By Zina Mendy
Iconic UK reggae singer, author and humanitarian, Terence Wallen has touched down in Gambia marking his first ever visit to the smiling coast of Africa.
Wallen, who is known in music circles for his portrayal of reggae legend Gregory Isaacs who was nicknamed the Cool Ruler, will be playing a string of shows during his visit in the country.
The concert’s will be held in honour of Isaac who died in the UK in 2010 aged 59.
Speaking to The Standard, Wallen who has Jamaican heritage, expressed excitement for the warm hospitality accorded to him in Gambia saying he “feels home.”
“It is great to be here. This is my first time in West Africa. And I will be performing at least seven show’s paying tribute to Gregory Isaacs,” Wallen said in an interview at his residence.
He said the visit will avail him opportunity to not just celebrate reggae music but to use his music to support charity works in the Gambia and create interactive experiences with musicians and young people.
“I am here to do music and to get a feel of the place [Gambia], meet people, and get some connections. Music is a tool and it is one of the biggest forms of engagement. So I want to use my music to not just engage people but bring joy to people whose lives are not as fortunate as mine. So I will have some charitable connections in the Gambia and see how to help in the little ways I can,” he added.
Wallen is also involved in humanitarian work and said proceeds generated from the concert’s will support local schools and charity.
He runs a foundation in the UK offering support to people of African and Caribbean heritage who are living with HIV and AIDS.
The foundation supports a similar project in Malawi that aims to support education, testing, counselling and support services to persons living with HIV and AIDS.
Wallen said he hopes to emulate such interventions in the Gambia. “If you are an artist, businessman and entrepreneur you should be able to use that platform to engage in other things and support other people. We are all in this world to do something and pass the baton on for someone to carry on. That contribution could be knowledge, it could be wisdom and so on. Music is very important for me and I want to leave this earth as a man that did great things, that strongly believes in God and a man that brought so much happiness to the people.”
Celebrating a legend -Gregory Isaacs
Wallen who is also an author, best known for his publications ‘Now I am Famous’ The Biography and ‘365 Days of the Truth,’ strongly believes in celebrating the contributions and achievements of reggae ancestors who laid the foundation and continues to inspire generations. One of them is Gregory Isaacs, a man he knew, respects, honor and cherish.
Isaacs is best known for his 1982 album which had his famous song ‘Night Nurse.’ He released over 500 albums and collaborated with some of the biggest names in reggae and dancehall including Dennis Brown. He was posthumously awarded the Order of Distinction by the Jamaican government in 2016 for his contribution to the county’s music.
“I can personally relate to Gregory Isaacs. He’s someone who I was a great fan of, someone who I became a good friend of and someone who treated me like a son. His humbleness, his calmness and his clean heart resonated with me very well. Gregory was a humble man regardless of his world wide acclaim, his music and all the games. A humble person never crumbles. When your heart is clean and you have good intentions, it is going to naturally resonate with other people. So Gregory is music, his music is about social consciousness, black liberation struggle, poverty and love because love conquers the world.”
Wallen adds: “Everything that is built has to be built on a foundation and in terms of reggae music a lot of reggae artists laid the foundation for us to be able to enjoy reggae music, appreciate it and feel its spirit. My love for reggae music started like when I was a child. When I was younger I listened to reggae while my mates enjoyed listening to hip hop and going to clubs. I wanted to listen to reggae and I play the bongo drums so that’s how my love for reggae music started . I came from a very large family. My mum passed and my brother also passed a few years before my mum passed that triggered my inspirations to go out and share and embrace the love of everyone through my music, so I can continue to keep the legacies. It is really very important because we are all here to do something and pass the baton on.
