Serani talks upcoming Afrobeats and dancehall album
Published:Tuesday | April 19, 2022 | 12:08 AMSade Gardner/Staff Reporter
Never one to limit his creative artistry, singer Serani has spent the past few years working on different albums, two of which have already been recorded, and a third, which he started recording three weeks ago.
“I’m just diversifying,” he explained to The Gleaner.
But he’s doing so intentionally, working with genres he feels connected to and running with inspiration as it comes.
An Afrobeats and dancehall album is the first that will hit the market, with its lead single to be released next month featuring a mystery Afrobeats act. Serani is no stranger to the Afrobeats market, being featured on Burna Boy’s infectious Secret hit (alongside Jeremih) in 2019.
“I’m not ready to say who the artiste is, but I’ll say when I did the song with Burna, nobody in Jamaica knew who Burna was, so I think it’s going to be a similar situation,” he said. “Burna was popping in the States already with Ye, but Jamaica, we weren’t on that Afrobeats tip as yet. We’re always looking for new and good talent to work with, and with each artiste, we bring our fans together and it’s just magic.”
He described the forthcoming album as “party music” that will maintain an “international sound”. Some players in the industry have created competitive tension between Afrobeats and dancehall, amplified by the March launch of Billboard’s Afrobeats US Songs chart two years after Billboard discontinued its Reggae Digital Songs Sales chart. But Serani doesn’t see the rise of Afrobeats as threatening to dancehall music.
“We have a genre that we’re not using,” he said. “We’ve switched our focus in Jamaica to trap dancehall. In order for us to get international hits, we have to make music that resonates and is relatable to the world, so it’s not a threat. Whenever it is our artistes or producers decide that they’re going to make music not just for our country, diaspora and Caribbean, that’s when our music will be on top again. We had a lull moment and it’s only natural.”
He added that he welcomes the new styles today, even dabbling in the sound on his new single, One Man, released by Pop Style Music and Rockstone Media.
“When I came out, it was something fresh. It was a twist on dancehall, so there’s nothing wrong with the kids doing that. When you’re creating something new, it’s going to take time to be something that the world will accept. The original ‘90s dancehall style that connected in the world took decades before there could be a Sean Paul. The young adults are coming with a new flavour, so it’s going to take a while.”
His other recorded album is a “laid-back” live album that will feature the lead single Gonna Be Alright, featuring Kabaka Pyramid. The track was produced by Anthony Taylor and Giovanni Powell.
The other album is a reggaeton album, which he is recording in Miami, Florida. Besides reggaeton complementing his style of singing, Serani said there were other things that encouraged him to do a reggaeton project.
“When I’m in New York and Florida performing at Latin events, it’s ridiculous how they love the music and vibe with me, a Jamaican. In the latter years of travelling, I’ve also been to Colombia and Costa Rica and I’m singing in English and they’re singing with me, but there’s only so much you can do singing in English in these countries,” he explained.
He was encouraged to do a reggaeton album by a close friend in the business, but “you can’t force music”. Inspiration found him one day writing some songs in Spanish, and he loved what he made and especially connected to one song. Yet the track was archived for three years, only rediscovered when he was working on his Afrobeats album. As they would say, the rest is history.