Reggae singer Romain Virgo is ‘The Gentle Man’
Fourth studio album to be released March 1
Published:Sunday | January 28, 2024 | 12:07 AMYasmine Peru - Senior Gleaner Writer
In a time of Earth’s history where the equality of the sexes rules supreme, “cruffs” are embraced, bullyism is pervasive and that thing called gentility is all but through the window, reggae singer Romain Virgo is taking a stand and boldly declaring that he is a gentleman.
It was as a teenager that Virgo sneaked into the hearts of Jamaicans of all ages when he appeared on Television Jamaica’s ‘All Together Sing’ as the leader of his school choir. Powered by his vocals, Aabuthnott Gallimore High School placed second out of 60 entrants in the choir competition and Virgo became the darling of the island. It wasn’t surprising that one year later, in 2007, he made history as the youngest winner of ‘Digicel Rising Stars’, at just 17 years old.
Virgo, who celebrated his 34th birthday last Wednesday, is now twice the age he was when he won ‘Rising Stars’, and a lot has happened during the second 17 years of his life’s journey. He is now a loving husband; father of twin daughters, who are the apples of his eyes; vlogger and a bona fidereggae artiste, who is in demand and whose appeal cuts across generational lines.
“’Rising Stars’ is a big part of people of all ages knowing me ... and of course ‘All Together Sing’. Kids who were 10 then, are in their 20s now. And when they come up to me and say that they have been watching me from they were kids ... I feel old,” the youthful Virgo told The Sunday Gleaner.
With three albums already released – Romain Virgo (2010), The System (2012) and Love Sick (2018) – and a fourth loading, Virgo is still that “lickle yute” from the small district of Stepney in St Ann, but he is ready to start the conversation about being a gentleman.
The Gentle Man is actually the title of his album, which is set to be released on March 1 by VP Records, the company that has put out all his projects and who he refers to gently as his “family” because “they treat [him] like that” and have been supporting him since his first single Can’t Sleep. The album got railroaded by COVID, hence the six-year wait, but as Virgo said, “I guess everything happens for a reason.”
“If it was up to me, I would put out an album every two years,” Virgo admitted candidly. “But sometimes you have to give music time to grow ... especially when you are trying to build quality music that lasts. We didn’t think it was wise to put it out during the pandemic, but COVID just bring a different level of experience for me that we could put in the music as well.”
CALLING
A 12-track offering, four of the songs - Good Woman, Driver, Switch You On and Been There Before - have already been released and are gaining favour with fans. For Virgo, The Gentle Man is a sort of passion project, chock-full of the sentiments that he feels the reggae music industry needs now. He talks about the urgent need for “happy songs” and his willingness to fill that niche.
“I personally always feel in the creation of this whole album ... like this is a calling. Like I was supposed to put out an album like this, at this time, when everything else is heading in a totally different direction. A different way of seeing life and oneself and it is the hope that people will be moved and will see that we don’t all have to do the same things and that there is still light in the darkness,” Virgo stated.
Reflecting on his life and how he entered the music business, Virgo said that his hallmark has been “a gentle way of doing things – from a young boy [and] from then to now [in] the gentle way I do things as a man”. He stands firm on the platform of keeping it real and acknowledges that “to whom much is given, much is expected”.
“There are certain tings about the gentle boy that I don’t believe that I should change ... my morals, my views on life, and what it should be ... and I am seeing good things manifest by holding on to what I believe in. So many people see me, and others, as the ones to carry the music to a different level and I feel if I don’t be real and passionate about what I do ... then might as well I just stop and do something else. I want to be as real as life is. I want the real Romain Virgo to connect and I and I feel it cannot get realer than this album. In terms of growth over the years and me finding myself, I believe that The Gentle Man is my best effort to date,” he declared.