{"id":1528,"date":"2010-10-27T09:59:59","date_gmt":"2010-10-27T15:59:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.orijinculture.com\/community\/?p=1528"},"modified":"2011-05-04T13:46:41","modified_gmt":"2011-05-04T19:46:41","slug":"orijin-reggae-star-artist-gyptian-talks-orijin-life-role-musicians-play-change-perception-africans-exclusive-video","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orijinculture.com\/community\/orijin-reggae-star-artist-gyptian-talks-orijin-life-role-musicians-play-change-perception-africans-exclusive-video\/","title":{"rendered":"my Orijin | Gyptian, Change the perception of Africans? (Exclusive Video)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cHold You\u201d is the summer\u2019s official party anthem \u2013it\u2019s the melodic tune that\u2019s being blasted in every car, playing every hour on every radio stationand filling up dance floors worldwide. Gyptian is the man behind this ubiquitous hit and calls his sound \u201cIsland Rock\u201d. It is a brand of soulful reggae that the masses are embracing with open arms. But Gyptian wants to do more than make us dance; he\u2019s a musical chameleon and relishes the challenge of giving his growing fan-base the unexpected with each song and album. Life is the inspiration behind his music and he took time out of a hectic international tour to give the Orijin reader an insight into his mind.<\/p>\n

<\/iframe><\/p>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/orijinculture.com\/community\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/gyptian2.jpg\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-1530\" title=\"gyptian2\" src=\"https:\/\/orijinculture.com\/community\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/gyptian2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"571\" \/><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\nWhat is your Orijin?<\/strong> \nI\u2019m from the slum, the gutter, the gully, that\u2019s where I\u2019m from. I\u2019m a star. It\u2019s possible to do anything you want in life. I\u2019m from nothing to something and I\u2019m from Jamaica. That\u2019s my Orijin.<\/p>\nHow does being from the gutter, being from Jamaica affect your music?<\/strong> \nI mean it doesn\u2019t affect my music, it only strengthens my music. Whenever I do music, it\u2019s the real deal. I don\u2019t do try to do fake stuff that people can\u2019t relate to.<\/p>\nDo you think there\u2019s an African influence in your music?<\/strong> \nHell yes! \u201cCause I\u2019m African descent. No matter what you say, no matter where you wanna be born, where you wanna come from, if you\u2019re black you\u2019re from Africa. We were all slaves. Our great ancestors did their part and leave us to come into a better \ngeneration, Malcolm X, Luther King, Mandela. Ya know?<\/p>\nHave you ever been to Africa?<\/strong> \nYeah I\u2019ve been to Africa like twice. And I\u2019m going back this year again. I\u2019ve been to Kenya and Senegal.<\/p>\nCould you tell me more about it?<\/strong> \nIn Jamaica you see a lot of things on TV, you think Africa would be like that, ya know? But I mean, going there you see that Africa is Africa man. I will live in Africa, it\u2019s the only place out of Jamaica I will go to live to. \u2018Cause nobody can beat me from there and deport me. So that\u2019s \nwhy I would go to Africa, anywhere else would be just for business and for vacation, that\u2019s it.<\/p>\nWhat role can musicians play to change the perception of Africans?<\/strong> \nI mean, we as black people we\u2019re different and cannot be changed. I think we should unite, not just saying it, we should have more love for our own kind. Ya know? So I don\u2019t even think music itself can change it, it only can show them the way. If they don\u2019t wanna change, I don\u2019t think music is gonna be able to change it, you cannot force them to change. So I think we as black people, even myself, I don\u2019t want to put\u00a0 myself out of it, but\u00a0 we need to unite, real unity, not just saying it. Because we have a lot of freedom fighters, but it seems like all the\u00a0 fight\u00a0 was in vain, ya know? We\u2019re still enslaved, we\u2019re still in bondage, mentally, physically, spiritually.<\/p>\nCan you tell me about the difference in the creative process when writing a song like \u201cSerious Times\u201d, \u201cI Can feel your pain\u201d, \u201cHold you\u201d? How do you approach each song creatively?<\/strong> \nI mean it all have to do with the riddims, it all have to do with the vibes, I just write music off what I see, what I feel. I write things that\u2019s supposed to be happening. When it\u2019s all about showing the world that I\u2019m versatile, using up my versatility because there\u2019s not many artists that can do what I do. \u2018Cause whenever I\u2019m doing a song, I always try to be a different person in each song. So probably that\u2019s why a lot of people have confusion in their minds and heads. I mean whenever Gyptian sing a song it\u2019s always a different person, even though it\u2019s the same Gyptian but I try to put myself as a character.<\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/orijinculture.com\/community\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/gyptian1.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-1531\" title=\"gyptian1\" src=\"https:\/\/orijinculture.com\/community\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/gyptian1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"701\" \/><\/a><\/p>\nMusically, who influences you?