Gyptian album tops Billboard...asks Jamaica to buy albums and support artistes
According to the outspoken reggae artiste, several of Jamaica's biggest names in music were not given much respect in Jamaica until they were accepted by foreign countries. This he believes is an indication that Jamaicans are not as patriotic as they ought to be. Gyptian says it is a shame that in reggae's capital, and a country with over 2.7 million people, artistes are finding it hard to sell a minimum of 500 albums legitimately.
The artiste believes reggae music is Jamaica's biggest asset and implores Jamaicans to wake up and smell the fresh air, citing that citizens from other countries will gladly imitate the island's music and reap its profits if Jamaicans fail to support their own product.
"It's a foreign minded thing that we have about us. A man will wait on a man to bring something for him from foreign when the same thing is available in Jamaica, we have to have faith in our products. We must try to elevate the good things about the island like the music and stop supporting the negative bout yu a bad man and stuff like that. Talk about things like our music," he said.
Gyptian also lashed out at Jamaican artistes, who he says have changed their authentic product after signing to foreign record labels. According to the Serious Times singer, international labels sign reggae and dancehall artistes because they are attracted to the authentic structure of their music, he believes when Jamaican artistes attempt to rap on their albums and divert from authentic rhythms it defeats the purpose of which they were signed by the label. The artiste is apparently fed up with the irony of cultural exchange between many Jamaicans and foreign countries.
"People all over the world want to be like Jamaicans. Yet we are trying to be like them? Some of the artistes get signed to labels to do Jamaican music yet they start rapping. You can be versatile but always remember the authentic music and a reggae dat," Gyptian said.
The artiste highlighted that foreigners want difference, and not a fraud version of their own culture."Americans don't want us acting like Americans, that is their territory," he said.
Gyptian affirms that his album Sex, Love and Reggae debuted at number one on the American Billboard reggae chart because he and his team invested in promotions. He highlighted that one of the problems which reduces the capacity for reggae/dancehall artistes to sell records is because they don't promote their products effectively.
He believes many artistes are not looking on the broader picture when it comes to promotion, and would rather collect a large sum of money to perform for a small audience than to perform for free at a massive event.
"Artistes need to promote their albums for them to sell abroad. Some Jamaican artistes don't want to do a free show to promote their album. They want money and lose sight of the bigger opportunity at hand. A good performance is like a tree root, it spreads and people will want more. So at times it's better to perform for free to an audience of 40,000 and reap the financial benefits in the long term," Gyptian said.
The artiste also gave props to Shaggy and Sean Paul whom he says have carefully mastered the art of promotions, which he believes is testimony to their ability to sell albums internationally.
Gyptian's Love, Sex and Reggae edged out Snoop Lions Reincarnation and Shaggy's Out of Many One Music to nab the number one spot on the Billboard reggae album chart, a spot which is frequently held by reggae legend Bob Marley.
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