Renowned reggae singer discusses his fifth studio album, calls for stronger visual impact, openly addresses politics, and shares his thoughts on being labeled 'underrated'
Bugle, possessing a unique personality in the music landscape (Photo: Jamar Cleary)
“We, the conscious artists, need to put ourselves out there regarding the work that we are doing. We need to make the people see it”, echoes Bugle. A staple in the Jamaican music scene for over 15 years, his call for conscious artists is no surprise.
His music uplifts spirits. In his latest fifth studio album, 'Apex', which dropped on August
23rd, he praises Jah and voices his disappointment with the political climate in Jamaica.
Conversing with Kaboom Magazine, he describes his journey to making 'Apex', his reggae “superstars”, and calling for more conscious music.
When asked about selecting the name Apex, he attributes it to being the “highest point of anything”, paralleling it with his music career. “I think I reach a level where music is concerned, where I’m pretty much on an apex. I want my album to also reach on that kind of level. So, we speak life, and I think the name fits the body of work perfectly because when you go through the album, listen to the product itself, the production and the choice of rhythms and featured artist, then you can definitely say this album is an Apex.”
Apex features renowned artists Barrington Levy, Damian Marley, Buju Banton, Capleton and many more, adding to the stream of consciousness on the album. The selection for the features was easy, describing reggae and dancehall stars as his “superstars” as they “suit what I’m representing.”
“What I usually do is compete with myself. So, what I did before was try to do better or go as close as possible. So, with 'Toxicity' album, I have Bounty Killer, Julian Marley, and Beenie Man. I have some solid features on there. So, how do I go close or even go above that kind of feature?”
Bugle starts the album with “the whole philosophy of the Rastafarian movement. Where I tell people who is the king and why we have so much love and respect for the King
Selassie himself.”
Following with his feature song, Thank You Lord with Buju Banton and Damian Marley, “telling people that the Almighty God comes first, and we need to focus on that. We tell women how much we love her, but don’t take a minute to tell the Almighty God how much we love him.”
He describes the main message of the album as “righteousness”. He goes on to say, “We buy the nicest car and the most fancy shoes and everything, but we still don’t take a chance to just to sit down with some unfortunate people and buy them a dinner and have a conversation with them and see what they’re going through. The message I’m bringing across is that we love ourselves so we can love other people.”
Bugle is not afraid to speak his mind about the politicians
Promise echoes a similar connotation, speaking of the political climate in Jamaica as he describes that he is fed up with the consistent cycle of unfulfilled promises by the government.
“My great grandparents and other people go through things in Jamaica where every four years we see where there’s a lot of promises made to the people, and it doesn’t come true until the next four years again, the same set of people come out and make the same promises to the same people, and we still not learn because we still keep on doing the same thing. So, my question is, why are we still voting when all those promises are made to us, and it doesn’t come true? And we give them the opportunity, they say vote for us, and we are going to do this for you, and the people vote for them, and they still don’t do it for the people.”
With a strong, uplifting, yet conscious album, it’s no wonder it should receive recognition by the Grammy’s for Best Reggae of The Year. However, this isn’t a big concern for Bugle. “I think every artist who submits their album would want to win a Grammy, but am I sitting here waiting on a Grammy? whenever I was in the studio, I said, OK, I’m going to do this, and when we’re done this, I’m going to win a Grammy. No, you know, I’m just going to put my work together, and when we’re done this album and put it out, we still have to submit it and see how far we get to. I would really love that level of acknowledgement, but we don’t sit around and wait on it.”
Seemingly, Bugle has no qualms about shaking the “underrated” label, sharing that “People always say they think I’m the most underrated. People know that I’m not getting what I truly deserve. Still, in truth and in fact, I would rather be underrated than overrated because when you’re underrated, there’s only space for you to allow people to see how powerful you are as long as you continue and maintain that greatness that you’re not getting acknowledgement for. Still, when you’re overrated, you only have room to drop because that means you’re getting something you really and truly don’t deserve.”
Urging Artists to Elevate Conscious Music with Strong Visuals
After leaving Daseca in 2015, he gained control of his music and has independently produced every album. He has also financed the production process, further showing his dedication to righteousness in mainstream media. Investing in his studio allows him to stay grounded in his passion for music.
Bugle wants to “compete with the negative that is going on out there” by calling upon his peers to produce more conscious music because “we, the conscious artists, need to be doing more. It’s just the truth because even where albums are concerned, how many albums come out this year? That is never usually the case. Maybe they come out, and I’m not aware because they are not promoted or whatever the case is, but I think we’re too quiet with the righteousness.”
While not wanting to call names, he sees promise for the rising artists in Jamaica, expressing that if “they continue and put in some solid work and get in some conscious song here and there, then they are going to be some powerful artists in the end.”
The music industry is struggling in Jamaica with low visibility for rising artists; Bugle wants conscious artists to fight against it, emphasising the use of visuals: “We live in a time where it’s all visual. People want to see it. Sometimes, it’s there, and people don’t even know it’s there. We have to shoot videos. We have to make sure we promote it. We have to bring it to the people because people buy what you sell.”
Using Buju Banton as an honorary example, he says, “Whatever you say, you can’t be saying the same thing the same way for 20 years and expect people to accept it. We need to put some more melodies and sweeten up the thing. Buju Banton came out and dropped an album. I listen to that album religiously every day because the production of the album is sweet. When I play the album, it gives me energy.”
Bugle’s love for music has kept him afloat in the music industry for so long, making him who he is, as music is his “thought process”.
“I think every artist who submits their album would want to win a Grammy. we still have to submit it and see how far we get to. I would really love that level of acknowledgement, but we don’t sit around and wait on it.”
“We can be having this conversation, and you say one thing that gives me an idea, and the next thing is me having a song. I stay in my space and be creative because I am most creative when I am in my own zone.”
The 42-years-old singer, is looking forward to touring to “reach more people” and shooting music videos for the songs on his album. “We have about four or five videos that we definitely have to shoot.” Looking to potentially work with Stephen Marley and Beris Hammond, he’s still someone who doesn’t have “too many big expectations” but rather “, I just put the work in the atmosphere, and whatever Jah seh fi happen, it will happen.”
“I’m not afraid to sing about my journey because there’s a lot of things that I put in my music, not knowing that so many people have gone through the same thing. It connects so wide because everybody can relate to it", the singer concluded.
Bugle, pushes conscious music and righteousness in evolving industry (Photo: Jamar Cleary)
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