Vibrations of Change: Jay Vic on Afro House Music

Jay Vic is a Brooklyn, NY-based DJ who blends an innate passion for music and a deep understanding of its profound impact.

Drawing inspiration from his Guyanese heritage, Jay Vic infuses his Afro House sets with the rich rhythms and melodies of Afro-Caribbean music, creating an immersive sonic experience that transports listeners to a world of cultural fusion and self-discovery. His unique ability to curate diverse musical genres, seamlessly fusing Reggae, Soca, Hip Hop, R&B, and Afro House, captivates audiences and unites them through the universal language of music.

Beyond his exceptional DJ skills, Jay Vic possesses a profound understanding of the transformative power of sound. He believes that music can heal and restore harmony within the body, mind, and spirit. Guided by this philosophy, he meticulously selects tracks that resonate with his audience on a deeper level, infusing his sets with uplifting and soul-stirring vibrations.

Transcript

Mic Check and Music Discussion

Speaker 1 0:00

One, two, one two, One, two, one two.

Speaker 2 0:02

Three four, three four.

Speaker 1 0:06

Check.

Speaker 3 0:07

Don't move the mic move myself.

Speaker 1 0:21

Take a look left, take a look left, take a look.

Speaker 3 0:26

I mean, yeah, I don't take the mic too well, no, let's go on the mic side. Mic check.

Speaker 2 0:45

You can touch it.

Speaker 3 0:48

I mean I need not have people be funny about me. It's not tight here.

Speaker 1 0:53

Mic check check.

Speaker 2 0:54

Mic check Check check, check, mic check.

Speaker 1 0:59

One, two. Who is this? Yeah, yeah, yeah, mm-hmm.

Speaker 2 1:04

All right cool.

Speaker 1 1:05

No, put it there, I don't know who's yours.

Speaker 2 1:10

Would you look in for?

Speaker 3 1:10

your water. It's right next to your. No, no, no, no, no, we're going to Uh-oh. Okay, okay, how about you?

Speaker 2 1:28

You can get this. You can get this. That's great. All right, I'm going to go get this, okay, okay.

Speaker 3 1:34

I don't know which one you're looking for You're looking for water, I'm looking for water. I've got water. I've got water, I've got water, I've got water, I've got water, I've got water.

Speaker 1 1:44

I've got water. After, after after, it's like lock in. We're good, yeah, I'm good. Oh, okay, Is this Kimmy? Okay, got you I three. Wait, wait, wait wait, wait.

Speaker 3 2:06

Before we start, do I not Give me some point like do I not look? First of all, don't look at the TV, right?

Speaker 1 2:12

Now you can look wherever you wanna look, but try to engage with that camera right here. The one right there, three, yeah, all right, every now and then again, you know.

Speaker 2 2:23

Just feel it, get comfortable.

Speaker 1 2:25

Yeah, get comfortable, it's not a big deal. It's not like, yeah, it's different for me.

Speaker 3 2:28

you know, I'm just no one can get people faces to look at, it's just different.

Speaker 1 2:32

Nah, nah, you could look at us. Yeah, it's not nothing crazy.

Speaker 2 2:36

In my episode I was looking at her the entire time. I did not look at the camera now once.

Speaker 3 2:39

Okay.

Speaker 1 2:40

Yeah.

Speaker 2 2:41

Yeah.

Speaker 1 2:43

All right. So we about to start. All right, three, two, yeah, I'm a little tired, y'all. That's all y'all getting out of me. Welcome to Mind Over Matter. Baby, I'm your host, deja Wallace, and I have the lovely Destiny Destiny Lewis St. I'm giving them your whole government Finder on the socials, please don't. I have another lovely guest with me in the building.

Speaker 3 3:14

What's up, JVic?

Speaker 1 3:16

JVic in the building.

Speaker 3 3:19

I thought I was looking at my name set too. I was like you know, I'm gonna give you a little intro.

Speaker 1 3:23

Don't worry about that, JVic. What's going on? Thank you for joining me today.

Speaker 3 3:28

Thanks for having me.

Speaker 1 3:30

Episode Big 80 of Mind Over Matter. Baby, if this is your first time joining me, welcome. If this is, not, welcome back. I appreciate you. Shout out to you. You really came back to listen to another episode. Like, I really appreciate you. Like for real, like we locked in for real. Episode 80, we're going to be talking about music, simple right. Y'all thought it was gonna be something crazy. Like we talking about music, we have the vibe curator himself, j Bop bop bop JVic, in the building, so he's an Afro House DJ founder and owner of Descendants Descendants of sound.

Speaker 1 4:07

Descendants of sound. Descendants of sound. Descendants of sound. Let me get it right. Sorry, sorry, got in my notes. Let me make sure I get it everything right. So, yeah, just explain to the people what you do, what is Afro House? And yeah, we're coming fresh off of Descendants the Descendants sound experience. So we a little tired from that, but it was a time we had a time.

Afro House Music and Ancestral Roots

Speaker 3 4:34

I'm glad y'all made it out and stayed and rocked with me last night. I hope y'all really enjoyed it and caught the vibe. I had a great time last night. It was great seeing y'all there. It was great seeing a lot of people that came through. I really I play Afro House music, afro Tech, but I always like to incorporate my roots. I'm coming from Guy and these Roots, so you're gonna hear Soka in there, you're gonna hear hip hop in there, you're gonna hear R&B in there. You're gonna hear everything in there. Last night I don't know if you guys heard that first mix I dropped, but I had throat baby in an Afro House mix.