<\/strong> \nLife itself. My influence\u2026for me to say, it\u2019s this person or that person, I would lie. I don\u2019t really listen to people \u2018cause I don\u2019t want their inspiration, I don\u2019t want their meditation \u2018cause that\u2019s already set. I like their music but they\u2019re no too influential. I like all the good songs right now, I\u2019m a fan of them. My inspiration comes from life itself. Whatever I see in life, that\u2019s what I write about, that\u2019s greater than anybody can ever think of. Life itself. And I sing about two things, peace and love.<\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\nWhat would you want the next generation of dancehall stars to take from you?<\/strong> \nWell actually I\u2019m not a dancehall star.<\/p>\nOkay the next reggae artist?<\/strong> \nI mean the type of music and the type of singing that I\u2019m trying to implement in the system, \u2018cause if you notice I sing different from everybody. Some say I sing like a R&B singer, some say I have a touch of this so that\u2019s the whole thing, to be different. To see that music does not bound you, it doesn\u2019t sleep in anybody\u2019s house, nobody has captured it, it\u2019s not in captivity. Music is just like the water. You can never stop seeing the water. You can never stop seeing the sun. You can never stop hearing music but what about if I create a new type of music? More people can gravitate and learn from it.<\/p>\nHow would you describe the Gyptian sound?<\/strong> \nI would describe Gyptian music as Island Rock ya know.Your biography mentions that your mother is a Christian and your father is Rastafarian.<\/p>\nHow does that dichotomy influence what you believe in nowadays?<\/strong> \nIt teaches me to take bullshit from nobody. \u2018Cause if my mom and dad have two separate beliefs and I\u2019m their son which binds them together forever and I see them growing up and I didn\u2019t have any problems so\u2026 I mean, I\u2019m just a life liver. No problems for me, it was a balanced life growing up as a kid, trust me.<\/p>\nHow does it feel to have the biggest reggae song in the world?<\/strong> \nIt feels awesome. It feels good \u2018cause you got no competition. It\u2019s not like you\u2019re the biggest rocker and there are other songs, you\u2019re the top man now, so I mean it\u2019s a blessing. You gotta make it while the sun shine and just give thanks to that. \n \nWhat would you like to accomplish in your career in the next five years?<\/strong> \nSome real money. Real. Live happily ever after. Friends around me can be all right and help who me can help. I won\u2019t try to save the world, \u2018cause I\u2019m just a man.<\/p>\nGyptian gets his with Orijin Clothing and wears it at his albim release in New York<\/strong> \n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"400\" height=\"224\" codebase=\"http:\/\/download.macromedia.com\/pub\/shockwave\/cabs\/flash\/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" \/><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" \/><param name=\"src\" value=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/v\/838750265663\" \/><\/object><\/p>\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"480\" height=\"385\" codebase=\"http:\/\/download.macromedia.com\/pub\/shockwave\/cabs\/flash\/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" \/><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" \/><param name=\"src\" value=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/oElk0-rKY2o?fs=1&hl=en_US\" \/><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" \/><\/object><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cHold You\u201d is the summer\u2019s official party anthem \u2013it\u2019s the melodic tune that\u2019s being blasted in every car, playing every hour on every radio stationand <a class=\"moretag signature-animation\" href=\"https:\/\/orijinculture.com\/community\/orijin-reggae-star-artist-gyptian-talks-orijin-life-role-musicians-play-change-perception-africans-exclusive-video\/\">CONTINUE READING<\/a>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2866,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[4800,3198,621,3197,3193,3199,3189,3191,2498,208,3195,3196,3188,4848,3190,3192,3200],"class_list":["post-1528","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-roots","tag-africa","tag-africans","tag-caribbean","tag-change","tag-descendant","tag-exclusive-video","tag-gyptian","tag-hold-yuh","tag-jamaican","tag-kenya","tag-life","tag-musicians","tag-my-orijin","tag-orijin","tag-reggae-star","tag-sengal","tag-serious-times"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/orijinculture.com\/community\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/gyptian.jpg?wsr","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/orijinculture.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1528","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/orijinculture.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/orijinculture.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orijinculture.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orijinculture.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1528"}],"version-history":[{"count":28,"href":"https:\/\/orijinculture.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1528\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2867,"href":"https:\/\/orijinculture.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1528\/revisions\/2867"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orijinculture.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2866"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/orijinculture.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1528"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orijinculture.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1528"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orijinculture.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1528"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}