WERS 88.9 fm Artist Interview: Gramps Morgan

October 14^th, 2009

Gramps Morgan, of family-run reggae group Morgan Heritage, gave WERS DJ Easy Dred a brief, yet poignant interview about his debut album as a solo artist. Morgan talked about his transition from being a performer, to working behind the scenes as a producer. This is a road that many musicians choose to follow these days—and with the credentials—why wouldn't they? The reggae artist—and now producer—discussed what it felt like to work with such prominent r&b acts as John Legend, and India Arie during the Evolver Tour. Gramps Morgan pointed out that while perfecting the latest album, he experimented with an unorthodox crossbreed of r&b and country—something many would think impossible. In addition, Morgan went on to talk about what it's like touring with his family versus, say, a group of friends, or a group of hired guns.

Released on this past summer, 2 Sides of My Heart Volume 1 is Gramps Morgan's solo debut, a work of art that's entirely separate from his work with Morgan Heritage, who went on hiatus back in 2008. Morgan Heritage is a group made up of five siblings, Gramps included. From an early age, the siblings were regarded as reggae royalty, having been the children of prominent reggae vocalist Denroy Morgan. Nothing was handed to these kids, though. Starting with their freshman release, 1994's Miracle, the group has consistently pumped out albums up until their 2008 hiatus.

Morgan stays true to his "lover's rock and conscious roots reggae" in his debut album. Songs like "Therapy," and "Come Back to Bed," deal solely with relationships' ups and downs. Each piece from 2 Sides of My Heart Volume 1 is a relatable one. Word is—there is a Volume 2 in the making, which will tap into country music even further, and there's talk of a duet with country star Kenny Rodgers on Gramps Morgan's solo follow up. That's right. You read it here folks.

All in all, Morgan's lyrical and stylistic approach is an optimistic one. He finds a way to communicate positivity in the face of discontent—isn't that what reggae's about, after all? 

WERS: How are you doing today?

Gramps Morgan: I'm doing great.

WERS: Nice, for listeners out there who may not know, you've performed on nearly every continent of the planet with Morgan Heritage releasing ten albums and three DVDs, and now you just released your debut album, 2 Sides of My Heart. Your musical focus is still rooted in lover's rock and conscious roots reggae, but what other sounds have you begun to experiment with on the new album?

Morgan: On the new album we've started to experiment with R&B and country music. It's very fun. We grew up on country music with our parents playing that music in the house, in Springfield, MA.

WERS: You also did most of the production on the album. When did you start to get into producing?

Morgan: We've been producing many songs. For some songs we had producers like Robert Livingston, and Don Corleon. So there's [been] a lot of producers [we've been working] with, but we produce most of our own music.

WERS: That's really interesting. So you guys have been producing as a group?

Morgan: Ya mon. We've been producing [our material] for many, many, many years. In our album, More Teachings, and Three in One…, those albums were produced predominantly by us.

WERS: Let's hear a song off the new album. What do you want to hear first?

Morgan: Let's listen to "Therapy." This was produced by myself. This is the remix of a song that I did with India Arie on her album, and this is the remix and I've put it on my album, 2 Sides of My heart.

WERS: You recently toured with India Arie and John Legend on the Evolver Tour. What was it like being on the road, and performing with those legendary R&B artists?

Morgan: It was a wonderful experience. I thank John Legend and his whole crew and India Arie for having me and accepting us Rasta men into their world. It was a great experience and it was a learning experience. I learned a lot from John Legend because our type of vocals, the ranges are very similar. He plays keyboard, [and] I play keyboard. I learned a lot watching him every night. It was a great experience.

WERS: You mentioned you're featured on India Arie's new album. What was it like recording with her?

Morgan: She's amazing. She's one of the Stevie Wonder's of our time. I simply can put it like that. Her vocal capability, her soul, and her passion for music is next to none. You have to find that person among artists and the fearlessness within the music business. So you know, being in the studio and trying to record that song, and writing that song with her—she just truly amazes [me]. She's like a sister you know?

WERS: Let's hear another song off the album, so what song do you want to hear next?

Morgan: You can play the song called, "Come Back to Bed." This one is about the ladies, and was written by John Mayer. This one is just inviting your partner to come back into the bed, when they leave and the temperature of the bed gets colder than 98.6 degrees.

WERS: For listeners who may not know, Morgan Heritage is made up of five siblings. What was it like touring with family as opposed to friends or other artists?

Morgan: It's great to tour with your brothers and sisters, it's like a big family circus—everyday just going to different cities and being able to play your music and see all these different parts of the world—it's a blessing.

WERS: A lot of artists don't really get to do that, they're always missing their family, but it's like you never really leave home.

Morgan: Yeah, exactly.

WERS: And what is your opinion on the state of reggae today?

Morgan: I think reggae music is very much alive. I think our music has been through a lot of different transitions—as a [form of] music that I still think today, [reggae music] is one of the biggest [musical movements] in the world. Many reggae artists go on to different parts of the world where a lot of artists never get a chance to go to, so what's left? As well, the music is growing. There are all these different denominations of reggae; you have dancehall, you have reggae mixed with R&B, you have reggae mixed with hip hop, you have reggae mixed with dancehall, but now dance hall is a kind of music. It used to be a place where Jamaican music used to be played and now it's become a [genre in its own right]. There's Beanie Man, Bounty Killer, Sizzla—those guys do dancehall music. Currently I do reggae music. There are great things that are happening with music. It's become a little [more] aggressive in my opinion, but I think it's starting to get back to where it used to be—like love and happiness—what Jah used to be.

WERS: Alright, we got one song left, what's this one gonna be?

Morgan: This one was my first single that I put out when Morgan Heritage Family made the announcement that we were going to be doing solo projects. This one is called, "Wash the Tears," from my brand new album, which is in stores now. Go check it out—you can go to GrampsMorgan.com and download it in less than three minutes, or you can order it and we'll ship it to you.

WERS: Is there anything else you want to add, or any message you want to send out to the listeners?

Morgan: Just tune into GrampsMorgan.com and see what's happening. We just revamped the website. You'll see where I'm gonna be on tour. I'm currently on tour right now, so people can look out and come check out my live shows. It's gonna be a good, good season and I [want to] thank everybody for supporting Morgan Heritage throughout the years, and I hope that you will enjoy the solo projects. God Bless. 

Words by Jacquelin Voegtlin