Daniel ‘Chino’ McGregor drawing on life’s lessons
At 40, singer-songwriter believes in not putting anything ‘Pon Yuh Head’
Published:Sunday | February 12, 2023 | 12:54 AMStephanie Lyew - Sunday Gleaner Writer
Probably already cosying-up on a lounge chair and soaking up the sun in a “tropical paradise somewhere”, Daniel ‘Chino’ McGregor is finally taking a much-needed vacation as he embraces the aging process. And why would he not? After all, the Never Change (From Mawning) singer-songwriter barely looks a year older than the man who many fell in love with 15 years ago.
He celebrates turning 40 today. In his recent interview with The Sunday Gleaner, he said that he was “very appreciative just to be alive and really understand how short and delicate life is and can be.”
Chino added: “Considering my experiences over the last few months with my father [suffering a stroke], that served as a reminder about the simple or not so simple things like life, which we take for granted. Birthday aside, this is why I am taking a short vacation. Dad wasn’t in a terrible position following the ordeal. There was no memory loss or anything of that nature, but there is a silver lining, no matter how obscure: it gave him time to rest, and he needed to.”
He shared that in addition to keeping physically fit, he has invested a lot into mental wellness. The Grammy Award-winning songwriter, and composer, does not deny that the industry has the ability to drain one’s energy, which can be damaging.
“In our line of work, between creating, to performing, then heading right into late-night studio sessions and then touring, it can be strenuous, and the fast-food establishments are usually the easiest solution to satisfy hunger while working long hours. I try to work out and keep a healthy enough diet though persons are not going to hear me tell anyone that I have gone vegan but to balance and stay away from certain types of food,” he said. “Fitness and diet aside, keeping a healthy mindset is equally as important. You can do all the things they say - eat right, work out - but if your mind is not at peace, you will age fast. I try to take an optimistic approach to most things, finding the positives in what some people would call a crisis, not allowing negative to get in my head, and that helps me maintain my overall health and looking good. And let’s not leave out the genetics factor, too, cause look at my father at 66 years old looking like a young boy.”
Like his father, Freddie McGregor, a recording giant and captain of the Big Ship Records, Chino got his start in the music industry at an early age. Prior to dedicating creative energy to dancehall, he explored mainstream R&B, rap, and hip hop overseas and sailed through successfully. When he returned to local shores, he made an impact on the industry co-writing with the stars and recording hits like Never Change, Pon Yuh Head, and Ruff It Up, among others.
‘GREAT MINDS THINK ALIKE’
As soon as the birthday vacation is over, Chino will return to the mixing board. He, along with his brother Stephen, known more popularly as ‘Di Genius’, are in the final stages of producing an album and EP. The long-awaited collaborative project titled Great Minds Think Alike features the dynamic sibling duo performing with each other on each of the 12 songs selected for the track list. Leading up to the album’s release, they will give their listeners a six-track EP dubbed A Prelude, slated to hit all digital streaming platforms by the end of March.
Chino shared: “We have been working on this album for quite some years now, but due to conflicting schedules with Stephen working with the music label, we have not had the time to execute it and set the date. However, the work is now more controlled, so we are gearing up to release it in the summer. He’s currently in mixing and mastering mode of the productions, all of which he is behind, and I can promise it will be a mind-blowing project. The last trip to LA, where we shared a snippet of us in studio and like eight bars of one of the songs, us doing post-production and fine-tuning of a track. The feedback we received was a hint of how people will react to it when it is out, adding to the fact the industry and the world expect a certain standard of work from us, [so] getting new material creates some level of excitement and anticipation, and I am excited.”
He created waves when he used a similar tactic in releasing the three-volume EP The Process, displaying lyricism, songs for women, and revisiting roots-rock-reggae, during the pandemic. A few singles from the new album such as Zero Tolerance, Family and Eternal have already been released. There are also several features on the album that he has not revealed, and he explained that throughout the course of his career, he has taken on a more purposeful approach to creating music. He is interested in working with “like-minded people”, and clearly, the title of the album was a deliberate allusion to both his brother’s strategy and his.
“Over the years, opportunities have been presented to collaborate with a lot of people, but it never made sense because we are not like-minded, and anything I’m doing has to be true to me and my beliefs and morals. It’s more than just getting in studio and creating a track with that artiste or this producer. Don’t get me wrong. In everything, we always embrace change because growth and evolving is important, but with change, there are certain foundations, and the basics, I believe need to be followed in keeping the fundamentals. If we can keep those and merge them with the new wave then we would have a perfect industry,” he said.
“With this new project, the foundation is authentic reggae and old-school dancehall, but then it’s merged with doo-wop, jazz, and soul vibes as well as hip hop and R&B flavour, and we get a lot more sounds. It is bridging the gap and merging cultures and genres. Also, look out for me doing a little bit of acting in the video for a new single that is slated for release on February 20. I like to describe it as a short film. We’re gearing up for a superbusy year in terms of shows and tours to support these projects,” Chino continued.