Speaker 3 5:15

It was like I kind of try to incorporate stuff that you kind of understand with some new stuff you've never heard before, because I really feel like it's important to give people. I don't want to force Afro House down people's throat. I feel like you know, I was just saw a post recently from Lenny Kravitz and he was talking about you know he feels like a lot of people. Just don't give him a lot of credit or give the music he makes a lot of chance. And I get the same response that he gets when people say why are you playing that white people music? And it's like House music is our music first and foremost.

Speaker 3 5:48

Understand that we created House music. It started in Detroit by us. It was ours first and then it got appropriated and then it became something where it's like if you're doing that, you're pandering to that other crowd, but it's ours first and foremost. But before that, I feel like Afro House and Afro Tech is the music that our ancestors left for us. I had come from this really strong belief that our ancestors are way more technologically advanced than we are.

Speaker 2 6:15

I believe, it.

Speaker 3 6:18

I feel like we have. Our ancestors have escaped this planet eons ago and found you know whatever and what. They were the originators here. They built the pyramids, they built great cities and all that. People are like in shock and on they're trying to figure out what exactly the truth is there. You know they're scared to see who we are and say who we are, but I feel like you know powers that be know it already. They just trying to hide that whatever. But that's another thing I don't want to get into the controversy.

Speaker 1 6:53

I never really knew what Afro House was until I met you. I never really paid attention to it. If I did hear Afro House and I wasn't introduced to it the way that you introduced it to me, I would have thought it was some white people shit.

Speaker 3 7:09

See, that's the thing, it's really our music. I mean you hear it in Afro House like it's got the bass and it's got the drums in it. It's really ours. Like it's really really ours and if you really sit there and listen to it and connect, you could feel it Like you feel those vibrations in that music and it hits you different, Like it can take you to a different place.

Speaker 3 7:31

You know the music has powers that we don't really speak on a lot in terms of like the frequencies and things like that, Like healing frequencies. You can do that through music and you can manifest through music. 900 was a 963 Hertz. You can manifest, Like you really can use sound and vibration. Vibration, I feel like, is a key to a door, Like it can do so many things. Was 128 Hertz can actually heal tissue.

Speaker 3 8:05

So if you think about it like that, like it can really manifest into physical, that that way was to say that we can't find a certain frequency that can open up a new portal to a new world or to something you know and there's so much to explore here and we're really I know for myself like I'm getting into this and really trying to get a better understanding of this but after house, I found has been the best kind of music, the best way for me to express the way I feel, the best way to me to take a listener on a journey and create a vibe, and create a space that you're going to feel safe, especially for our people, where you're going to feel safe, create this vibe, take you on this journey but also give you connect, feel like you're going to connect to your ancestors.

Speaker 3 8:47

I really feel like our ancestors been trying to speak to us for the longest while and those messages have been blocked. Like I mean, when we were taken from our native land, they took our language and they took our religion and they took our families and they tried to take our music.

Speaker 1 9:04

They tried, they couldn't take our rhythm, though they couldn't take our rhythm.

Speaker 3 9:07

They can't take that away from us. So if you connect to the one thing we know we still have, like we have that and at least we know we have that we can connect. Our answers will speak to us through that and I feel like it's part of my calling is to connect us, be that conduit, like connect us to our ancestors the best way I can, because I know I feel the connection to my ancestors. So I create these experiences where I want people to come in and really get a chance to form that connection for themselves and like feel that. So, as you saw last night, like it's really important for y'all to come in and feel like it's a safe space and you felt comfortable in there, like I want to make sure that we attack all the senses and you're in there and you got the smells and the sounds and the feelings and the vibrations and everything, and so all that stuff is connected.

Speaker 1 9:55

I've never experienced anything like that. It was the incense for me Like how did like that's really set the stage, Like we went in. Like how many times you go into a club and they use incense to like and sage, and like they're so intentional about clearing the space before they even start?

Healing Through Music and Positivity

Speaker 2 10:15

And that's big yeah, because if you even think about, like spiritually, what they say about liquor and being in environments like clubbing and the music that they do play and how it basically transports you into like a different realm, like you're not yourself, especially when you're drunk and you're at the club and you're listening to a whole bunch of ratchet music, now you're embodying what you're hearing and it's not you, it's that spirit.

Speaker 2 10:42

So to understand that and then to also see how intentional it was to be in a space where you're, in, an environment where your spirit is safe.

Speaker 3 10:52

Yeah, yeah, that's, that's generally. That's where we're trying to. We're trying to come at it where people can come in and your spirit is you can really be free.

Speaker 2 11:02

Yeah.

Speaker 3 11:03

To be yourself. But also I want you to leave out better than you came in. I want you to leave out with a better attitude, a better emotion, like the feeling, better emotionally and spiritually than you did when you came in.

Speaker 2 11:14

I can say it from experience, being that we did do it yesterday and I will have my own things that I've been going through the past 24 hours, literally. I definitely do feel like I'm, in a way, like I'm so happy today. I'm grateful Like even I've had moments in my day where it's like I could have been dwelling negatively or I could have reacted negatively and allowed somebody to take that power over me. But I'm like no, I had a great week. Good, good, right yeah.

Speaker 1 11:45

That's the vibe curator, like he lifts up to the name. Okay, like literally.

Speaker 3 11:48

That's the point I really feel like. I really feel like it's something we can. You know, little by little, we end up changing the world. If more people just got into this and I'm going to say you got to come to exactly kind of my events, You're just going to open Find Afro House. We open to finding Afro House events and finding music that's outside of what you normally listen to. How?

Speaker 1 12:05

do you feel about the Andre 3000 album?

Speaker 3 12:09

Oh, I love it. It's great. It was a great album. Obviously, I am a hip hop fan, so I'm still a hip hop fan and you know you miss Andre. He's a legend and you want to hear him spit some bars or whatever, but at the end of the day he did. He made music that he knew he wanted to release for himself, but he also was like, if I'm feeling this, I know a lot of other people need this and he gave us healing frequencies throughout that whole album, like he really gave us she said she cried to it.

