Reggae Soulman Ginjah comments on the pressure in ‘Immigration’
Published:Saturday | September 9, 2023 | 12:07 AM
Recording artiste Ginjah is generating a lot of heat stateside with his new single, Immigration (Pressure Is On) that deals with hot-button issues of immigration and rising racial tensions.
“The song was really inspired by the struggles of people of colour and of recent immigrants in the United States. People ah run from oppression and poverty into the US but the huge influx of migrants and border crossings is causing a lot of anxiety, economic and social pressures on all sides. So immigration is an explosive situation,” Ginjah said.
In the USA, the state of New York is housing roughly 59,000 asylum-seekers a night, The New York Times reported. And more than 2,000 migrants are sleeping on police station and airport floors in Chicago, the Website Axios reported. Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey, a Democrat, declared a state of emergency to address the surge of migrants there.
“Immigration ah one of the biggest issues facing the world today, and the US, especially in this upcoming election-cycle. Yuh have to understand that is a global displacement ting a gwaan, immigrants ah come, some Americans ah welcome them, some powerful ones don’t want them, so the pressure is on,” he said.
In Jamaica, Ginjah’s searing hook in the song which declares that the ‘pressure is on’ has also taken on new meaning as the island is grappling with the twin tigers of crime and rising inflation.
“The pressure is on in Jamaica and we as a people ah face it right now. The leaders must step up and do better for the people. The cry right now is unbearable, the murders, the poverty, the crime, the struggle in this back to school times. It seems that the ones with the power keep on neglecting the people. As a people, we need to put away petty issues, and show love to all ... search our hearts for kindness, for as the good Psalms say, ‘they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength’,” he said.
Ginjah the Reggae Soulman is booked for shows in Detroit and Texas later this month. The Immigration song is the lead single from his new album, Music is Mine,which will be released in October.
“With this album, I’m letting people know that I belong in the music industry and they can’t push me out because everybody can clearly see that politics reach me from the get-go, but I trust in God,” he said.
The album is produced by Rapid/Sartout record. The title track is set for release on September 26.
Born Valentine Nakrumah Fraser, Ginjah moved to Central Village in Spanish Town as a boy. He honed his craft with his ‘teacher’, Beres Hammond, whose Harmony House label the Hanover-born Ginjah was associated with early in his career.
He scored a huge hit with Never Lost My Way and later in 2013, he hit again with Sweet Killer.