‘LR’ taking fans in new direction
Artiste Jermaine Lone Realness Griffith is moving in another direction with his music and he’s ready to show the world what else he can do with the release of two singles from his new EP titled Lone Greatness today.
LR, as he’s often called, sat down with Weekend Buzz to talk about his music journey which started from street competitions and evolved into professional music and now the release of Thank the Stars and Money.
Emphasising the transition from conscious lyrics to more vibrant, international genres like afro beats, he highlighted his collaborations with producers to create a versatile EP with a blend of afro beats and Caribbean influences, a mix of conscious and dance music to showcase his versatility which he hopes will appeal to both local and international audiences.
He’s excited about the EP and the work done by producers Trident comprising Maximus, Daveydan and Fullklipp, Starpoint Production’s Cjuh, and UVMG’s Polydan, his road manager. He recognises the impact this new music can have on his career while showing his fans what else he can do.
“The people in London and Manchester and Canada (where he was recently) gave me ideas and told me what they’re listening to which is different to Barbados. Right now, the international flow is Afro, but still the Caribbean deals with soca so what I got my producers to do is to bring something that is an Afrobeat but where you can hear soca fuse in it.
“I’ve got a lot of artists like Shai Bascombe, Ch’an, and others you will hear when the EP is released . . . . On the EP you will hear a [sound] that will let you know when certain songs will play. We still got some hot girl songs, but we have some nice girl songs. We created an EP that not only Barbados and the region will see the versatility, but they will see where we really want to go,” he said.
Encouraged to start music by various artists who heard him participating in various street competitions where he would freestyle, he said those events helped him develop his skills in his embryonic stage. He also spoke about how music was always a part of his life recalling that as a student at Parkinson Memorial Secondary, he performed at school events.
Before recording anything, he told Buzz he was making waves and people were seeking him out just to hear what he could do.
“That was the energy. When the buzz started people wanted to know who I was, and I hadn’t recorded a song yet. The energy was there, and trouble was there too . . . I told myself, ‘I wonder if this music can keep me from getting myself in trouble’. Music actually saved me. It stopped me from getting into trouble from things I was tempted to do, the things that I actually wanted to do that didn’t make sense, and from the company that can’t really help me, you know.
“The [company] can educate you on street relations or certain things, but you know, where you want to go that energy ain’t gine send you. No disrespect to none of that energy at all, because I ain’t got no regrets. It’s just understanding life and knowing this is not for you, you can’t do this. That comes with a lot of temptation, a lot of hate.
“The first song I do, Never Listen was with King Bubba and Peter Coppin and that started well and it was positive. I start with positive music first and that’s when I start to get all my bookings in my early stage like at Reggae on the Hill and Hennessy Artistry with Buggy Nakente and Rhesa Garnes and Danielle. We were like one syndicate, but I just keep working.
“When the consciousness (music) started to slow down and the genre started to make changes, I didn’t want to slow down. I was just making changes with the music too and trying other things all the time. A little buzz from Trinidad started to pick up and I started to see what they were dealing with, and I started inclining my music that side because I was looking for a peek out of Barbados.”
The evolution of his music led to him moving away from songs with conscious lyrics such as All Ye Nations, What Are We Fighting For and Hey, Mr Minister to more vibrant and dance-oriented music. Although he adapted to the change he was witnessing to stay relevant as music is his full-time career, he underscored the importance of staying true to his roots while evolving his music.
“When I do songs like Chargie and that kind of hype music which is more like in a dancehall phase, Trinidad take it up.”
He remembers complaining to himself about the lack of airplay in Barbados until he decided to continue working on his craft. It paid off not only for himself as people in Trinidad’s music arena asked about his producer and other artistes such as Brutal Crankstar and Chiief Diin which led to music producers being shared between Barbados and Trinidad.
As it was dancehall music which contains a mixture of lyrics some admittedly raw or violent, LR said he really didn’t want children hearing those songs. It was a conundrum for him because he wants his music played and stressed the importance of positive music in influencing youth and the need for government support to advance local talent.
“Even when my music blow up regional, not international as yet, but regional, I still feel I got to deal with the youths. I’ve got to get to the youths, I still gotta do something that makes sense instead of just being out there just as a dancehall artiste singing violent music and leffing it to the people to decide what they want for themselves instead of me as a person trying to explain that positivity as well,” he told Buzz. (GBM)
The post ‘LR’ taking fans in new direction appeared first on nationnews.com.