Entertainment

Gentleman stung at Sting

Gentleman - file

This is the second of a three part interview done with German Reggae Artiste Gentleman as part of the Reggae Gold Artiste of the Month Feature. The first part of the interview was carried in THE STAR yesterday

western bureau

GENTLEMAN, WHO NOW has three studio albums - Troddin On (1998), Journey to Jah (2001) and Confidence (2004) to, his credit, as well as a live album with his Far East Band, treats reggae with near reverence.

"Reggae music is the most powerful vibe I have ever experienced. It is beyond music. There is so much power, so much truth," he said.

The first single from the 'Confidence' album, 'Superior', is on the 'Reggae Gold 2005' album put out by VP Records.

He differentiates between reggae and dancehall and says "I understand why young people love dancehall. It is fast, it has energy. But roots reggae is where the message is". "It is more than music."

Favourable change

And he sees a favourable change in Jamaican music. "It is changing. When I listen to the radio I hear a lot of roots reggae. That is where it is coming from and that is where it is going to," Gentleman said.

He leaves the bedroom topics out of his music ("it is between me and my Empress, what we do under the bedsheets") and has a difficulty with people who do not differentiate between "a real musician an' someone who a hustle de music".

He realises, though, that there are many artistes who "have the right talent, the vision, but instead of producers they have reducers; instead of managers they have damagers".

"You have to have the right surroundings," Gentleman said. It also takes time. "All the good careers take years. If you grow slow and grow steady, you can't flop fast," he said.

There was one moment, though, where 'slow and steady' did not quite work. It was Sting 2003 at Jam World in Portmore, St. Catherine, and poet DYCR recorded the results about what happened to "Gentleman, who come from Germany fi preach de reggae ceremony".

Philosophical approach

"I was always dreaming to perform on Sting, but is a bottle fling," Gentleman said, matter-of-factly. "Me talk too long, me talk too much. The people did not know me yet."

Far from getting him down, Gentleman says "it even make me stronger. If they bottle you at Sting and you stand up you can perform anywhere. A week later I went to Rebel Salute and the people celebrate me".

Then there is the matter, as Goofy told him, of people who got bottled at Sting going on to further success, that list including Bunny Wailer and Maxi Priest.

"Me ready again for Sting. It gave me a lot of tune," Gentleman said, proceeding to sing a lyric about the experience.

He takes a philosophical approach to the matter. "We have to mistake, but we just shouldn't repeat the mistake. Next time I don't talk to them, I just sing," he said.

Gentleman also keeps fit by playing football. He plays on the right side of the midfield for his band, when they play other bands on the road during the European reggae festival season. "I am not a good football player, but I love to play," he said.

"The festivals get more and bigger every year," he said. Two weeks ago he did Summerjam, that had a crowd of 30,000 people, and just before that the Solid Ace Festival, where he met up with Morgan Heritage. He is looking forward to Splash in August. And the recently held Summerjam festival, in Cologne, also featured Barrington Levy, Black Uhuru with Michael Rose and Duckie Simpson, Groundation, Yellowman, Anthony B, Frankie Paul, Israel Vibration, Tanya Stephens, Gregory Isaacs, Ward 21, U-Roy, John Holt, Chuck Fendah, Half Pint, Richie Spice, Dawn Penn and many others.

"You have more and more reggae festivals. Reggae, no compromise," he said.

Tomorrow: The making of 'Superior'.