Speaker 1 12:39

I think it's a couple of times. It's beautiful, I mean, I'm proud. It's funny because they say people who like ridicule it, like too harshly and like turn that shit off.

Speaker 2 12:47

It's kind of like demons.

Speaker 1 12:50

It's kind of like musical stage, you know what I mean yeah it is the people who don't like it are the demons.

Speaker 3 12:56

Let me tell you they're having a hard time breaking through and you're going to come across people like that. They're going to be like those are the same people like oh, that's why people should hang with that, but they want to listen to the music that the white people told them they had to listen to. That run the industry.

Speaker 2 13:11

But why is it that it's like? Because it doesn't have lyrics. It's automatically deemed white people music Like. For me personally, I don't take that from those types of music.

Speaker 3 13:21

Can I be honest I feel like anything that's this music puts you in a different spirit, in a different place, and for it's so sad to know that people feel like any music that does that to you is bad.

Speaker 2 13:37

Just like if you talk properly, you're automatically talking white.

Speaker 3 13:41

Yeah, that's true, you know what I'm saying.

Speaker 1 13:43

It's like anything that's healing.

Speaker 3 13:45

They always try to downgrade it like that's them, but it'd be your own people.

Speaker 2 13:49

It'd be your own people doing that shit. They'd be the main ones.

Speaker 3 13:53

It's really not. It's one of those things was like unless you're going to the church which you know, they have their own music and everything like that and helps us to one way and you feel lifted in the spirit that way praise the answer and things like that.

Speaker 3 14:08

Like, unless you're doing that, you're not going to get that in our community. That's the only way you could do it. But for some people the church may be a little bit too restricting for their lifestyle, but they still deserve that healing. They still deserve that, you know. I think it's important to mention that. You know there are people in the church who just don't like meditation. They say meditation is the devil.

Speaker 2 14:35

Yeah, no.

Speaker 3 14:35

Yeah, honestly, there are people who say stuff like that too.

Speaker 1 14:38

Yeah, it's like selfish.

Speaker 3 14:39

Yeah, it's crazy to me to think that people think that way, but it's like you know, for us as a people, we really have to take the time to like, find and explore these ways to find our own healing avenues, and so I always try to take people to get this understanding. Like, if you listen to rap music, just listen to rap music, this is your favorite song, and I'm not saying it's nothing wrong with rap music. I love rap music, but I understand it to a certain point where I have to keep it at and I put it in my music and just because when I want you there, I want you to feel comfortable and I'm going to give you a little bit of what you know. But there also is some messages that I always sample a part of that message that you can use for the positive.

Speaker 1 15:21

But when I, when you, listen to rap music, I want you to pay attention to your facial, your facial expression and what your body does and how tense you get and your fist ball up and you sitting here, you rapping like this and you know it's funny, I think I think often back to like a time in high school where it will be like a bunch of, like you know, little project kids that would come to the school and they would like it will be seven, 30 in the morning and they listen into like Chicago Joe rap they're listening to like oh my God.

Speaker 1 15:53

And it's like it's seven 30 in the morning. This is what you're listening to.

Speaker 3 15:56

I can see why you are so problematic.

Speaker 1 16:00

That's why you're such a problematic. Off the wake up and you.

Speaker 3 16:03

we all know that one kid in school that I just mad Get on that bump in music Just don't care if you start your day that way and you, if you start your day that way and it affects your mood from the time you wake up, the rest of your day is going to be exactly the rest of your day. We is going to be like that.

Speaker 1 16:19

And you're like my murdering. You know what? So?

Speaker 2 16:22

I was. I think I was reading something. Yes, I was read that Joe Olstein book, not to promote him, but it's a part in the book that he talks about how a guy I guess he must have like they people send him letters. So basically a guy he would listen to the to every day for work. He's an older man. He listens to the radio, but what he's listening to the radio is the news. So every day he's listening to the news to get to work.

Speaker 2 16:46

Now, while he's at work, every time his co-workers are interacting with him he's very agitated and they don't understand why he has this expression when they're interacting with him. Because he just came from work, I mean, he's just coming to work. So I guess Joel insinuates for him like what are you doing? How do you start your day? He was like, well, when I drive to work I'm listening to the news. He was like what are you listening to?

Speaker 2 17:12

And he's like politics. But the politics that he's listening to he's so passionate about it that it affects him and he's like you have to think about that. Like you're starting your day like that. Then you're interacting with people and they feeling this energy that you don't even know you're coming to work with every day, and now your co-workers don't like to be around you like that and ever since he realized that he stopped listening to the news to go to work and he's had better days, ever since his co-workers they all hang out now after work and literally just that one little change from something so minuscule you would think, but it really affected his life in a drastic way, yeah, exactly.

Speaker 2 17:50

Like yeah, it's the news, but the news they're not promoting nothing.

Speaker 1 17:53

Yeah, yeah, yeah, they're not promoting nothing positive, yeah.

Speaker 3 17:56

Yeah, that's.

Speaker 2 17:57

I mean, it's sensationalism and they're trying to get you round Exactly.

The Power of Music and Vibrations

Speaker 3 18:02

Exactly, you know, and yeah, so that's the news. It's the same, it's the same principle. Are you listening to stuff? And it will change your mood or change the way you react to other people? You walk, and I mean also understanding the laws of attraction. I mean, if you are out there walking around like with that I wish a nigga would type of mentality, you can guess what A nigga would Like eventually a nigga would. Like, but that's what you're walking around looking for.

Speaker 2 18:27

Yeah, exactly, you know what I'm saying. You can't walk around looking back and they're trying to get the energy to you.

Speaker 3 18:31

That's what you're going to bring to you.

