Style & Vibes Podcast Ep. 1: Interview with Reggae Singer Etana

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Executive Produced by Kerry-Ann Reid-Brown of Breadfruit Media

This episode includes an exclusive interview with reggae singer Etana. Strong vocals, melodic messages and a charismatic personality  Etana is affectionately referred to as The Strong One. Known for hits like “Wrong Address”, Warrior Love,”  “I’m Not Afraid” and “I Rise” she keeps the positive vibes and inspiration for the people while being a staple in the reggae music industry. In this episode we discuss the challenges of being a woman in reggae, learning from mistakes, limiting social media and fashion trends that didn’t work.

Summary

Etana on her personal style:

• I prefer regal, queen or really roots.
• I’m never going the type of person to look at the trends and to find out what’s happening. I kind of just stick to my own thing and follow my heart.

Etana on her vibes:

• I don’t carry grudges. I love unconditionally and I respect people’s choices. I understand that we’re all on a different path and we’re all here to learn individually our own lessons
• At the core, I’m not the type of person to carry grudge.

Etana on advice for new artist:

• Teach the world how to treat you. You are already do that with your own actions every day; how you walk, how you talk, how you treat each other, how you treat others.

Full Interview

Mikelah: So, hello, Etana. How are you today?

Etana: I’m good. How are you?

Mikelah: I’m doing very well, thank you very much. Thank you so much for taking the time to speak to Style and Vibes and the listeners today.

Etana: Of course. Of course.

Mikelah: So how do you feel being in the industry for as long as you have been and kind of coming into your own over the years? How do you think you’ve progressed as an artist?

Etana: I’ve learned a lot along the way. In the beginning, I was very naïve. I didn’t know a lot of things. So not only did I lack knowledge of the business, I was also naïve to a lot of things. I was just naïve, a naïve person I guess. I just thought that everybody was supposed to be cool and right and just and all this stuff. I was so deep in everything Rasta, everything just had to be all about natural life and Rasta, and everybody just had to be that, who were in my company. I was more focused on that in the very beginning until I learned that, hey, even though a lot of people may say Rasta, they don’t necessarily live it. So you know you cya really see everybody in a di same light, and that everybody has their own journey. So I learned a lot along the way. Today, I’m more accepting of who people are. I’m more loving everybody unconditionally with all their flaws and I’m loving that. I’m feeling I’m a much happier person that way. I’ve learned a lot about the business as well.

Mikelah: So tell me about how that’s permeated through your music.

Etana: Of course. You can tell from the beginning of the songs. I was very shy. I listened to what everybody had to say. I would make the changes to the songs even though they came out good, but some of them, I did make some changes just to compromise with either the producer or the musicians or anybody who said anything. Second album, I was a little bit more aware of the fact that I can just—this is my album and I can sing and write what I want, and be confident in what I’m doing. So I called that album “Free Expressions”, and then I went to “Better Tomorrow”. I was even more confident, so you can hear lyrically, spiritually, vocally, everything. And then “I Rise”, even more, you can tell the growth with each album, all the way up to this fifth one, “Reggae Forever”. You can just tell where I’m at. I’m just so happy and bursting with love and light and positive energy. I’m just excited.

Mikelah: So in terms of releasing this particular album, you released it on International Women’s Day. Is there a significance to you releasing it that day or did the stars kind of happen to align for you?

Etana: This is my first independent project, meaning executively produced by me, paying for everything, choosing the musicians, going in the studio, choosing the songs I want to sing, writing them, everything, choosing the vocalist that I want on the album as background vocals—all of that stuff. I did work with some young producers this time, instead of working with everyone I worked with before on the previous albums. I wanted to try something different. It’s totally mine and independently released and distributed by Tad’s Records.

Mikelah: So as a woman, how does that make you feel?.

