ET&T Hot Seat with Jah Bami

Real name Damian Marvin Walters known world over, as Jah Bami MTV Tempo TV Host and reggae singer, past resident of Japan and New York, brought all these titles and baggage to ET&T offices. To interview, flirt with the staff and collect BB PINS. Bami’s a laid back dude with a twang and a risky habit of speaking his  mind, perfect recipe for our Hot Seat.

 

ET&T:   How did you get the gig with MTV Tempo?

JB:  I went to try out for a voice over on MTV and I got the job on the first day, happened to be in the right place at the right time. Met up with Fredrick Morton in the elevator and was giving him some ole talk, he mentioned Studio 51 said he’d just been to Trinidad for a bit, all this time I had no idea who he was. Eventually they got around to offering me the spot on Tempo, didn’t know what it was, it’s a Caribbean thing so said I’d try it. It wasn’t my thing I wasn’t trying to be on TV as no host, I’m a musician but…  ya know I tried it. Before that I was with Rolling Stones magazine just being in the environment aided the process.

 

ET&T:   How’d you dget the name?

JB:  Living in Japan for a bit and I was signed to a label with some dudes from Nigeria and eventually Mami-Deli Bami-Deli led me to twist it this way.

 

ET&T:   Are you still with them, what’s new with the show?

JB:  I left Tempo about two years ago. Didn’t get fired, I left (uh huh…) Just got to the point where I wanted to so something different and being on TV wasn’t really my thing.

 

ET&T:   You know everyone thinks you’re Jamaican right? Why yuh tink that iz?

JB:  Really? Probably because I live Brooklyn and all Brooklyn people have an accent, everyone in Brooklyn sounds a lil Jamaican LOL, it have DJs here that sound Jamaican and they ain’t even been to Brooklyn. I think it’s just slang and then too its music, if you’re a rapper you talk in that Hip Hop Language.

 

ET&T:   You may or may not know why but, how come Tempo don’t cover anything in Trinidad, our stuff no good?

JB:  I think Tempo navel string is buried in Trinidad (REALLLYYYY?!) Yeah, most of the hosts were from Trinidad and I think they focus on Trinidad more than the rest (HUH?! Whattt?)  and because they didn’t get where they wanted to get with Trinidad cause I don’t know… Trinidad spit on them, cut them off.

 

ET&T:   Yeah that station got axed by the mighty Flow so it’s all good. Were they even bothered?

JB:  Yeah that hurt, Trinidad is their main market, this is the Big Apple of the Caribbean, everyone knows that. And Trinidad never gave Tempo that full endorsement, because… I don’t know guess don’t really like black people LOL.

 

ET&T:   You probably dunno one thing going on locally, who won elections and why?

JB:  How you mean! UNC. COP, the People’s whatchacallit, Partnership! I vote for them (really?) well no I can’t vote but I’m very happy about it, I think we need the change. Love to see the first female PM< history in the making.

 

ET&T:   And now, what’s occupying most of your attention?

JB:  Help develop the young music industry locally. Part of the I Am Local Campaign

 

ET&T:   You’re on a couple riddims locally, in your view and likely your bias *wink* what’s the feasibility of the reggae produced locally, crossing over?

JB:  What?!! The reggae that comes from TT is, in the space of 5 months, bigger than the Soca that comes out of Trinidad. Because the gap that reggae covers is larger than the gap Soca covers. I write Soca, worked with Rocky, Gailann, 3suns, Difference is the staying Soca is only good for seasonal places, but the reggae already take a step towards Europe so Germany, Sweden in all those places Trinidad reggae is really really big.

 

ET&T:   What’s the ultimate goal here, which industry and doing specifically what?

JB:  The music to grow locally and it can, people just have to support it, push it out there and the problem is no one wants to see Jah Bami drive a Bentley like Bhagwansingh. They rather pay Popcorn to perform because they don’t have to see him spend that money, I mean, who wants to go fishing and see Jah Bami’s boat some day? (the girl who granted you an interview when you were halfway somebody?)

 

ET&T:   Happy with the support from local media?

JB:  I don’t think we have a medium or platform for the industry. I don’t really care to do stuff like this but I reached out to ET&T because I know y’all gonna be something big. Otherwise a lot of shows happen and no press coming out, they think they too big unless you do something in the Hyatt, I speak my mind, I live close to Piarco.

 

ET&T:   So you travel a lot, why you think Trini so follow fashion and does anyone, any other country, city or state, imitate us?

JB:  Of course! (Watch nah Jah Bami ya rell lying n ting boi!) LOL no girl! Jamaicans respect Trinidadians more than Trinidadians respect Trinidadians. Because they know to be solid and set TT have to give them the stamp, that’s the power we have. And besides nobody can speak like us, our accent is royalty.

JB:  Because we trapped, here is the hardest place to get a VISA so all they have is the 1 eye monster: TELL-LIE-VISION, to tell you lies. And you take up whatever lies they tell you, you see Lil Wayne and T.I wearing polo so that’s what they wanna wear.

 

ET&T:   Ask you a personal question, you think of yourself as a celebrity? I mean… like really?

JB:  Ahmmm I’d say I’m pretty known.

 

ET&T:   So you have fans, groupie love and all that?

JB:  I don’t like the word fans, or groupie. I have people that follow my music and they love it.

 

ET&T:   What do you enjoy most about being in the media?

JB:  I like travelling where I don’t have to go through customs. Well it don’t happen here LOL. I like to see the enjoyment on the children’s faces,

 

ET&T:   Any drawback

JB:  I’m in the public eye, but I’m not rich, I’m just Bami. Is ah scene…

 

ET&T:   What’s one of the craziest celebrity moments you experienced?

JB:  Wow, you really want me to say? LOL uhmm so much, and so personal. I’d say just chilling with other big name celebrities and seeing how they could be normal and seeing how they feeling you more than you actually feeling them. And also seeing some of my boys drunk, out of their mind! LOL.

 

ET&T:  For the hopefuls reading here, are you currently dating or jus ballin’?

JB:  I’m seeing somebody, yes I’m… interested in someone…

 

ET&T:   You probably have your pick, what’s your type?

I like females who are intelligent about their culture, I mean they gotta be cute like you with the dimples and all that… but same way she has to be very intelligent and not girly girly. Stand by her man, in case some sh*t pop off she gotta be down.

 

ET&T:   Any major regrets in the journey this far, if you’re brave enough to share?

JB:  Yeah, would’ve love to see Tempo take it to level where artistes of the Caribbean could use it as a platform o really take it to the world.

 

ET&T:    If the headlines were about you in tomorrow’s dailies, what would the caption read?

JB:  JAH BAMI, 10 MILLION ALBUMS SOLD, 5 GRAMMY NOMIATIONS or SOMEOME FINALLY PUT TRINIDAD ON THE MAP.