Speaker 1 18:34

So it's like it's like it could be used to you so much more powerful. Like this thing you could actually like. I feel like hijack yourself in a way through music.

Speaker 3 18:46

Yes.

Speaker 1 18:47

Like say you're in the gym and you want to do an extra set, but like you listen into some slow-paced, some R&B, you're not going to want to do the extra set, but say you put on some grr grr bow, you might want to do that extra?

Speaker 3 18:58

Yeah, I don't want to do that extra set. You need that extra question?

Speaker 1 19:00

Yeah, it's like, but you need to know how to like do it in moderation, yeah.

Speaker 3 19:05

Yeah, I mean it's understanding what you need and finding that balance and that vibration that affects you the right way. And that's why I tell people explore other vibrations of music. Explore other vibrations, period, and I'm not talking about just music. Explore the vibrations of the people you keep around you in your circles.

Speaker 3 19:23

Yeah, like what you eat, what you eat, like all these things are vibrations and you need to explore different avenues, explore different ways to and see how it affects your body. Just take a time and be like you know what. For a week, I'm going to do something different and let me just see how I feel.

Speaker 1 19:40

I did that with Jazz music. How'd you feel it was cool? Yeah, yeah, I felt like I was in a sitcom sometime, so I was like on the bus listening to Jazz music.

Speaker 3 19:53

I'm like oh this is different. It feels yeah.

Speaker 1 19:56

It feels very different.

Speaker 3 19:57

Yeah.

Speaker 1 19:58

But it also like made me feel relaxed.

Speaker 3 20:00

Right.

Speaker 1 20:01

Especially like coming off of work, sometimes rush hour I could feel so tense, you know.

Speaker 3 20:07

Yeah.

Speaker 1 20:08

Just finishing a shift and then it really brings me down. Yeah.

Speaker 3 20:12

I have like certain songs that I listen to, like that like really put me in a certain space when I work out. Actually it's really weird people I work out actually to like technically it's called classical music but it's not. It's like classical music but it's like soundtracks like Hans Zimmer, like Pirates of the Caribbean or like Batman Soundtrack, superhero, shit.

Speaker 1 20:37

Yeah.

Speaker 3 20:37

I mean for me, I'm not even in it.

Speaker 2 20:38

No, I get it.

Speaker 3 20:40

Stuff like that. But it's that music. It vibrates and hits you in that wave where it's like you just feel like you are super. You have the super powers to do anything you want. So when I know I need to push with another set, oh, I know, I'm going straight to that Batman soundtrack because I'm like, yeah, you know what I mean.

Speaker 3 20:54

Like I'm going hand with it. But again, it's just different vibrations can open different doors and make you feel different ways and you. It affects your whole life, it affects the way you think the way you're buying your culture.

Speaker 1 21:05

I had also heard somebody talking about, like how it's good to have classical music on when you're studying, because you can retain more of the information.

Speaker 2 21:17

I think it was like I love myself I love myself. Oh yeah, and that was the first time he had lyrics. The whole time he were there, I don't know. No, it was beats right when we first came in right, it was straight beats, no lyrics.

Speaker 1 21:28

But, the first lyrics that I heard was I love myself. But back to that. The more that the song kept playing, it's like it would go into different songs, but you still can't get it and I felt like for me personally.

Speaker 2 21:40

The more that I kept hearing it, the more I kept repeating it and the more that I was really getting into it, I was like, yeah, I love myself.

Speaker 3 21:50

That's beautiful. Yeah, yeah I mean that comes down to the art of mixing and trying to make sure that when you have a message in the music, there's not a lot of words. When it comes to Afro house and Afro tech, I like to put certain words in something that I'm not good at. I like to put certain words in some of my songs on purpose, but those words will always have a meaningful purpose to it and you can take it with you and you'll repeat it, like you said you'll repeat it over and over and you'll hear it.

Speaker 3 22:17

on different frequencies, You'll hear it. Because I want it to hit you on every frequency, not just one. I want you to hit you, you know, in all your chakras. I want to hit you everywhere. I want you to feel it. I want you to take it with you. I want you to wake up the next morning and be like yo. What was?

Speaker 1 22:31

it. It was funny because if you had like a transcript of all the lyrics that we heard last night and then we'll see why we feel like this today.

Speaker 2 22:40

Yeah, because I still remember when it was your set you started with. You didn't start it, but in the midst of it it was the Beyonce.

Speaker 3 22:47

Oh yeah, I set the bar and I love that song because of the message that she's leaving.

Speaker 1 22:51

Yeah, the message.

Speaker 2 22:52

Like yeah, that girl.

Speaker 3 22:55

Yeah, I try to make sure that you, I have a thing. So, if you know the sentence of sound, shout out to Christina star and aq. Those are the homies and we've been doing this for a while and I have this thing with us. Like you know, I love to get to give my voice and give my, take people on a journey and things like that. But I feel like it's very important as people to understand a black woman's perspective and her. Like her, let her take you on a journey, because that's the root of all creation. Like we come from black women, like it's, that's just the way it is.

Speaker 2 23:34

Like they have the.

Speaker 3 23:35

That's just where it is.

Speaker 2 23:35

Like the creative all beings.

Speaker 3 23:37

Whatever we can get to the, was it the chromosome or whatever it is that women have Like.

Speaker 3 23:43

I mean, come on, let's be real, but anyway. But I feel like it's very important to let a black woman tell her story, like black women should be like what's y'all doing right now? Like tell the story. Y'all create the narrative, Tell the story.

