Iatana

After stepping back a couple of times, Iatana is back working on a new album 'The Rising Son,' which will be in stores soon.



Iatana was born in Spanish Town, Jamaica. Since the age of 7, he has been making music. Growing up in a family where music runs through their blood made it easier for Iatana to adapt to music production. His father, who recently passed away was a singer.



When Iatana and his siblings were younger, his father introduced them to music similar to the way the Jackson 5 were. His dad assigned each child a position in the band, and his position was to be the singer.



Being able to do music is a 'dream come true' for Iatana. Although most would consider him as a singjay or rapjay, still, he considers himself as 'an entertainer.'



As an entertainer, he started telling 'mom and pop' kinds of stories, and nancy stories, which are cartoon-like stories in Jamaica. Then he began to do the same kind of music that his dad used to do --'Chant music.' Subsequently, he fell in love with rapping about guns and as he grew older, he 'found himself in the music with more feeling and meaning.' Iatana went through many stages with his music; he felt these transitions happened, because there is a time for everything in life.



Now his music is based on the realm and the serious side of life. The song 'War' is a prominent example for his current state of mind. The song is dedicated to the people. He feels like the tune is going to be an upliftment for everyone, because the whole world is affected, and very 'messed up right now', as a result of the war in Iraq.



He also made 'Everlasting Peace' and 'Africa.' he wrote 'Africa' because he wants everyone's 'minds to be in Africa not just physically, but spiritually.'



He tries to 'commercialize his music', with the intent to gain musical recognition on an 'international level.' He produces and performs 'R&B, Hip-Hop, Reggae and just about anything else.' He has done shows all over the United States. The entertainer is no stranger to Memphis, Arkansas, West Virginia, and especially in Florida where the people are fully receptive of his art. 'Iatana believes his music is accepted, because it's the 'people's music.'



Generally, now Iatana is very hopeful that music will soon reach its metamorphosis to more feeling and meaning. He believes that more people and especially artists are going to move toward the 'positive side' of music. He wrote 'Voices' because he'd like for people and other artists to 'look in the right direction.' The world is in need of 'positive music' rite now. Artists have to merge together and figure out how to make things positive, he said.



He also explained how the music industry is causing 'division amongst ourselves.' Most of the music that people of color have been putting out are through 'sex and violence.' The artists usually claim that the reasons for putting violence in their music is because these are the things they go through. However, 'your experiences may not always be good for the public,' he said.



'I meditate a lot.' When Iatana is not making music, he likes to relax and figure things out about life and career. Many years from now, Iatana visualizes himself out there preaching the righteous words to the youth and teaching the world like Martin Luther King Jr. did. Iatana firmly believes that he 'can wake up a million people and raise them up to positivity.'
- Techelet Jean