Why Wayne Marshall Doesn’t Judge Music From Young Dancehall Artists
Long before he was conferred with a national honour for his contribution to entertainment, Wayne Marshall was discriminating against gays on Astronaut and promoting his inner gangster on Me By Myself. For this reason, he steers clear of judging youngsters for their lyrical content.
“Even though you hear some of them all a talk some thing, me cya judge dem enuh because I was there,” the popular family vlogger said at Reggae Sumfest on Friday. “We used to talk some hardcore thing inna lyrics. We come up through one of the most hardcore syndicate inna Alliance. Vybz Kartel, Busy Signal, Bounty Killer, right? Mavado, you name it… “
“A our era that, so when I see these young youths coming up, no matter (what), when dem find big song, mi just know seh a big song that. Mi nuh judge dem fi the lyrics weh dem a chat because mi know dancehall is a process and every artist go through him phase dem, you understand? So we haffi allow dem fi be artist. Mi love dem song dem man.”
His wife and former performing artist Tami Chin Mitchell expressed awe in his ability to keep up with the latest releases from artists like Armanii, Malie Donn and Pablo YG. Marshall admitted that he gets some help from his Gen Z son, Giomar Mitchell, who is also a recording artist.
“My son is doing music now, so him is my connection to the younger generation,” he shared. “Memba seh me follow dem enuh. Me is not a dancehall liad enuh, mi love the craft. Mi love the art of it.”
Marshall, whose given name is Wayne Mitchell, started his recording career in the late 1990s with production stalwart Ward 21. He stood out with his ability to sing and deejay, and became a go-to for catchy, melodious choruses depicted on tracks like Sufferer with Bounty Killer and New Millennium with Vybz Kartel.
His solos have impressed across dancehall and reggae, from his 2002 back-to-back stunners Check Yourself, Overcome and Party Time, and his continued strides the following year with Hot in the Club and Marshall Town. He’d go on to diversify his lyrics, evolving to records like Good Love (2009) and My Heart (2010) before releasing the Tru Colours EP (2013) for the Marley’s Ghetto Youths International label.
In 2018, Marshall experienced a revitalised presence on the music scene thanks to his gospel record Glory to God. He even altered his appearance by shearing his dreadlocks.
His current visibility and popularity are arguably attributed to his metamorphosis to content creating, joining his wife as YouTube vloggers in 2020, and expanding into a corporate-friendly brand. Their Meet the Mitchells channel has a subscription count of 266,000.
The singjay now has his own interview platform, The Cut, which broadcasts on national TV.