Chatting with
Chatting with
Omari
Omari Banks, the Reggae star, who was involved with the game of cricket for a number of years. You’ ve also played professionally with the West Indies Cricket Team. When did you retire? I stopped playing actively in 2010 but I made it official in 2012.
Why the transition into music? Music has always been a passion of mine from a child and it came quite natural as I had a Dad who was an Artiste( Bankie Banx). I ' ve always played instruments and was in talent shows and bands which I excelled at from a young age.
At what point did you discover your love for music and performing? I discovered a love for the stage from very early. It was always a place I went to challenge myself to be better as well as to express my love for the thing I enjoyed doing- performing. My earliest performance memory was in Italy when I was 5 years old onstage with my Dad. That memory is still very clear in my mind.
How much of a challenge was it to be recognized as a musician, singer and songwriter as opposed to the cricketer image that people were already familiar with? Even when I played cricket I was known for my musical side because people knew of my Dad. Within the team I was known to give performances at team functions and gatherings, but doing it professionally took bit of time for people to wrap their head around me retiring and doing it full time. At first it was tough to convince people that I was really retiring at the age of 28 to pursue something that I did for so long and became so well know for, but within a couple of years and a few songs getting regional and international recognition, people realized that it was for real and my talent spoke for itself.
Tell us about your very first single and album. My very first single was from my album“ Move On” and the song was called“ Unafraid”. It got to number one on the Music Station Tempo and remained the number one song for 2013 on that station. That was an amazing accomplishment for me seeing that I was just coming into the music biz a couple years ago and to be received so quickly was something really special...
What does your music represent and what message do you hope to disseminate through your music? I seek to inspire hope, positivity and tell stories that I believe people will relate to. I think music is a very powerful tool for emotional mastery and furthermore, manipulation. I beleive in the power of positivity and I seek to influence people to do good. My message is what I consider to be truth and love.
Which of your songs would you say is your favourite and why? It’ s hard to choose one song because every song has a different emotional place from which it was written so I would have to name a few which all has a different purpose. Move On( inspirational); System Set Collaboration with Duane Stephenson( social, awareness); Naturally( love song); No Point to Prove and Collaboration with Peetah Morgan of Morgan Heritage
Where have you toured so far? I toured Europe in 2015 with Grammy Award- Winning group Morgan Heritage. I’ ve also done shows in the US and the Caribbean. I did a Promotional Tour in Toronto in 2015, all of which were great experience for me.
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