African artiste Mr Lambert eyes dancehall market
Tanzania- born artiste Mr Lambert recognises a connection between his country’s bongo flava genre and dancehall music and for this reason, he wants to expand his fan base to include the dancehall audience.
“Dancehall is the biggest tune right now because everybody wants to dance and party, so it’s the music that’s making people happy and go through the hard times and good times,” Mr Lambert told THE WEEKEND STAR. “I feel like if I can also bring my sound to dancehall music, we can combine my sound and their sound together to become family. It’s something that I’ve always wanted since back in the days when I used to listen to Bob Marley, Konshens, and a lot of artistes from Jamaica. So, I feel like if I work with a lot of people from Jamaica, it will be something good for me.”
His feelings have proven true based on his collaboration with Jada Kingdom. Their song, Pause, debuted in July with a music video that has received more than 300,000 YouTube streams, MTV rotation, and favour on various African Afrobeats and dancehall charts. Mr Lambert said the connection was made possible through his record label, For My Brother Music.
“When I heard her voice on my track, I was like, ‘This is what I want, this is what I need’. I wanted Jada to be my first dancehall collab because she has a natural voice, she doesn’t use a lot of effects to her sound and as Africans, we don’t use a lot of effects on our voice. I would also listen to her songs a lot. Win is one of my favourite songs because it reminds me of my life in Africa,” he said.
He’s now settled in the United States and sees his music being a tool for positive change in five years.
“I’m taking this to the point where I wanna help other people, especially where I come from ‘cause I don’t wanna be a selfish guy…,” he said. “At the end of the day we come and go so before I’m gone, I’d rather bless another person and they’ll bless another person. That’s how I want my music to be: to bless each other, lift each other up and give each other opportunities.”