Q&A WITH
MACHEL MONTANO
BY GLENN OSEI
LOCATION: “SOCA VS DANCEHALL” @ THE SAND, AMSTERDAM
PHOTOS BY DARREN FOTOGRAFIE
BASSCULTURE ISLANDS: THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME MR. MONTANO. I’M FROM
BASSCULTURE ISLANDS, A MAGAZINE THAT IS BEING MADE FOR THE CARIBBEAN
ISLANDS, TO PROMOTE CARIBBEAN CULTURE AND THE TALENT THAT IS OUT
THERE. I KNOW WE DON’T HAVE MUCH TIME SO I WOULD LIKE ASK YOU JUST A
FEW QUESTIONS. WHEN IT COMES TO THE TALENT OF THE CARIBBEAN ISLANDS,
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT IT?
MACHEL MONTANO: I mean… the talent in the Caribbean islands is rich, in
terms of its diversity… a lot of the superstars … you ask this questions in a
very good timing. If you look at the world as a global market, you have people
like Rihanna up there, you have Pitbull up there, a lot of Caribbean artists, Nicki
Minaj, on top of the game right now and I think it is important because when
you listen to people like Neyo and Pitbull in some of the songs, you hear soca/
Caribbean influence in music. I think it is because the world needs a part of
paradise… I think when you come to the Caribbean it is like you are walking
into Wallstreet of talent…from the Jamaicans to the Bajans to the Haitians
and the Trinis with soca and all the other islands. We now have a mish mash,
a mosh mish, mixed up…a mixture of dancehall with soca with cumba with
zouk with reggaeton with dance music…so I think the talent in the Caribbean
is ready and ripe.
SO IT IS READY TO ACTUALLY EXPAND FOR THE WORLD AND THE WORLD IS READY
TO ACCEPT IT?
It’s ready to deliver its purpose which is to make people happy. You know a
lot of people have been leaving the Americas and moving to the Caribbean,
leaving Europe and moving… nobody wants to live in the winter no more, they
want to live in paradise. But really and truly, when they come to the islands,
they understand a different way of life. We play carnival and jump in the
streets when we have mortgage and bills and problems. We have no stress
and it is a state of mind, it is a way of life. So I think the world needs that cause
the world needs more happiness right now.