Interview by : Sebastien Jobart
Pictures by : Benoit Collin
on Wednesday, February 08th 2006 - 13 115 views
The revelation of 2004, I Wayne belongs to that new generation of singers with conscious, if not mystical, lyrics on whom many hopes were pinned. Following his two hits Can't Satisfy Her and Living in Love, he signed with the giant VP and quickly released his first album, "Lava Ground". Focused on the American market, I Wayne has come to Europe only once, and it was in London that we went to meet him this winter. During the Lava Tour, his performance earned him a warm reception from the English audience. Even if, for now, no single has taken over in the charts…
Reggaefrance / Tell us about your beginnings.
I-Wayne / I've loved music for a very long time. In fact, I started in my bathroom, singing songs. My family encouraged me, even though a few people tried to talk me out of it. But I persevered. I did a few sound systems here and there… Diamond Crew, The Mighty Legends, Chalice International… That was in Portmore and Spanish Town. Shows in the countryside, up in the hills. Enough to prepare me. From, let's say, 1995 until now. I started hanging around studios, recording a few songs, taking inspiration. Building myself an experience… Gradually, you see? I grew little by little, and I'm still growing. Because you always keep learning.
You started out in a band, The Vibe Machine…
It wasn't really a band, more of a school band. We sang at school fêtes, we gave a few concerts.
Your solo career got started thanks to your partners being late, can you go back over that?
I went to a club to give a concert, but the others were late. They told me: "go on, get up there alone." But I wanted to wait for the others. But time was passing, and they told me: "get on stage because the crowd is getting impatient". So I went up on stage alone. It was the first time. It was in Portmore, in a nightclub called the Cactus. And I've never stopped since. The band split up afterwards because some of them left.
Lots of artists come from Portmore, Frisco Kid, Bascom X…
Yes, there's also Firestar, Inibal. Me, I'm between Portmore and Kingston, but Firestar stays exclusively in Portmore. Even so, we've done lots of shows together. He's on my album (the song Conquer, editor's note).
Have you known them for long?
Yes, and I still see them, even if we each give our own concerts. You have to keep a "rootical" vibe. Roots are the foundation, you mustn't lose them. Bascom X, that's been a long time.
How do you view the emergence of this new generation you belong to?
Honestly, it's always been like that. I'm not even surprised. Music is Life and nothing can stop it. It's the Binghi vibrations from Africa that are still there.
We are very united, and we work in harmony. Most of these artists aren't too thirsty for success, or greedy for gain.
By signing with VP, is your aim to catch the attention of the American market?
They welcomed me well. I can't say I'm not welcome. Everyone there seems to appreciate me. They're grateful. It's their style of song, they like rootical songs.
There are several strong themes on your album. Where do you draw your inspiration from?
I just sing Life. It comes to me from the wind, which is a natural inspiration. The Earth, Life... From the environment, from everything around me. It's easy. You have to draw inspiration from the real things that surround you. It's obvious: everything already exists. It's so easy, you only have to look around you
We don't fantasise: we look at the book of Life that is right before our eyes. It's different from a sheet of paper that you can tear up. I keep all of that like a book, it's the knowledge of life.
And for the melodies?
The melody comes to me first. The melody is like Life, it's the heart of the music. You only add words onto a melody. We don't want to put anything else in it. We want to do it properly, with everything balanced. For us it's a teaching that we want to keep on delivering.
The song Bleacher is about black people who bleach their skin. It has almost become a fashion, what do you think?
A lot of people do that in Jamaica. So the moral of this song is: love yourself as you are. Why talk about white or black anyway, because it's the same blood that runs in their veins. It's the sun that gives people their colour. It's just a matter of climatic conditions that determine people's pigmentation. It's natural. Between black and white, it's simply a difference in melanin level. It's due to climatic conditions. You can't fight against what you are, that's life, and you have to love life. That's why I wrote this song: you must not bleach your skin, you must love yourself as you are.
Doing that is denying your identity.
By doing that, you don't respect life. You don't give thanks for what you have, and which is good. You're no longer yourself, you just want to look like someone you're not.
There's also the song Kid Artist…
It's simple. Some people behave like children. They take everything lightly. This lack of seriousness can become malicious. I'm talking about the hypocrites, those who show off, who talk when they should think twice before speaking ("hypocrites haffi turn a mile and talk").
They can't speak to my face, because they know they're liars. I say they call me a "dry land shark" (a useless loudmouth, editor's note). It's a humorous turn of phrase. There's nothing to it.
So this song is addressed to the hypocrites: you try to be what you're not by lying, but it doesn't work with me. When you don't tell the truth, you can't stand in front of me. It's not about bringing about a rivalry between artists, but a call to make music properly. Don't pass yourself off as a rapper. Your father, your mother, your grandparents, the children listen to music. So you must do it properly.
Kid Artist is to say "bun out hypocrites", it's as simple as that.
You were announced in France last summer, at the Ja'Sound Festival. What happened?
(His manager, Sonny Spoon, steps in): he doesn't deal with that.
The official reason given was that you weren't ready.
There are different audiences depending on where you go. In Jamaica, people jump, elsewhere they can be calmer, they listen. In any case, my songs are teachings, and not simply fashionable entertainment.
Do you prefer the studio or the stage?
It's the same work, what you do in the studio, you have to carry on onstage to promote your music. Studio work lets you bring good melodies to the stage. Because onstage, you can't cheat. Nowadays with Pro Tools, many people correct their voice, and it's not authentic. Me, I don't alter my voice on the computer, not even a little. We record and leave the voices natural and authentic. And that's why I can have the same quality onstage as in the studio. I'm even better onstage.
When will we see you in France?
Anything is possible (laughs). I don't want to rush. I'll come soon.
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