Skygrass’ daring new chapter | Way of life

Reggae recording artiste and producer Skygrass is coming into one of the vital thrilling and expansive chapters of his profession — one the place music, love, tradition and storytelling collide. Fresh off the discharge of his newest album, Walking on Water, in October, Skygrass reveals no indicators of slowing down. Between dwell performances, pageant appearances and community-driven reduction efforts, the multifaceted inventive is firmly in movement, along with his sights set on each native affect and international attain.

“I’ve just been staying busy,” Skygrass instructed Living. “More shows and more music for the people. We just dropped the album on October 10, and we just did the Rum Festival show. We’re still very involved in relief efforts across the island, supporting as many of our fellow Jamaicans as we can.” For Skygrass, the work extends far past the stage, as his artistry is deeply rooted in neighborhood, tradition and function.

But whereas the music continues to stream, Skygrass can also be getting into a brand new inventive house — this time, in entrance of the digicam. The reggae artiste and his fiancée, Canada-born comic and recording artiste Nicole Arbour, are at the moment filming a reality-style docuseries with a US-based community, We The Studios, that gives an intimate have a look at their life collectively right here in Jamaica.

The upcoming sequence guarantees a mix of romance, humour and cultural immersion. Focused primarily towards the colourful backdrop of Jamaica, it follows Skygrass and Arbour as they navigate love, household, creativity and cultural variations, whereas constructing a life collectively throughout continents.

“The series features Nicole and myself here in Jamaica,” Skygrass defined. “She’s originally Canadian, living in the US, so there’s a lot of cultural contrast. It’s about us coming together, showing the immersion of the cultures and creating a bigger experience for both ourselves and our families, which share different backgrounds. She’s a comedian and a recording artiste like myself, so there’s always something happening.”

Their love story, like many nice ones, started unexpectedly and organically by means of music. The pair first met in Kingston throughout what Skygrass describes as a “very random experience”. Arbour occurred to be at Jangas Soundbar searching for a guitarist for a track. Skygrass, coincidentally, rode in on his bike that very same day.

“We were introduced by mutual friends. They said, ‘Hey, you know that guy? He’s a bad guitarist from Jamaica,’” Skygrass recalled with fun. “Next thing you know, I’m producing the song for her. We started working together, then I drafted a plan…and magic happened. And here we are now, a few years later, engaged, looking to get married early next year.”

It was the authenticity of their inventive, cultural and deeply private journey that caught the eye of We The Studios. The community noticed a chance to doc a contemporary love story unfolding in actual time, anchored in Jamaica’s wealthy cultural panorama.

“The story between us was so compelling that they wanted to connect and follow us on this journey,” Skygrass mentioned. “As Nicole becomes more immersed in Jamaican culture —basically becoming a brand new Jamaican, I’m right there helping her navigate it all. We’re highlighting the whole fun and joy of the real experiences that we’ve been having. And, we’ve been doing a lot of very interesting activities, which is honestly just the way our life is all the time.”

At its core, the sequence is a ‘day-in-the-life’ expertise — uncooked, unscripted and filled with coronary heart. Viewers can count on moments that highlight reggae music, Jamaican delicacies, carnival tradition, language, humour and the small, stunning nuances of island life.

“Setting it here in Jamaica is just another beautiful opportunity to show the world Jamaica,” Skygrass famous. “We’re introducing the US audience to things they may have never seen before — our daily lives, introducing different parts of the language and Patois translations, and all the wonderful things we do.”

The sequence is slated for launch in February subsequent yr and shall be obtainable on platforms equivalent to Apple TV and Roku.

o’brian.wynter@gleanerjm.com