is something I always try to get across to the younger ones. I think that if you have ambition, you have less time to do stupid things.
I've selected a few of your songs, can you tell us about them? Let's start with your first hit, Winner.
That song was born when my daughter was born. It made me fundamentally hungry. The song was written at a time when the world was in recession. I think that's why everybody could see themselves in it, because the lack of money was getting worse. For me, with the birth of my daughter, the hunger became more intense.
Good Girl Gone Bad
It's just a vibe… I always wanted to work with Tarrus Riley, and when we met, he told me he wanted to work with me. It was magical! Rvssian made a great track. I was on tour when he sent it to me. When I got back to Jamaica, we went into the studio and you can hear on the track the vibe that was in the studio, from start to finish. Working with Tarrus Riley is like being at school.
The Realest Song
It's my favourite song of mine. In Jamaica, there's a lot of talk about badminds, whether in reggae or dancehall. I think it's an overused theme. But nobody had approached it from that angle. In dancehall or reggae, you have recurring themes. You'll struggle to find a subject you're the first to talk about. I think I was, and still am, the only one to have sung about that subject in this way.
Rasta Imposter
That dates from my first trip to Europe. When I started out in the music industry, many people thought I was a rasta. On arriving in Europe, many told me I should do it, and become a rasta: from a business point of view, it would have been better for me, because that was the vibe among Europeans. I come from Jamaica, I'm not a rasta, but I have lots of friends who are serious rastas. It would have been like a huge slap in the face for them if I had become a rasta for financial reasons. That's how the song was born.
Gal A Bubble
At the time, the dancefloor was reduced to smartphones and people just standing there. Whereas when I was young, there were girls dancing, guys dancing with the girls… And if you want to watch, you watch. Nothing was missing. With co-producer Markus, we wanted to make a song that would reignite that vibe and get the girls dancing. I think we succeeded.
Do Sum'n
This song was dedicated to the dancers, to showcase them. Don't forget that in dancehall, there's dance, and people tend to underestimate the importance of dancers in dancehall. I'm not a dancer and I don't think anyone in this room is (laughs). But you need the dancers to get the right effect for the beats you sing on. Almost every genre of music needs them. Dancehall had to showcase them and respect their work.
Did you expect the reactions that greeted the steamy video for Clap Dat?
As a writer, when I write a song, I want to create an image in the listener's mind, to turn them into a spectator. The song is about strip clubs and dancers. So naturally, the video shows them. I don't see where the harm is… There was a lot of talk about it in Jamaica, they said children could stumble on that video. But I think parents should behave like parents. A song for adults isn't the same thing as a song for children. I don't think it's my responsibility to censor it; it's up to the media and above all the parents to do so. I can guarantee you that my daughter hasn't seen that video.
You hosted Masicka's mixtape. Do you think he's the next dancehall sensation?
He is a dancehall sensation. We're not trying to create the next anything. We just want to make our contribution. I'm here with Javada, another artist on my label Subkonshus, and I don't compare him to the artists who came before. He's the first Javada. That's how I see things. Javada is going to release his mixtape, that's our focus for now. There's no album project yet with Masicka. We're trying to get them accepted, to build them a fan base.
You use social media a lot. How has that changed your relationship with your fans?
It offers direct communication. That's important to me. It has worked well for me, perhaps better than for most dancehall artists. I think it's very important. If you have tens of thousands of fans following you, it's almost a guarantee of packed venues wherever you go. It gives us independence. You get out what you put in: the more you communicate, the more feedback you get.
You launched your Konz876 shoe line. Is it going well?
Yeah man! It's going well. We have big expansion plans. With the Internet, we can sell more or less everywhere, but we're also present in a few countries. It's going well in Canada, Costa Rica… We're trying to develop the brand in the United States, Europe and Asia. So far the reception is very good, which allows us to keep going.
Are shoes and fashion in general a hobby?
You could say so, but launching this shoe line was more a way of putting out something substantial in dancehall culture. If you look at hip-hop, or other genres, entrepreneurs are one of the drivers of development. In hip-hop, you can name them: Jay-Z, P. Diddy, Dr Dre… I think we need to follow that example. It applies to all genres except dancehall… In Jamaica, ultimately, there's only the Bob Marley brand. Artists need to become entrepreneurs and market their products that represent dancehall and reggae culture and also Jamaican culture.
You organised a competition, the “Konz876 Young Boss Competition”. Is it to showcase young people who succeed?
Exactly. I did it at a time when the Jamaican media were talking only about negative things, as if nothing else was happening. I did it to give value to some of those young people. There are so many young people doing positive things in Jamaica who are ignored. Negative news travels much faster than positive news. We wanted to show that even if negative things happen, there are plenty of positive ones too. The feedback was fantastic; you'd be amazed by the number of young people all over the world who achieve great things and are overlooked. I intend to run this competition regularly.
As a father, are you worried about Jamaican youth?
What do you mean?
Are you concerned?
Very concerned. Not only for the youth in Jamaica, but all over the world. Young people are exposed ever earlier to things that we discovered at the age of 15… The world is becoming more dangerous, there's more information, more dangers. We have to prepare them as best we can.
Two years ago, you took part in a march to end political rivalry in Kingston.
But how did you get that info?
Easy, it's on your Wikipedia page.
Oh! (laughs) The initiative was to remove graffiti and obscenities from the walls and replace them with murals of national heroes. So that the young people in the community could see positive things around them, because the environment itself is negative. It was about raising funds, and showing that artists from outside that community are involved and concerned. And it worked.
In Jamaica, the decriminalisation of ganja could well happen. What do you think?
I think… that I should buy land in the West! (laughs) People like to say “legalize cannabis” but you have to be careful what you ask for, because once it's legalised, the young rastaman or the guy on the corner will have only limited access or no access at all to ganja: big companies will arrive, buy land and control all the marijuana. That can have negative effects too.
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