Speaker 3 23:56

I think it's very important because we all come from that and so in those messaging, the messages that you get from them, I'd be like dang. Like sometimes I'd be feeling like I really be hearing my ancestors. I really be hearing my ancestors when they play. I'd be like dang, like I have a good time, like I put putting things together and things like that. But I'm telling you, when they play, I'd be hearing my ancestors talking to me, like it really takes me to another place. I'd be hearing the same teachings I get from my mom in that music, like it really takes me to another place where I'm just like, okay, like you know, I feel a positive, I move forward positively in life just hearing that stuff and getting that message from them.

Speaker 3 24:36

But again, we all deserve to be heard, we all deserve to have our message heard and I feel the way to do it. My message is, you know, to give people, or open the door for people to find this healing. So, yeah, I want you to love yourself. I want you to walk around every day with your head held high saying I love myself, because whatever the hell you going through saying that and being positive about whatever it is and knowing you can get through it.

Speaker 3 25:02

There's a song called here With Me that I love to play. He's saying as long as you're here with me, baba, nothing can like. Who can be against me Like? Nobody can stop me.

Speaker 2 25:12

Period.

Speaker 3 25:13

It's like, yo, you really have ancestors at your back every moment of every day, pushing you forward and as long as you find a way to tap into that, you can. There's no stopping where you can go and what you can be. You can do anything you want. We just need to block some of that negative stuff that the man has told us we had to listen to, because we don't run the music industry and we don't promote the music that we hear that, they tell us, is top music. We don't promote that they do. And they tell us yo, this is the hot music, you need to listen to this every day. And it's not a black man telling you that, and it's not a black woman telling you that to listen to this music every day. And they're pumping this music into our neighborhood, into our heads, into our brains, into our feelings.

Speaker 1 26:00

I don't know if you watch the show who Cloned Tyrone, the movie man. You know so many people telling me to watch it. It's a crazy part in the movie where they have like this music playing and it is just like passing through a concert and his friend just stops because they're trying to like get to somewhere. And then his friend just stops and he just stands there and just stares at the stage and he's like yo, let's go, let's go, let's go. And he's like damn, I don't even like this song. And he's just there, just standing there and it just was so deep and messaging in there. It's like sometimes, like you got the radio on and you just like there, like in, like a docile state, you're like wait, why do I know the lyrics to this?

Speaker 3 26:37

You know what I mean. You know you're driving and you like you don't even really you get somewhere and you be like damn, I don't even remember driving.

Speaker 2 26:43

Yeah, I'm walking and I don't even realize.

Speaker 3 26:46

Well, it's the same thing, because you're doing that in the music's playing. You know I'm paying you?

Speaker 1 26:49

Yeah, but your subconscious is picking it up.

Speaker 3 26:51

Yeah, picking up everything, and that's what you're, that's what you're going to move on, and so that's why I'm telling you like it's important to try to find music with a positive message, music that's trying to get you, move you in a positive direction. It really affects so much more than we think, and so, with these events, I want people to come in and just get get us to a direction that's positive, uplifting. I want you to leave higher, like.

Power of Music, Cultural Identity

Speaker 1 27:15

I want you to leave out floating, like on high when I think a lot of that is because I feel like most of the people in that event or who do listen to that type of music and like resonate to like events like yours they know themself. You know, I feel like a lot of people who are lost. They're so easily impressed when they hear something and then they just want to kind of like be a part of like the group. You know, like you don't know this song?

Speaker 3 27:45

Oh no, like yeah, you should know this. You know the dance to this dance.

Speaker 2 27:49

Yeah, and it's like so uncool.

Speaker 3 27:51

If you don't like, yeah so you spend your time trying to figure out the lyrics. I mean, when I was a kid, nice to write out the lyrics to rap songs, like I got to know this one.

Speaker 2 27:58

The lyrics to this. When I was a kid, it was Nikki. You had to know Nikki.

Speaker 3 28:03

You had to back in my day, was you know? Same thing. It was just writing down the Like yo. Who is this?

Speaker 1 28:09

And rapping somebody else's lyrics.

Speaker 3 28:11

Yeah Like, yeah, I know it too Cool, and now you, you know, but it's, it's, it's taking in the stuff in the subconscious.

Speaker 1 28:18

Something different yeah, it's really, but we think it's so harmless. We like, oh, we just, we just yeah, and everything we're taking is so yeah, especially as a child Exactly as a child you're so easily impressed In the car.

Speaker 3 28:32

Pigeons. Your kids are listening to. Because I'm telling you, you just driving, thinking about whatever you got going on your life and that music playing the background your kids are absorbing every word of everything they're listening to.

Speaker 1 28:43

Next. Thing. You know he's talking about Make me sweat, but you know what?

Speaker 2 28:47

I think that is so powerful that you call your music the sentence of the sound.

Speaker 3 28:54

Yeah, I mean, it's really where we it's, it's, it's really. It really captures what I feel like we. This music is the music that our ancestors left for eggs.

Speaker 2 29:05

And especially that too, because you say you're you're from Caribbean descent as well. I need and if anybody who knows Caribbean culture, carnival, that's a big thing and the history of Carnival. Literally, is us not being able to play music.

Speaker 3 29:20

That's exactly how Carnival Exactly it was created.

Speaker 2 29:22

So the sentence of sound like all of that, like it's so powerful.

Speaker 3 29:27

All of that into it, because it's this is our chance to be free, literally our chance to be free and to be heard. And I Guarantee you there will be people out there who will try to stifle you, who will try to take from you, who will try to steal from you. I'm not making any names, but there are people out there who will do stuff like that. Yeah with the sentence of sound. People have tried it?

Speaker 1 29:46

Yeah, cuz they couldn't take away our rhythm. Like you said before, they can't take away the, so they try to.

