Easy Now: JUNO Awards Reggae Nominee Kairo McLean, 13, Leading New Reggae Revival
Reggae/Dancehall singer Kairo McLean, the JUNO Awards’ (the Canadian equivalent of the Grammys) youngest nominee ever, appears to be spearheading another Reggae Revival.
Even as Jamaica’s younger artists are once again steering clear of recording songs within the genre, and trending towards, Trap and Hip Hop, 13-year-old Kairo, who is son to a Jamaican father and a Canadian-Jamaican mother, has been singing up a storm in his native Toronto, not only on sound systems and live band performances at festivals across Canada.
Eleven months ago, he released his Reggae/Dancehall EP titled Easy Now, his first ever, with beats and rhyme schemes reminiscent of Tenor Saw and other dominant artistes of the 1970s and early 1980s, and which, copped the JUNO nomination for the Reggae Recording of the Year.
The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, is set for May 15. The awards are presented annually to Canadian artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all areas of music.
Kairo’s four-song EP with songs Fear, Rebel, Rise Again and the anti-violence, anti-corruption title track Easy Now, was nominated alongside By Any Means by Exco Levi, Don’t Let It Get to You by Josemar, Herb Dream by Blessed and Too Ruff by Kirk Diamond and Finn. It also copped a nomination for Reggaeville’s Album of the Year .
In a recent interview with E-Talk CTV’s Chloe Wilde, the teen revealed that he is already working on a full album set to be released this summer, titled Thirteen.
In response to questions about the fact that a lot of youths are gravitating to Hip Hop, EDM and Pop, Kairo said his decision to pursue Reggae was a no-brainer, as Reggae was message music.
“Well, I really love the message because most of the Reggae singers are singing about love and peace, and I find that in these times, we are lacking that; we are lacking that empathy, so I really hope to bring it back with my Reggae music,” he explained.
In a CBS Music interview Kairo also pointed out that Cocoa Tea’s Good Life and Bob Marley’s Stir It Up, tracks by Super Cat and other artistes of the 1980s, were among his core memories in music from which he draws influence.
The youngster, who is a player of three musical instruments, also said he grew up on “a heavy dose of old school reggae” which is deeply entrenched in his own music. He explained that he was self-taught for the most part, but began taking drum lessons of the kette drum and the bongos and age three, and started the guitar at six, mastering it by age eight.
Now, inspired by, according to him, a mixture of his own limited lived experiences, from musicians before him, such as Bob Marley and Peter Tosh, whom he noted “always write music that lasts a very long time”.
Kairo told CBS Music that “old school Reggae was always playing in his household and that hearing and seeing the vintage artistes performing on videos, was very impactful on him.
“They’re just so exciting and so charismatic, especially Bob Marley, and the way he delivered his messages really spoke to my soul, and shaped who I am at 13 now. I try to live by the words that he put forth for the people of the future,” he said.
“To me, Reggae has always been about the struggle of the oppressed people. So not just Black people, although they have been oppressed for a long time and they use reggae as their stepping stone almost, but for any nation that’s been held down for a long time. It really resonates with anyone that’s been in those kinds of times…. it’s a message, it helps liberate,” he added.
In the CBC Music interview, Kairo said he found out that he was nominated for the award at school when his mother and sister showed up after dismissal, blaring his music from the car, after which mother ran out, hugged him, and informed him of his new accomplishment.
“I was excited, really and truly I was. Like, this is my debut EP and for it to be recognized so quickly in the reggae community is such a proud moment for me,” he told the news outlet.
Kairo said that he emulated his father Super G who used to be a selector on Night Rider 3000.
“I’ve always written lyrics to DJs on sound systems with my dad because that’s what he does… I’ve always tried to copy him and his style of writing…,” he explained.
“If I have the inspiration to write, I write and then I play it on the guitar and I play it on the drums and then solidify the idea,” he told E-talk.
Easy Now was released by Willow Records, after the owner whom he said had “done music together a little bit in the past” had approached his father “with an opportunity to join a band” and told him to “bring your son”, because he knew of his musical acumen.
“So that was the original arrangement, but then Willow heard me singing and was impressed so he wanted me to record a couple of songs for him and that’s how Easy Now came out. And I’ve been with Willow ever since, and Tim Dubs produced it,” he had explained.