Etana spreads a message of love

Jamaican singer/songwriter Shauna “Etana” McKenzie wanted to give people something to be happy about when she wrote her new single, Bubble. That song is one of 12 on her new album, Gemini released on June 19.

She took note of a worrying trend happening during the height of the covid19 pandemic – divorce rates were on the increase.

Etana said to Newsday during a Zoom interview, “During this time the pandemic just came about. We were just learning what it was and at the same time, they were saying divorce was increasing. And people were separating. And I was thinking, ‘Oh my God, separating instead of being together when you’re locked up anyway.’

“I said why not just create a song or songs that would bring people together and make people love each other again and find different things to be happy about…,” she said.

The 36-year-old is known for songs such as I Am Not Afraid, Love Song, I Rise and her cover of Joan Armatrading’s The Weakness In Me. Gemini is Etana’s seventh album.

Inspired by what was happening during the pandemic, it took the Grammy-nominated songwriter about ten minutes to write the song. That was at the end of February and the recording process took about 30 minutes. It was done in,“one spirit shot.”

“Throughout the song, Etana croons over the joy of new-found love with the man of her dreams, which blends in perfectly with the classic sounds of reggae produced by TJ Records,” a release about the single said.

It added that she showcases her vast vocal range with intricate harmonies in the song.

Etana said to Newsday spreading a message of love was important at this time because, “if we were focusing more on love and pushing love more, I don’t think we would be in the situation we are in right now.”

For her, social media has a way of making people forget how to love.

“Or people get numb because they see the same violent stuff on social media every day or on TV.”

She has faced her fair share of social media backlash. In 2016, she faced public anger over statements in support of then US presidential candidate and now president Donald Trump.

At the time she did not know how to deal with the public backlash.

“Because of all of the time I have been in music, I never had such an issue.”

She then had to pull herself together and say, “‘Hold on a minute, I am in control of this and if I am not in control of this, God is in control...so let us just deal with this head on.’”

She remembered people being so mad at her… that they’d just “curse me out in the worst way.” She skipped over “all the bad things” and looked into what people were saying.

She quickly realised it was a serious comment to make as an artiste, “because then you're picking sides, picking sides sometimes is not a good thing.”

It also drove her into reading a lot.

At the time, she did not know “there was a black and white war going on on social media.”

“I was so off and unaware,” she said.

Etana then read everything people sent to her including people who said they cared for her and people who thought they needed to prove a point.

“I read all of it and then I came back and I said, ‘ooops.’ I shouldn’t have said that and I quickly took it back and then just moved on.”

In 2017, she toured more than she ever did in all of her time in music. Her views increased massively and everything mushroomed, she said.

She saw this as either God having worked it out for her or it simply having worked in her favour at the end.

Today, she tries her best to say as little as possible particularly on social media. But when she has something to say, she says it with potency.

Etana said most of the time she ignores what is said on social media particularly as one might not know what the person on the other end is going through or if the account is even real. “It could be anything or anyone or just a troll trying to get a reaction.”

The singer also wants to use her voice as a platform in the Black Lives Matter movement and has called on her fellow musicians to do the same. In another release, she called on them, “to use their platform as a tool to lead the charge for Black Lives Matter and create equality among all people.”

Citing late singers Marvin Gaye and Bob Marley, Etana said for years songs helped to inspire people to find the strength to continue to fight and not give up.

She has added her voice to the call because she would think about the children who were seeing black men or women murdered, “as if they are nothing.

“I wonder sometimes how they will feel about themselves when they have to relate to everyone else in the world.”

The movement has also inspired a song called Melanin, which tells people “my black is beautiful and it is my duty to tell you.”

It is important for artistes to create music that speaks to social movements and change because music uplifts the spirit and affects the mood.

“People create music for different reasons but I think it is a powerful thing when one can create music to inspire change and to encourage and uplift,” she added.

While not every artiste creates positive music or music meant to inspire change, Etana does.

She said she has always used her music to aid social changes and development and there were also other artistes doing that.

For example, the song Party and Smoke on the new album tells people instead of partying out a day, especially in serious times like now, they should be thinking of ways to “spark economic growth and progress…”

She said a lot of people needed to change their perspective.

“Make some money. Invest some money. Grow economically so we can have a better seat at the table with the people who say or think they run the world, which we can’t do if we are smoking and partying every day,” she said.

While she has accomplished a lot as a musician in her 12 years in the industry, she believes there is always room for growth.

She is grateful for all of the places she has been across the world and the hundreds of thousands of people she has met over time but she feels there is always more to do.

Musically, she is enjoying being independent, making her own decisions and working with her team to create the music she wants.

While other people might be busy talking, Etana is focused on having her music do the talking for her. She is also working on another album to be released in 2021.