Speaker 3 29:52

Of what we do exactly. They'll try to. They'll try to copy us, they'll try to emulate us. The, the man will try to buy us out. Record labels will try to buy you out and be like, yeah, so I like what you're doing. Do it under us and then let us Direct it and tell you how to do it and control how you do it and control who hears what you do. But they're not. They're making you feel like, oh, yeah, this is good paycheck, but they give you that paycheck at what cost? They're gonna now move you to another market. Now they're moving you.

Speaker 3 30:19

It's like, okay, you're no longer gonna be heard in any urban area. We're gonna take all this good healing music you got here. We're gonna keep it over here for us. Yeah, my people gonna be good with this and we're gonna appropriate your healing For us. And we don't get an opportunity. And that's why I'm telling you I just I Spent a lot of time and I feel bad that I do it, but I have so me so much time. I spent so much time trying to get our people to just Feel this vibration. Just one time, just come through one time. Listen to afro house. One time. Like, really like think about the way you felt when you watched Black Panther the first time You've seen them in Wakanda.

Speaker 1 31:02

Yeah, that's a good comparison.

Speaker 3 31:03

Think about that and just understand that like there's actually like a way you could feel that like for real, like in real life, like I, you're not gonna be in a spaceship, but you might feel like you want to space it. Yeah, I promise you there's a way, but she's got to come and get that like be open-minded yeah it's real. It's real, I mean.

The Power of Lyrics and Beats

Speaker 1 31:22

I'm not gonna lie. Um, I did come in open-minded but, um, I'm very like, I'm very stuck in my ways when it comes to music. So it was very big for me to even be there last night, cuz like I'm like damn, there's no vibes cartel, nobody's skinning out. Haha, it was. It was refreshing to give you a different. I Gave, you gave you did.

Speaker 3 31:49

I think if you gave such, I tell you and that you're, you are the audience that I'm trying to reach. I want you to know. Seriously, no, I know like I will play a little something, something that you're used to. Yeah, I want to hear, but I'm gonna just bring you in. Yeah but then I'm gonna hit you with the other stuff. And I hope that you leave Knowing that you got something new to put into your playlist now.

Speaker 3 32:11

Like sure you got something new to listen? Yeah, and add to it, like not telling you not to listen.

Speaker 2 32:16

Oh yeah, I was back there shazamming.

Speaker 3 32:21

Look, I want you guys to just take that stuff with you and just spread the word, give it to other people. Well, the people hear that, play it loud, loud and be proud about. And if anybody asks you about it, just be like, give it a chance, like just yeah. And and house music is black music. I promise you, we started it, it's ours, we just need to take it back.

Speaker 1 32:40

That's it so, yeah, I always like appreciated the power of like Lyricism, especially like growing up like in a Jamaican household listening to Bob Marley, and like Hearing Bob Marley now, like I didn't really pay attention to it as a kid, but like hearing the lyrics now it's so timeless and it's so like it just makes me feel like you know, empowered, like yeah, yeah, you know you have people, and I kind of feel even more empowered when I hear afro house, only Because the lyrics is not there, but I still get that feeling you still get the feeling, yeah, yeah, that's.

Speaker 3 33:23

I think Throughout history We've had people who have been able to give us messages through music, positive messages to music that we haven't really Payed attention to say like, oh, this is positive, yeah, how positive it is because, again, you listen about Marley, your life and it's not till you. Recently or got older, you'd like, oh, wow, like he was speaking some real like yeah just like India already to me.

Speaker 2 33:46

now older, listening to her I'm like wow it was so positive like she speaks so much about like being in a positive mindset.

Speaker 3 33:54

Yes, yes, yes, but you see what happens to people like that exactly. And it's so like we need to and we as people need to do better to keep them. Yeah, make sure we keep them. You know we have to protect them and not let other people shit on who they are and they do and their art, but that's why it's so important for like ownership.

Speaker 1 34:15

Yeah, oh yeah, it's definitely important.

Speaker 3 34:20

You got to be careful about who you keep in your circle.

Speaker 3 34:22

Again, that vibration Of what you want, of what you want around your work.

Speaker 3 34:28

Like me personally I you know I'm producing an album and I have no one working on my album that I just don't trust With my message or trust with this vibration.

Speaker 3 34:39

I'm not bringing that energy anywhere near the studio when I'm in there, like we say, jeanette, join out before, and we getting it ready. And I need to clear it out, like I need to make sure that the energy and the vibes and that's the same thing with the events I want to make sure that the vibes and energy in there are safe for all of us to go in there and be yourself and be free. And so we try to make sure that that vibration of we're not bringing anybody else in there that has that and you don't want people owning it that have that either. So you got to be careful about who. Are you letting people come with you to fat check and it's gonna look real nice and you'll be like, yeah, this is the dream, what I do it for. And if you're doing it for that and you're not doing it for that reason, yeah, if you're doing it and let somebody buy you out. They're buying your spirit.

Speaker 2 35:21

Say that again.

Speaker 3 35:23

Like they will take that from you and they will, they will sell your soul, yeah so you're. So they will buy your spirit and and you'll be in shoot. You'll be a slavery to them for a minute. Because you can't. There's no way to pay back in advance. Check, I'll tell you that now that's a trap.

Speaker 2 35:39

Like you're not paying that back, they got you this like they got a hold of your energy, basic, your power. They put in your power in a cage.

Speaker 1 35:46

What do you, what do you think is more important? Lyricism or like the beat?

Impact of Gentrification on Afro House

Speaker 3 35:51

mmm, I say the beat so I think it's, it's combined, and the reason why I say this is you can have music like. You heard music last night without any words in it and you still got a message. You still felt something. Yeah, or I'll play music that speaks in a different language that you don't even know understand. They're speaking in, yeah, zulu the whole time.

Speaker 2 36:18

Oh, you don't know what they're saying, but you like yeah, you feel, you feel the mess, you get it, yep so, but then also the beat can be, can the vibration can do that.