Etana: Yeah. I mean, okay—so in the industry, there isn’t like any female, I don’t think, who’s ever executively produced their own album except for maybe Diana King, maybe, and independently released their own album. So I think it’s a great achievement for me. I think women have come a long way in reggae, but we still have a long way to go. Just like in any industry, I think women have come a long way, but we still have a long way to go. And so I dropped it on International Women’s Day so we can all be reminded, hey, I’ve come a long way, yes, but I still think I have a long way to go. With unity and with strength and wisdom, I think as women, we can achieve a lot more.

Mikelah: So tell me about what do you do outside of record—when you’re not recording and you’re just in your home, in your element, what are you doing? I mean, I know it’s hard because you’re probably—music is your life, but what else are you doing outside of music?

Etana: I’m playing with my girls and doing classes online, because I feel like if I can spend two hours on social media, I can spend two hours learning something new. So I just study, go to school all the time, all the time, all the time.

Mikelah: Always learning. Always learning, that’s amazing.

Etana: Yeah. And so I love books and I love reading, and I spend a lot of time doing that when I’m not with my girls. And so I spend less time talking on the phone. So when I’m home, I’m not using my phone at all, so by the time I get out on the road, I have like 100 messages I need to respond to.

Mikelah: So how do you think—you kind of touched on social media specifically, but how do you think that digital has played a part in either elevating or challenging us on a day to day basis as people, as a woman? Do you find it more challenging with all the media that we have or do you kind of feel it’s almost like a double edged sword?

Etana: It is though. It is a double edged sword, because I mean, it’s a lot of things actually. It’s more than double, multi-dimensional. So my thing with social media is, I think that we are so deep in it. It has become a lot of our lives, daily life, a big part of our daily lives. I think a lot of people still don’t know how to use it, because then, like say in a thread of people talking, you’ll have maybe one or two people who didn’t read everything and they just jump in based on one comment off of somebody, like totally irrelevant to the whole conversation. You just jumped out of nowhere and made a comment that’s just left field like, or they mek a comment and just totally nuh mek nuh sense. And you’re like why? Why? Why did you do this right now? Can you read the whole thing and then speak? Yuh have some people who still refuse to read, and that is the problem that I’m having. If you’re going to use social media, use it in the right way. I think that a lot of us, even me—I just started to do a little bit of research before commenting on anything at all, because you really have—in this time, you really have to know, know what you’re saying. To make sense, you have to know. So I think people need to spend a lot more time reading. If you got to be on social media, use it the right way. Read, do a little research, and don’t talk as if yuh hypothesis is solid. Talk, leave it open.

Mikelah: I think people just have diarrhea of their thoughts and it just spews.

Etana: Yeah. That is my only thing with social media and my only peeve, but otherwise, I think it’s cool. It brings us together. I think some people show too much of themselves on social media.

Mikelah: That’s a whole other story.

Etana: Yeah, that’s why I said it’s like so much.

Mikelah: Yeah, it definitely is. The site is called Style and Vibes, so if you had to describe your personal style of who you are and who Etana is in few words—mi nuh know if yuh can do dat in a few words, but I would say describe—and I say style because it’s very personal. I purposely didn’t name it fashion over style or anything like that, because I think fashion is the industry, but everyone—you can take the same jean jacket and somebody wear it 10 different ways. So what would you say your personal style is? And it evolves, we know. Women change, we like to change our looks all the time. So keep that in mind.

Etana: But thought I change my look all the time, I prefer regal, queen or really roots. But still even in the really roots, it still has some of that regality and some of that queen is in it.

Mikelah: Yeah. Yuh kind a up di ting.

Etana: Yeah. I mean, even if it’s like real casual roots, it’s something to it that makes you say “who is that” kind of thing.

Mikelah: What are some fashion trends that you’re into now? Hair, beauty, fashion—anything in that realm.

Etana: Wow. I’m never going the type of person to look at the trends and to find out what’s happening. I kind of just stick to my own thing and follow my heart. When I follow my heart, 9 times out of 10, I’m right with the color, like I can just feel it and you see it and it works.

