Zamunda Talks Overcoming Stuttering, Remake Of ‘Jah Love Surround Me’ With Popcaan, Dre Island

Talk and Stutter artist Zamunda, says he still continues to be blessed, as not only has he overcome his speech impediment, but is reaping success again with the revitalization of his 2011 hit breakout song Jah Love Surround Me, which propelled him to national stardom.

He made the revelation about his speech, in an interview about his collaboration with Popcaan and Dre Island for the remake of Jah Love Surround Me, with Anthony Miller on Friday night’s edition of The Entertainment Report on Television Jamaica.  Miller had asked the Clarendon native whether his “slight stutter” had been “a sort of a big problem or hindrance” for him in the music industry.

“No.  The last time when we do a interview I stuttered more so now I now understand that when you stutter, when you relax and breathe properly, because is a form a breathing.  When you are anxious when you say suppm and you become stiff up so you just relax,” Zamunda explained.

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Zamunda, who was known to stutter in regular conversations, has always been flawless in his singing, which includes releases such as mega-hit collaboration Badda Than Dem with I-Octane, One People, Still a pray fi dem, Working 9 – 5, Science dem a work, Talk and Stutter and Cyaan Program Me.

In explaining how Jah Love Surround Me came to be revived with Popcaan and Dre Island, Zamunda said that everything happened after a friendly musical duel, between himself and the Unruly Boss, where both played music from their own phones.

According to Zamunda, when Popcaan one-upped him by drawing for Jah Love Surrounds Me, the onlookers in attendance, erupted and of course the clash was won by the Unruly Boss hands down.

“Is like mi a play a song and mi get a big forward, and him (Popcaan) a seh: ‘yow, people, watch how mi a guh use him own song and kill him’ and him draw fi Jah Love Surrounds Me and mash up di whole place.  And I couldn’t even play no more song.   That inspired me and I go home and I think about it and I called Popcaan and said: ‘let’s remix the song’ and he said ‘why not, let’s do it’,” Zamunda said.

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“While recording the song about 3 o’ clock in the night, Popcaan said: ‘yow, you know we gonna put Dre Island’, and I said ‘yes, why not’”?

“Is like I have been rejuvenated again.   And to see it is the song that actually give me the break, come back in this time; mi caan even explain the whole magnitude an di whole magic of this song,” Zamunda said.

“That song is the song that really get mi di break.  The greatest thing you know, still here doing music, still doing positive music, because I am not the type of artiste weh do something because dats di trend… I always try to keep the message in whatever I am doing,” he added.

Zamunda had told veteran broadcaster Elise Kelly almost a decade ago in an interview, that he had received the riddim for Jah Love Surround Me at about 8:00 one night, and after going home, he worked tirelessly on the song in his father’s shop.

“Mid deh pon di riddim from eight a clock till bout 4 a clock inna di morning, and get about three hour rest, wake up bout seven a clock and go out, no tea, no breakfast, no fare –studio,” he said.

When he got to the studio, he woke the producer out of his bed and declared: “Boasy mi ready; mi find a hit.”

After the song was recorded, it was taken to Irie FM, where the announcers DJ Wayne and Elise Kelly immediately identified it as a smash hit and according to Zamunda “gave the song real strength”.

The now 36-year-old, whose given name is Christopher Gayle, has always made light of the fact that he has a speech impediment, claiming that he sings better than he speaks.  In 2012 during an interview with Winford Williams on Onstage, the singer he had described himself as a ‘stammer singer’ when asked to identify one thing that distinguishes himself from the other artistes in conscious Reggae music.

“Yuh done know, di stamma singer enuh,” he had said laughing.  “More time mi all a talk and people a seh: ‘yow Zamunda, no badda talk man, jus sing weh yuh haffi seh man.”

Zamunda who started out as a deejay, said that Buju Banton, Shabba Ranks, Capleton, Bounty Killer and Beenie Man were some of his influences.  As a deejay, he discovered that he was straining his voice, too much, and so switched to singing after as he knew that with his vocal range, singing was his forte.