Zayne plans to make a big impact with music

As an average man, Zayne studies aircraft engineering at the Nation Aviation Academy in Tampa, Florida. When he's not being so average he has the potential to become one of the biggest dancehall artistes outside Jamaica.

This easy-going lyrics master, who grew up with his grandfather in Portland before he relocated to America, has been creating quite a stir since he decided to take music seriously in 2009.

To date, he has released songs such as My Hero, Strip Tease, Party In Ja and Look How Long, all of which were produced by the artiste's independent label Cush Money Records. He has released a mix CD titled The Walk Of Life.

His love for music is immeasurable and it began as a child when he would regularly play around with his grandfather's sound system. "My music is an authentic dancehall with a little crossover of pop and reggae. I began to love music from a very tender age being around my grandfather's sound system," he said.

Inspiration

The young, confident singer said he draws inspiration from artistes such as Bob Marley, Sizzla Kalonji, Jah Cure and the incarcerated Buju Banton. However to him, none of the front-runners in music today are doing enough to preserve the quality music that their forefathers have produced in the past.

"The music has changed dramatically. It has become more commercial and the artistes aren't singing songs for the longevity. Not everyone, but most artistes are not putting enough hard work for the music to last longer. Some of the music will not be an impact five or ten years from now," he said.

With that said, Zayne believes music is the biggest influence on society. He is also confident that, despite being based overseas, he can impact the industry with his infectious music. "Music has a huge influence on society still, even though at times it is not what you would like to hear. Being an international-based artiste has its upside and downside. The upside is that you will have an easier opportunity to travel and promote your music worldwide. The downside is that the people who help to push Jamaican music and are based overseas don't give the overseas-based artistes much credit because they don't think it is coming from Jamaica, so they don't see it as authentic, given their history," he reasoned.

(from Jamaica Star)