Sheer love for reggae - Jethro Sheeran loved J'can music before cousin Ed
Published:Sunday | July 1, 2018 | 12:00 AM
Earlier this year, international pop star Ed Sheeran professed his love for reggae in an exclusive interview with The Gleaner. It seems the Sheeran family's obsession with the genre of music birthed in Jamaica goes much deeper as his cousin, Jethro Sheeran, is also a huge fan. Jethro was featured on the Billboard Reggae Albums Chart-topping album Tropical House Cruises to Jamaica.
Sheeran explained to The Gleaner that his love for reggae music came from being exposed from a very young age and he could not resist being drawn in by its 'natural mystic'.
"Growing up as a child in Bristol, England, my parents would play records from reggae giants like Bob Marley and Peter Tosh at our family gatherings and, as kids, we would sing along. There were also Caribbean carnivals we would attend as teenagers and reggae music would be played there," he said.
"Reggae has always been influential in pop culture and in the UK. Reggae has played a major role in many major hit songs . I was captivated then and I may mix hip-hop with reggae now, but I'm still as intrigued by the music as I was when I was a child."
GOT HIM GROOVING
Sheeran takes credit for getting Ed to take a liking to the genre. "As the elder cousin of Ed Sheeran, I am the one that got him grooving to reggae. Me being the more hardcore cousin, I got deeper into the reggae culture than Ed and bounced my ideas on to him during our jam sessions and early productions," he shared. "His favorite track as a teenager was No Woman No Cry from Bob Marley. One of Ed's first performance gigs was with a reggae band in Bristol."
Jethro Sheeran has never been to Jamaica, but is planning a trip to the island later this year. It will be mainly about work, as he hopes to connect with some artistes and producers. He is particularly interested in working with Sizzla Kalonji, pointing out that he has always admired the Grammy-nominated reggae artiste's work.
Sheeran says Tropical House Cruises to Jamaica has opened many doors for him "as an artiste and producer. I produced all three tracks that I have on the album. With the Billboard success of the album several UK labels have given me work to produce songs for their artistes. I have also been getting a lot more dates to perform songs from the album, as well as my previous catalogue . Throughout the summer, I'm booked to perform every weekend. I produced two songs on the album with my cousin Ed Sheeran, which are Real Life and Raise Em Up. My other song on the album is called 'Outlaw' and has been picked up by several BBC radio stations here in the UK. I have also received several offers to use the songs in movie soundtracks and Netflix has offered a deal to produce a reality series with me and my cousin Ed Sheeran."
When Sheeran visits the island, he plans to shoot the video for Outlaw. Sheeran says he is not surprised in the least that reggae music has led to all the opportunities he's now receiving. He talked about reggae's global influence and explains that it is a genre respected and loved by people of every race, class and creed.