The only constant in life is change. Few people know this better than Roy “Gramps” Morgan, 33, of the seminal roots reggae group, Morgan Heritage. For the past 15 years he and his four siblings have carved out their own niche as one of the most innovative reggae groups of our time by blending the best of rock, pop, hip-hop and R&B.
Now, after eight MG albums, the brawny baritone troubadour is about to open a new chapter in his music career with the release of his debut solo LP entitled Two Sides of My Heart. The two-disc set—which will be released on his very own Dada Son Entertainment label—features the hit single “Wash the Tears,” which has been beating up the reggae charts since it hit the airwaves in January. Reggae icon, Buju Banton, and acoustic soul songbird, Inida.Irie, are among the highly-anticipated guests lending their vocals to the project.
WhereItzAt recently spoke to the Brooklyn-born Yardy about the new album and his entrepreneurial pursuits.
A lot of people are anticipating your new project Two Sides of My Heart. Can you explain the meaning behind the title?
Well, musically I express myself in many different ways. Most of the messages are about
the redemption of love and the redemption of God. Still, God is love. I also like to inject some social and cultural awareness into my music and give reverence to our traditions and our spiritually. At the same time, there is another side of me that just loves to have fun. Sometimes I can have fun, have a good time through the many different genres of music. So those are the two sides of my heart. It’s a double CD, so that’s basically the concept.
Tell me some of the producers you worked with on this project.
I worked with Don Corleone out of Kingston Jamaica. He has worked with artists like Sean Paul, Jah Cure, Rihanna, Elephant Man, Keyshia Cole. Also on the album is a friend of mine from No Doubt Records named DJ Flava. However most of the tracks were produced by me.
I know that a lot of your fans are wondering whether or not you’re distancing yourself from Morgan Heritage with this new project. Is the group breaking up?
Naaah!!! No, not at all, mon (laughs). My brothers and I talk everyday. To all of your readers I just want to reiterate that the band is not breaking up, so have no fear. There’s another Morgan Heritage album in the works. Right now we’re just working on some solo ventures and having fun working with all kinds of producers. We want to highlight the different elements that make up Morgan Heritage, but we’re not breaking up. As a matter of fact we have some shows that we’re still doing.
It sounds like you’re broadening your horizons, so I’m sure your fans will be glad to here that.
Definitely, because sometimes with a popular band the people may only know one or two members, so with solo projects the fans will have a better opportunity to know the different members of the group musically. Peter, his sound is going to be more of a dancehall, R&B, lover’s rock sound. Mojo is more going after the rock market as well as the reggae market. There are a lot of different ways to approach the music industry right now and we’re having fun with it.
Tell me about your company, Dada Son Entertainment. How did that come about?
I decided that I wanted to manage some artists and develop talent from across the world. I had in mind places like Africa, Europe, the eastern Caribbean, Hawaii and Canada. I started to manage an artist by the name of Irie Love. She was one of the first artists I was managing. I also have dreams and aspirations to put out short films, movies and documentaries on our culture. I think that we have a lot of things to say as a people, so I want to bring these things to life. Dada Son is a branch off of Gideon Music, which is the family label.
Is there anything else you want to share with your fans which may not been covered already?
They can reach me on Facebook. I told someone recently that I’m always on Facebook and they were like “You have time for that?” I was like “Yeah, but even if I didn’t I would have to make time.”
True indeed.
Now, after eight MG albums, the brawny baritone troubadour is about to open a new chapter in his music career with the release of his debut solo LP entitled Two Sides of My Heart. The two-disc set—which will be released on his very own Dada Son Entertainment label—features the hit single “Wash the Tears,” which has been beating up the reggae charts since it hit the airwaves in January. Reggae icon, Buju Banton, and acoustic soul songbird, Inida.Irie, are among the highly-anticipated guests lending their vocals to the project.
WhereItzAt recently spoke to the Brooklyn-born Yardy about the new album and his entrepreneurial pursuits.
A lot of people are anticipating your new project Two Sides of My Heart. Can you explain the meaning behind the title?
Well, musically I express myself in many different ways. Most of the messages are about
the redemption of love and the redemption of God. Still, God is love. I also like to inject some social and cultural awareness into my music and give reverence to our traditions and our spiritually. At the same time, there is another side of me that just loves to have fun. Sometimes I can have fun, have a good time through the many different genres of music. So those are the two sides of my heart. It’s a double CD, so that’s basically the concept.
Tell me some of the producers you worked with on this project.
I worked with Don Corleone out of Kingston Jamaica. He has worked with artists like Sean Paul, Jah Cure, Rihanna, Elephant Man, Keyshia Cole. Also on the album is a friend of mine from No Doubt Records named DJ Flava. However most of the tracks were produced by me.
I know that a lot of your fans are wondering whether or not you’re distancing yourself from Morgan Heritage with this new project. Is the group breaking up?
Naaah!!! No, not at all, mon (laughs). My brothers and I talk everyday. To all of your readers I just want to reiterate that the band is not breaking up, so have no fear. There’s another Morgan Heritage album in the works. Right now we’re just working on some solo ventures and having fun working with all kinds of producers. We want to highlight the different elements that make up Morgan Heritage, but we’re not breaking up. As a matter of fact we have some shows that we’re still doing.
It sounds like you’re broadening your horizons, so I’m sure your fans will be glad to here that.
Definitely, because sometimes with a popular band the people may only know one or two members, so with solo projects the fans will have a better opportunity to know the different members of the group musically. Peter, his sound is going to be more of a dancehall, R&B, lover’s rock sound. Mojo is more going after the rock market as well as the reggae market. There are a lot of different ways to approach the music industry right now and we’re having fun with it.
Tell me about your company, Dada Son Entertainment. How did that come about?
I decided that I wanted to manage some artists and develop talent from across the world. I had in mind places like Africa, Europe, the eastern Caribbean, Hawaii and Canada. I started to manage an artist by the name of Irie Love. She was one of the first artists I was managing. I also have dreams and aspirations to put out short films, movies and documentaries on our culture. I think that we have a lot of things to say as a people, so I want to bring these things to life. Dada Son is a branch off of Gideon Music, which is the family label.
Is there anything else you want to share with your fans which may not been covered already?
They can reach me on Facebook. I told someone recently that I’m always on Facebook and they were like “You have time for that?” I was like “Yeah, but even if I didn’t I would have to make time.”
True indeed.
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