Reggaelizing Romania and the world: Interview with Reggaelize It!
1. When did you start Reggaelize It! and what was your goal originally?
Well, we started our reggae journey in 2007 under another name (Giarmaica) which we changed in 2011 to “Reggaelize It!.”
The passion for reggae music was our driving force, and we wanted to spread it to the Romanian massive as well, to make a movement, to make a change.
We started as an online reggae magazine written in Romanian, having as a main goal the promotion of reggae music in Romania, and also trying to take part int he growth of the Romanian reggae movement by making reggae parties and live events with foreign artists from time to time.
Between 2007 and 2013 the community that we built around this project grew quite a lot, and it is so diverse, that the Romanians are no longer a majority, fact that made us think about starting to write in English, which we did.
“Reggaelize It!" original purpose was and still is to promote reggae music and culture, always bringing the top reggae related news closer to the music lovers. The only thing that has changed from the beginning is that now we are writing for an international audience.
2. What’s the reggae scene like in Romania?
Unfortunately, reggae music is still an underground genre here. The good thing is that there was obviously a growth in the past two years, regarding the reggae events which increased a lot, and also regarding the artists. You can easily notice the influence of reggae/ragga/dancehall music on the mainstream artists latest releases, who aren’t usually into reggae music.
The reggae scene in Romania is not very big compared to other countries in Eastern Europe, but it’s growing and that makes us happy. For now we wish for more Romanian artists to come onto the scene, and also for more people to attend at the events that are happening the country. And of course, we also wish for a major reggae festival, like many other countries have in the area!
3. Who are some of the artists that you are listening to the most right now?
There are quite a lot of great artists that we enjoy out there, and we could fill up some pages but here are a few preferences from the “Reggaelize It!" team members:
Filip: (Founder of “Reggaelize It!”) Well, I’m listening to a wide range of artists, from classic reggae like Bob Marley, The Skatalites or Peter Tosh, to the new wave of reggae artists like Kabaka Pyramid. Also I really enjoy French artists like Admiral T, MIssie Bamboo, Kalash or Tairo.
Vlad: (Event Manager at “Reggaelize It!”) Peter Tosh, Jacob Miller, Dennis Brown, Omar Perry, Gentleman, Chronixx.
Georgiana: (PR at “Reggaelize It!”) Personally, I pay a close attention to the new wave of reggae, the ongoing reggae revival movement and its promising talented youths who are bringing back the positivity and the original reggae flavor, such as Protoje, Chronixx, Kabaka Pyramid, Dubtonic Kru, Roots Underground.) I enjoy a large variety of artists from Dancehall representative figures like Beenie Man, Buju Banton, Busy Signal, Damian Marley, to young reggae voices such as Lion D, Jah Sun, Naama, Patrice.
4. Do you see reggae as being on the rise globally? How is it being integrated into other genres of music?
Yes, it definitely is on the rise. From the middle 90’s, the music has known a great development with a return to its original values from the golden era of reggae. Despite the new artists who are coming with the new wave of reggae, you can see international big artists from a wide range of genres of music “adopting” a little reggae/dancehall flavor. Rihanna, Beyonce, Snoop Dogg turning into Snoop Lion, Eddie Murphy singing along with him, a lot of things are happening. And I think it’s good, it helps in a way or another to bring Reggae music closer to those who didn’t get in touch with it before.
Make sure you Subscribe to Reggaelize It! on Whyd to keep up with their latest discoveries!