No place like home for Serani - Crooner’s ode to island of birth, ‘Somewhere in Jamaica’, makes online début today
Published:Thursday | February 4, 2021 | 12:14 AMStephanie Lyew/Gleaner Writer
For many reggae and dancehall recording artistes, achieving mainstream success has opened a gateway to establishing homes in the foreign countries or bustling cities where their music has experienced a breakthrough. Los Angeles, New York City, Atlanta, Fort Lauderdale and Miami in the United States, as well as London in the United Kingdom are undisputed hubs for the entertainment industry, and for entertainers who do permanently relocate to these areas, it makes sense. However, there are others, like Grammy-nominated artiste Serani, whose heartstrings have not been tugged hard enough to make that move.
While he acknowledges that from a career perspective, it might be easier in bigger cities, once receiving a career-changing opportunity, the hitmaker says he chooses to stay in Jamaica for the “same reason some persons up and leave. It’s family and relationships,” Serani said. At the same time, he admits that living overseas has crossed his mind, but in addition to blood ties, there are other subtleties keeping him firmly planted on local soil. The truth is, there is a contrast between having a following in Jamaica in comparison to major cities.
“Going even deeper than that, it’s the people, the culture and the way children are raised here [in Jamaica] … that for me is a big deal. When you live here, you are grounded, and more so if you are out and about. Thinking ahead, I would not want to raise a family anywhere but in the country of my birth,” he explained like a true patriot, without challenging others who have take an opposite path.
Patriotism
He makes an open declaration of patriotism in his latest production, Somewhere In Jamaica. The reggae crooner sings in the intro:
“Don’t want to leave, don’t want to go,
I wanna be, I wanna go somewhere in Jamaica.
Let’s go to Portland, Blue Lagoon, in the mountains, let’s visit the true Maroons.
Boom Sundays, let’s listen to boom boom tunes, Bob Marley Museum too.”
“Last summer I kept on using the hashtag ‘Somewhere in Jamaica’ which, originally, was not intended to be a title of any song. However, the circle of friends around me, which includes Chad Williams, Phillip ‘PP’ Palmer and Omar ‘Duke’ Shoucair, all started using [it] in posts of our escapades and people kept on asking, ‘Where the hell are you all now?’” he said jovially. “There are people who still do not recognise how beautiful and affordable our island is, in the sense that you can take a drive out and find a place right here that transports you completely away, to a different world, which is what the four of us do. We work very hard and may not socialise in the week, but by the weekend we find somewhere to go to enjoy life.”
Eventually, Serani was convinced the soundtrack to their movie-like lifestyle had to be properly written, recorded and produced, though the multi-hyphenated virtuoso, who has carved out a model career and contributed to the success of others in the music industry, shares that at first he was uncertain how a casual social media habit could transform into lyrics.
“I didn’t see fully how I could make it into a song. I am usually more excited to make music for the women; I know the power of women, love and sex, and the allure of partying, but Chad and PP basically started the groundwork to market the project and the concept shot off like a rocket, [so] I couldn’t ignore the need to do it. Now, Duke, being a talented freestyler and songwriter (and the link connecting all of us), was able to give it an added touch. Out of the group, we don’t know each other as long. We’ve only been friends for five years, but we vibe well on a music end and I have the greatest respect for him.”
Musical tour of the island
The track may be a musical memoir of the artiste’s trips across Jamaica, but as it lyrically weaves in a tour of the island, it examines the lasting effect of the culture – Somewhere In Jamaica hits all the right notes as a musical vehicle, taking listeners through the cool hills and Kingston to north coast beaches.
“Over the years, a lot of the music and movies that speak to Jamaica and an authentic Jamaican lifestyle, have only focused on the badness and hard life. I believe we made a party song, a happy song that shines a good light on our country that can be enjoyed in every space. That is important,” he said.
From the diaspora perspective, the song will have a different meaning, said Duke, a second-generation Jamaican born and raised in Fort Lauderdale.
“I settled in Jamaica after college and decided to make it my home, that’s over 10 years now. Before that, travelling to and from for holidays preserved the connection, and [I] also represented for the national under-17 and under-20 football team,” the rapper said. “Between family and football my ties here were strengthened, and I saw the potential of taking on business ventures, as even though we are considered a Third-World country, we have a First-World mentality.”
He anticipates today’s video world première will resonate with the diaspora that has been exposed to other genres like hip-hop, which originated from reggae and dancehall, and also for its presentation of the island “as the place to be”. For millennials, the experience is valuable, he said, even in the digital age where social media should break the barriers related to geography.
“I was always into music and did it for my personal enjoyment, but this collaboration is my official début into the music community. For individuals of Jamaica heritage like myself, as well as those that migrated overseas, it’s about national pride; and sometimes there is a yearning to be somewhere that you feel an intrinsic connection [to] – and people want to see the positive side,” Duke said