In the music scene, Jhayam stands out as a singer, composer and MC. His career includes a significant connection with Moritz Von Korff, bassist for the French band Dub Inc. In 2016, Jhayam met Korff at the O Grito Reggae festival, when Dub Inc. performed in Brazil. This initial meeting established a connection that was maintained on social media and culminated, years later, in the invitation to participate in the collection “Unidad Riddim”.
Jhayam contributed to the compilation with the track “Antes Que Seja Tarde”, a collaboration with singer Srta. Paola. He met Paola at rap shows, where she performed as a backing vocalist, and always admired her work. Upon hearing the instrumental sent by Korff, Jhayam immediately knew he needed a female voice to complement the song.
The track addresses themes such as valuing the present and the small details of life, and represents a significant milestone for Jhayam, who decided to abandon the stage name “Monkey” after 16 years and go just as Jhayam. This change reflects a moment of personal and artistic restart.
With instrumental production by Moritz Von Korff and Frédéric Peyron, and mixing and mastering by Umberto Echo, “Antes Que Seja Tarde” stands out as an important piece in the collection, showing Jhayam’s ability to adapt and collaborate with international artists, while maintaining its roots and authentic message.
How would you describe the importance of Latin and Jamaican influences in the music you created for this collection?
This collection is completely inspired by the Jamaican “mega mix”, which presented different versions of the same instrumental with different singers, each interpreting their own lyrics and melody in the “riddim”. Practically the beginning of what has now become the remix culture in electronic music. Regarding Latin influences, I believe that the accordion and guitar bring this language to music. I particularly love reggae sung in Spanish, I think it has a unique sound. I’ve always listened to artists like Tiano Bless from Chile, Alika from Argentina or Morodo himself from Spain.
I used to think why Brazil is the only country in Latin America that doesn’t speak Spanish or why Jamaica has such a direct connection with England, but today I understand that it is a historical relationship of colonization and diasporas around the world. Reggae is this vehicle that permeates spaces and unifies people.
For you, what is the main message of the song “Antes Que Sei Tarde” and how does it connect with the current moment in your career and personal life?
This was my first release under the new name JHAYAM. This is very significant in the artistic construction of my career because over these 16 years I started to leave behind what no longer added up to that much in my history. When I wrote the lyrics and started listening to it on loop, I felt that the following message was something very personal: “Don’t get distracted, know your worth and start over before it’s too late”.
The message in the song is “It’s never too late to start over and contemplate the small details of life, because it is in them that we find the presence of divine creation, which most of the time goes unnoticed in the rhythm of routine.
How do you think the collection “Unidad Riddim” can contribute to the cultural connection between the countries represented by the participating artists?
I believe that the initiative is already a great advance as it already goes against what normally happens in Europe, for example with end-to-end compilations sung only in English and with few producers who are open to this connection with new artists from other countries with their native languages. I hope that the curators of the great cultural institutions here in Brazil see this as something positive and who knows, who knows, we might see this complete team live together at some event or festival in the future here?
How do you see the evolution of reggae and other musical genres?
I believe that the underground movement will always exist and feed the machine because it is an organism independent of the market or trends. From cycle to cycle we will see elements being used by mainstream artists creating genres that fit on the urban music shelf and other generic titles that do not credit afrobeat, dancehall, reggae and their aspects. The more people become more informed, the more they free themselves from this vicious cycle and learn about the origins of the genre and its history. Naturally, the idea changes and people begin to understand that the stereotype of the surfer, marijuana smoker, hippie, peace and love in fact it is an attempt by the Brazilian market to remove the aesthetics of combat music with a text of resistance and mental emancipation of the oppressed people.
What are the next steps and projects?
Recently I’m going through this process of changing my name. Thanks to the support of OneRpm, Ditto and Graxa Pura I was able to apply the change on all digital platforms and preserved the same channels with my catalog of releases. At the beginning of the year I was in London to direct the album of a new artist called Rise and I recorded songs for my new album with Prince Fatty. I have a file bank with many compositions in different genres, all developed since the pandemic. Some feats and collaborations that I recorded and are coming out in the next few months. And the pace doesn’t stop, I recently started a partnership with Douglas Gregório from Tudo Azul productions who has been developing executive production work and bookings so it has never been easier to include your city in our Raggamufin agenda. Get in touch and book my show!
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