From The ‘Move In’, To Being ‘IN:SIDE’: Runkus Recalls His Journey

Runkus has proven himself as one of the most talented and dedicated artists of his generation. Through his breakout project Move In, and his subsequent single efforts like $$$, 5Gs, we have been able to witness his capacity for innovation with the Jamaican sound. Over the past few years, he has honed that capacity and created his latest inspiring album IN:SIDE. In the 2020 compilation, which coalesced during the lockdown period caused by the coronavirus, Runkus deals with some deeper issues facing the larger Jamaican society, like its mental health decline.

As Runkus prepares to share this album live, he also informs us that he is currently working on his next album, which is a continuation of his story and movement. DancehallMag managed to catch up with the young virtuoso before he left the island and the conversation that follows is a record of such.

Your last project was 2016, obviously we had a pandemic but, did you have plans to release another body of work prior to?

Yeah, you know, that’s a crazy question. I feel like everyone did have plans for 2020 [laugh]. I feel like everybody had plans, and I definitely had plans. I did release a soundcloud playlist called Orientation, that was actually the start of what was supposed to be something else. Took a while in terms of the sound, progression, ideas, but it was developing into something beautiful that I loved. It was supposed to come out 2020, but then 2020 became 20 empty, real quick. So I had to change my plans, but because we are great musicians we just took the time and the inspiration of what was going on, and made a project based on that.

I noticed this project was a lot more diverse and polished sound-wise than Move In, how big are you on those things in terms of your ongoing growth and where you want to be?

It’s two elements: growth and involvement. So Move In was done with a european based record label, Oneness Records. Big dem up everytime. I had input but, we did the tracks and sent them over. Certains songs like Energy I composed and sent to them and they fully produced it. So I would make the guitar parts and they would sort out the other arrangements. That was a less involved process. But with Inside and every single project I’ve done since Move In, I was more involved. I think after Move In is where I really started to engineer again, and that made me love music again. I started to produce again and it inspired that love even more. When you’re multi-talented and have many different faculties, you shun certain parts of yourself because you’re like maybe I should be a writer more than a photographer. But why not do it all?

When would you say you recorded and put together this album?

During the pandemic, Wading Wading was from 2018, we shot the video 2019, the song came out 2020. Because I work like that sometimes, I work ahead of myself.

That $$$ came out in February 2020, and that was just a vibe. So the money tune definitely found its way on the project and it made sense because mi say free hospital fi di whole a Portmore and we need hospitals in them time deh. So it was almost prophetic in a way but that’s how life work when you just a work with your spirit. I was getting ready to release at the time what was my finished project. I had that so mi did just want lively up di place with that and then covid lively up the place even more. So I did have to kind of chill, but that was the last open interactive video with people. Even on the set of 5Gs we had to be careful about our situation. We wore masks and everything.

Mental health seems to be a topic on this project, it’s a big topic in general and rightly so because the casualties are increasing. How do you think we can engage solutions ?

You know it’s not one solution, because some people just need to pay attention to themselves, some people need to not pay attention to themselves so much, you know? It’s really all that still, it’s either you’re in your head too much or you’re not in your head enough, but there’s a lot of factors in between and society plays a big part. Society tells you how to look, walk, act, dress, everything. Before you even develop a personality. So while you’re a youth you’re being told how to be a man by society. Society is governed by entertainment, media, manipulation etc.

Isolation doesn’t seem to be a foreign concept to you, what does it mean for you?

From long time rasta a quarantine so that is no problem to we. We love people but we nuh like nobody, because we go through nuff tings. So quarantine, isolation and dem ting deh there’s nothing wrong with that. I can stand up in the middle of a crowd and isolate mentally, spiritually, and emotionally. Nobody can know I’m not there, mi deh inna my realm you get weh me a say? I’ve done that many a times, in the middle of a show and the bassline is playing and that’s where I am. Mi nuh want hear nothing else, because is just what you focus on, is what you want to be in the presence of in the moment.

It’s interesting because you spoke about being in and out of your head. Sometimes I think the best kind of isolation is focusing inward. Sometimes maybe not so much in the head, but in the spirit. 

That’s what I mean still, in your spirit. If you are fulljoying yourself with your spirit–because people feel like spiritual growth and all them heavy terms deh mean sit down and light a incense stick and meditate. Bro, spirituality is something that is fun, it’s joyfull. You shouldn’t feel vexed to be spiritual. Some people believe you have to meditate in the hot sun or—no you can go through something spiritual by writing  a poem. Crying, a lot of people go through spiritual growth by crying. Personally my favorite thing is to turn off and lay guitar. Get lost in it–don’t record or anything. A lot of melodies just come and leave.

Speak on working with your elders on this new project like Munga, Tarrus Riley, or even Kabaka Pyramid. 

[Laugh] Dem man deh a nuh mi elder bredda dem man deh a yute. But I get what you are saying. When I was in high school, Munga was one of the sickest things. So man like Munga, him come from St Mary, my parents come from St Mary, So I been seeing them man deh from long long time. Tarrus Riley I’ve seen him a couple times in life but to actually work with them bredda? Is a joy. Same with Royal Blu, and Jesse Royal, Kabaka the lyrical anomaly–you know they don’t have to do it. Naomi was also a big strength on the project as well. None of them have to do it, but they love my music, my energy and my spirit since that’s what we’re talking about, and likewise. It’s like spirits, you know? So it’s easy to work.

There’s so many conspiracies about the pandemic, what’s your stance on the phenomenon ?

Bro it’s a hard thing to maneuver right now in terms of thought space, because I don’t know how I feel about it. All I can do is tell people to ask questions and seek answers for themselves. There is something going on in the earth definitely, there is a renewal energy that is inna the earth frequency wise. We just have to make sure we keep aware of that and this would be happening regardless of if the name of the virus was different. It was bound to happen based on how we’ve been treating the earth. That’s all I can say.

How do you think artists can best navigate this new space ?

Keep creating and put out. Only output will give you results in a time where you can’t perform. Find creative ways to output and exist. Especially like musician albums, something like a guitarist or keyboardist album, dem ting deh man like me a go sample.

What’s your favorite book?

The book of Enoch. It and the Metu Neter volume 1.

How has it influenced your life?

It brought me closer to spirituality rather than religion. It brought more knowledge of self and awareness of the situation.

What’s next? You’re headed out to spread the new music?

We Move In, Go Inside, Now it’s time for Outside.