As we have stated in the past, Kenya is reggae country. This was certified as fact during a recent reggae concert that was held in the country that saw Duane Stephenson, Da’ville and other local reggae artists take the stage. As expected the concert was well attended which serves as further evidence that the genre’s influence in the country is going nowhere! The artist Duane Stephenson did not disappoint! He performed his greatest hits including “August Town,” “Cool Runnings,” and “Cottage Negril” enabling fans in attendance to sing along.
Before he was the reggae-superstar Duane Stephenson he was an ordinary boy with a passion for music living his best life in Kingston, Jamaica. It only took a short while before he was pursuing this passion full time with the band To Isis where he was the lead singer before transitioning to a solo artist 2005. Again time was on his side because in 2007 his debut album “From August Town” was included in Billboard’s “Six Essential Albums Heralding Roots Rock’s Resurgence.” Which we can imagine served as the validation that his decision to go solo, was the right move.
Since then he has been growing from strength to strength, touring the world and moving crowds with his very intentional lyrics. He sat down with the ever so lovely Mariam to discuss his songwriting process and the thought process behind many of his biggest hits.