Speaker 3 36:28

So it's not the lyrics and it's not the beat, is the vibration.

Speaker 1 36:33

That they meet together, hmm, so yeah, that's that's.

Speaker 3 36:36

That's kind of how I look at it. I don't. I don't think one takes precedence over the other. It's the vibration.

Speaker 2 36:42

Me. I'm the type of person like if the song, like if the beat is good, I don't care what they're saying. Me too.

Speaker 1 36:48

But that's dangerous.

Speaker 2 36:49

But yeah, when I said that out loud. But then again, I don't listen to just any type of music Like I pay attention to the things that I listen to.

Speaker 3 37:00

Do you turn on the radio and you're riding? You don't hear it. I don't listen to the radio, though, when you in the store and the music playing you you just sitting there vibing and the beat still it's the way he talking about, and then you hear it, you're like damn, oh, that's crazy.

Speaker 2 37:13

It happens to all of us.

Speaker 3 37:14

It happens to all of us For a while. You know a song I really liked, and I'm not even ashamed to say this what who on Smoke by.

Speaker 1 37:23

Nardo Wick.

Speaker 3 37:25

Yo do, do, do, do, do. What the fuck is that? Yo that was, let me tell you. Yo, let me tell you something that track right there. I'm not even gonna hold you. I love that song that beat went hard, that beat went stupid, it went hard. But then I'm like listen to it, I'm just like ah.

Speaker 3 37:42

And then that's what I painted into, what I was doing when I was listening to it and I was like I'm in numbing it, Like I'm like, okay, how can I change that? And to praise or a celebrate. And so I made it. I actually made an Afro House remix to that track because I love it so much. With that beat I was like man, Afro House beats Justice Hard, so we can do that. That's an easy flip, Like boom flip that. And like you can have that same energy that you got, but it's more positive leaning.

Speaker 3 38:08

Oh my gosh, you're missing it and it's literally the same song.

Speaker 2 38:10

Go crazy yeah.

Speaker 1 38:12

Thank you.

Speaker 2 38:13

You know how to remix a song to the point that it's like wait, this is a real song.

Speaker 1 38:19

Like you, basically create a whole new song.

Speaker 3 38:23

Yeah, I think it's important. I'm telling you, we can take a song and I will find that certain parts of it. And if I feel a certain vibration from a song and I'm like, oh, I could work with this, and I'm gonna go all in.

Speaker 2 38:36

Yeah.

Speaker 3 38:38

And I'm gonna elevate that to a point where it's gonna take you to a new place with something you know, something you've heard before. I want it to be something. I want you to come in and get your vibes, but I want you to also get it at a different vibration. I think that's where I wanna do. Like I want you to feel that same, get that same message in a different vibration, like you can just different interpretations to everything.

Speaker 2 39:00

Yeah.

Speaker 3 39:01

I want you to interpret the same thing you've been listening to, do a different vibration and see what that takes you, because it's gonna be completely different. But I'm not taking you, I'm not telling you to alienate what you come from or who you are or what you like to listen to. I'm not telling you to do that. I'm just telling you to try to understand it on a different vibration and see what that does to you. Open yourself up to something new.

Speaker 2 39:25

And that's so powerful.

Speaker 3 39:27

Radical inclusivity through music, like I want everybody to come through.

Speaker 1 39:30

I think it's kind of like playing defense in a way, because I feel like music has been weaponized. So to kind of shift that perspective and actually, like I said, like re-engineer your mind.

Speaker 2 39:42

And be intentional about it. Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1 39:45

And then help it like manifest, through, like affirmations, like I love myself Very intentional yeah.

Speaker 3 39:52

Yeah.

Speaker 1 39:53

Like you know a song. I love that song with Gunna and Victor, that Afro-P's song I'm a blessing Manifest, as talks about like I'm a blessing.

Speaker 2 40:03

Blessings, it's Victor Thompson. Yeah, blessings.

Speaker 1 40:08

But anyways, I like listening to, like, like I listen to that song every day now and I really like feel it when I listen to it, like it's a kind of like a way to do affirmations in a fun way. You know what I mean. That's super important.

Speaker 3 40:22

Yeah, that's super important to do, to be able to do your affirmations through the music and attach it to those vibrations, exactly when it's going to affect you and hit you deeper, and in your core, where it's gonna change the way you move throughout your day, with those affirmations, where you're walking around saying I love myself, you know.

Speaker 1 40:41

That's very important and that's stuck in your head instead of.

Speaker 3 40:44

This song. That's exactly what they're doing with that. They're giving you the message, a great message, in a vibration that's gonna resonate with you throughout the day, and it's both to be catchy and stuck in your head, yep, and you're walking around saying it being blessed.

Speaker 1 41:00

Every day.

Speaker 3 41:01

That's a beautiful thing.

Speaker 1 41:03

And how do you think the over saturation of the music industry has affected this type of messaging? Like Afro House, it's just harder to get to.

Speaker 3 41:15

It's harder to get to. It's harder to find it. There's a huge gentrification of Afro House right now. People are taking it and making it. I mean, I think everybody should be able to celebrate any kind of music. But, it's being gentrified to the point where, like there's people who truly do this from their soul. And people who really do this with the ancestors and they're not being heard, they're not getting a chance right now.

Speaker 3 41:39

And it's sad Like I listen to a lot of artists who are like man. Every time this person would drop something, I would hear about it. It was dope, and now I don't hear about them dropping something.

Speaker 1 41:48

Why does that always happen? I feel like the Afro Beach genre is solely being gentrified as well, you know.

Speaker 3 41:54

Yeah.