Mikelah: So what’s one trend that you tried that you hated and you’re like, “Why did I do that?”?

Etana: Let me see. One trend I tried that I hated, you remember the plastic shoes they used to wear in my time, in middle school? They used to wear some kind of like plastic…

Mikelah: The platform?

Etana: The plastic platforms, and some of them had like the side part open.

Mikelah: I feel like they’re coming back. I feel like I just saw somebody wid a plastic shoes and it clear, and I’m like I’ll leave it alone.

Etana: I just wish I didn’t do that because when I look back at the pictures, I’m like, “Oh God, really? Did you have to?”

Mikelah: Yeah. I think we all have those moments. and at least it’s almost like—at least we try—yuh try a ting and yuh know seh it don’t work for you.

Etana: Yuh know di—mek mi tell yuh now, di curly—di man dem use to have some weave dat look like spaghetti. It turn, turn—you know like it has the little—and it’s really tight and they use it to make flowers and stuff like that in your hair?

Mikelah: A straw set?

Etana: Yes. I did that. I remember the ponytail—me an’ my fren walking and a bus was passing, and fi har ponytail neva go on properly, an’ di ponytail drop off leff di stump. And we both were rocking it. I remember in school, we were in the bathroom—we were in the restroom and one a my flowers dem drop off and drop pan di grung. And she was like, “Doh look, doh look, doh look, doh look. Gwaan like a nuh your own.” Yeah. So those are things that I wish I didn’t do.

Mikelah: So in terms of your vibe, so it’s not just about you musically, but who you are as a person. If you could describe who you are to the world and to say this is essentially at the core who Etana is, what’s your vibe?

Etana: Oh God. I would say, you know how they talk about a Gemini and they talk about the emerald, the green emerald? They said it’s hard on the outside and soft on the inside. Well, I’m not soft on the inside. I think I’m full of love on the inside, too much sometimes. At the core, I’m not the type of person to carry grudge. You can tell me the worst thing yesterday about me and I’ll just know that as you and what you think, and I would still walk up to you and be like, “Hey, what’s up?” And you probably look at me like, “She’s crazy, for real.” But no, I don’t carry grudges. I love unconditionally and I respect people’s choices. I understand that we’re all on a different path and we’re all here to learn individually our own lessons. And so, therefore, I can’t judge you based on your own thought. So I love people conditionally. That’s me at the core. I’m rough still enuh. Everybody has that side to them, but it takes me a lot to actually get there. You’d have to push me to the limit. I think the only people that are really able to do that…

Mikelah: Is the people closest to you.

Etana: Yeah. Otherwise, I’m just jovial and serious when a time fi serious an’ ting.

Mikelah: Yeah. I can tell that, that really kind of comes through your spirit, and just even having the conversation with you here, is awesome. So I know you kind of have to get ready for the stage, so last thoughts in terms of advice you would give as an artiste, as a woman, and as people of the world.

Etana: Wow. That’s a lot.

Mikelah: I came prepared.

Etana: As an artiste, I’d say do it right from beginning, always, in everything, or as close to right as possible, everything, because it kind of sets the tone. And then you end up making less mistakes if you actually try to do it right from the beginning. As a woman, wow. Teach the world how to treat you. You are already do that with your own actions every day; how you walk, how you talk, how you treat each other, how you treat others. Everything that you do, what you give is what you get. It’s really true. What you give comes back to you. As a person, I’ve learned never to speak in anger or with too much emotions, because you might just say the wrong thing or not say it the way that you expected to be understood by the person you’re saying it to.

Mikelah: That’s wonderful. I love that.

Etana: Yeah. Treat each other like—treat others like you would want to be treated. It’s all right to be humble, it’s really cool.

Mikelah: It is. Thank you. Thank you so much. I totally appreciate this so much.