Speaker 1 41:54

And it is Like when I first came across Afro Beach. It felt like Afro Beach, like I felt the essence, I felt, you know, like, even though I didn't know what they were saying, it made sense. But now, like I feel like they're trying to translate it, making it more digestible for, like the Americans.

Speaker 2 42:12

Yeah, With the edge. I hate when they put Eric Schoering on a goddamn Afro song. Oh my God. Yeah, it throws me off so much and that irritates me so much, because it's like to know the history of how far we've come.

Speaker 1 42:26

And then the Justin Bieber thing got me tight too.

Speaker 2 42:28

And then you're going to put a frickin' colonizer on the disordered leg.

Speaker 3 42:32

That's I understand that. That's exactly what I mean when I say the gentrification. They're going to come in and they're going to try to take it.

Speaker 1 42:38

I hate that for us. They're going to take it from you. They just commercialize everything.

Speaker 3 42:44

It's all about money. They're trying to make the money off of it and they even realize like, oh, this is hot and people are liking it. So let's take this now and put a Bieber on there. And Bieber don't know jack shit about Africa, but he out there on a track and you can't even front. He probably sounds good on it.

Speaker 1 43:03

He probably sounds good on it. Yeah, he does, especially when they put Selena on. That was good. I can't front.

Speaker 2 43:10

She is my kryptonite on calm down, but it's not to say that they're not good and they can't honor our music or anything like that.

Speaker 3 43:17

But I feel like when you're taking it away from us and not giving the opportunity to Afro beats artist or Afro house artist or DJ or producer and giving it to somebody who has no connection to the ancestors and no connection to this music, and they're not doing this from the soul, that energy is woven into the music, that capitalist energy is woven into the music, not the true vibration that you want.

Speaker 3 43:45

When we make this, do this music the true Afro house, the true Afro tech, the true people who connected to the ancestors and really do this with the real, true meaning behind, like, really want to help people heal. Through this they're weaving. We are weaving that into the music.

Speaker 2 44:03

Yeah.

Speaker 3 44:05

And so you're listening to it, you're not paying attention to it and you're not hearing it. And you're hearing the lyrics. And the lyrics might even sound nice and the singer sounds great and got great tone, but what's woven into that music is I'm doing this. I can make this money. I'm doing this.

Speaker 2 44:18

And why can't they just create their own genre where, if they're inspired by that type of music, they can make their own spin off, but it doesn't have to be within the same genre. It's not going to sound good.

Speaker 3 44:28

It's not going to sound good, but it's better than trying to capitalize. Nobody would hear it's not going to sound good. It's just not going to sound good. I mean it's not, it's going to be.

Speaker 2 44:37

It's some BS.

Speaker 3 44:38

But yeah, so I just really hope that people get the message that pay attention to what you're listening to, give some new stuff a chance, and if you're open enough to listen to classical music or jazz randomly, give Afro House a chance, give Afro Tech a chance. It can change your life for real.

Speaker 1 45:00

Yeah, yeah, and I feel like, also because we're in a new age, it's easier to access all this. Just anything Like music is at the it's there. Yes. Our fingertips, so that also should make us like. I feel like that's what also makes us like give us an excuse not to care, you know right. Because it's so easy, it's accessible.

Speaker 3 45:25

Yeah, easily accessible it's, I mean, but it just is just as easy as it is accessible. It is just as easy for the wrong vibrations emitted and messages to get to affect.

Speaker 1 45:39

Yeah, I feel concerned for the youth sometimes Because I'm like they're singing these songs on the radio and it still sound like they should not be singing these songs.

Speaker 2 45:47

Yeah.

Speaker 1 45:48

It's like even though they put their little like bleeps or little clean versions, it still sounds crazy. What's coming up Talking about? I got murder on my mind. You know what she's.

Speaker 2 45:56

Yeah that's. I heard like that thing and I'm like that's why your words have spells. Yeah, good morning, good night, those are spells. Why would you want to be good and more?

Speaker 3 46:09

That's wild.

Speaker 1 46:10

Yeah, that's so that song was mainstream playing a lot and I've heard little kids talk about I got murder. I was like what, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2 46:20

Yeah, we got a couple minutes OK.

Speaker 1 46:23

Yeah, I feel like we hit all the hot topics. Let me see if there's anything else in my notes that I would like to talk about. Is there anything on your mind you want to get off? Let people know.

Speaker 3 46:35

I feel like I kind of did that I feel like you guys gave me an opportunity to kind of express myself and I appreciate it. I really got a chance to, I would say, check out the sendence of sound. The sendence of sound, or I am JVIC on IG and come check me out because definitely got some great things going on, great music, and I'm curate, always creating a vibe that's going to help you, you.

Speaker 1 47:02

Yeah.

Speaker 3 47:02

Yeah.

Speaker 2 47:04

Bigger vibe curator yes, Be the goddess in God that you are. Yes, the sendence of sound. Yes, the sendence of sound. The sendence of sound. Don't let it go over your head.

Introducing Afro House, Thank You

Speaker 1 47:14

Yes, you get me All right. Thank you for listening to another end of another episode. Oh my God, you made it to the end. Like you love yourself, like, oh my God, like, oh my God. I'm so excited for you and thank you again for joining me, jay.

Speaker 3 47:27

Thanks for having me.

Speaker 1 47:28

Link in the description for anybody who's interested in knowing more about Jay. I know you have a playlist as well, right?

Speaker 3 47:36

Yeah, I'm going to put that.

Speaker 1 47:38

So, yeah, I know like I could introduce you to Afro House. If you've never heard of it, jay will introduce you to it and his playlist down below Link in description. Like comments, because bribe all of that. Thank you and have a great rest of your day, wherever you are in the world. Oh, and tell them about your mother and your mother. Mother, that is mine over matter, baby.

Speaker 2 48:03

Yeah, ok, that was great, yeah, that was.