Reggae Offspring: Giark

In order to build a lasting empire, one first would need to successfully build on what existed before them. That truth exists whether the empire is in business, politics or even in music. For isn’t that often the ultimate hope for many parents, for their sons or daughters to carry on the family traditions or at least maintain their level of social standing. But building, or improving, on any legacy takes time for it is as the popular idiom says “Rome was not built in day”. However for the Digital B record label and its label founder Robert ‘Bobby Digital’ Dixon, the future of his label, his empire as it were, has been shown recently to be in good hands with emergence of his son Craig ‘Giark’ Dixon. Giark has, in recent years, made the steps necessary to revitalize the world famous yellow label with the releases of the Islababad, Hopeless B and Joe Fraizer riddims along with a countless amount of singles geared towards adding to an already impressive worldwide fan base. But what about the man himself? What does Giark, himself think he ultimately can bring to Digital B that was previously overlooked? You are welcome to tag along as we have a sit down with this budding music maven and discuss the plans for the future of Digital B Records.

What do people mostly know Digital B for?
Was the colour of the label, the yellow label.
So my next question would be knowing that. What you do think you would be bringing or have brought to the label as opposed to what your father has done in the past?
Well I don’t think there is much difference but the only thing is that we are living in a new time frame. There are computers now, so it is a completely different approach than how my father would have approached it from in his time yuh nuh. But it is the same agenda, we trying to just make music for the world to like and for people to like. What I really want to do is maintain what already is and what was already in the past, yuh nuh. And try to create so stuff that we, this generation, can live and hold on to for many years til our kids can come and hold on to as well. So that is the type of music we are trying to make something that can long last because from the label created that same music is played to this day. So if we can really put we self together, create some more music with new musicians. We could even try to create a different genre because in dem times (Earlier days of the label) reggae was without a name, it wasn’t a genre. So it is for this generation, we as young people, to even create new genres for ourselves.
Yeah because from dancehall was created around ’85-’86….
There hasn’t been anything new created in Jamaica. So it is for us as the younger yutes to even challenge ourselves to create something but a lot of yutes probably want to create hip-hop. So when they say they want to create something different, dem waan create a crossover beat because dem waan guh inna hip-hop world.
Well, it is what is popular. So…..
Yeah, it is what is popular but it is not something that we should even brag about, we should try to create supp’im else. Yuh know wah I mean? Is not our artiste going on what is crossing over, is jus other artiste using our stuff.
Not to stray too far from the profile but the situation with that was when dancehall was created. It was more organic, in a sense, what people are trying to do now seems more forced. You see something that is hot and you see people making money this way…
That is where dem fail. I know they are brains that exist like that but if that is how they are going to approach it, then they have already failed.
How are you going to continue if that is your only motivation?
Yeah, yuh fail already
Full disclosure, I have known you for a good while now. But there are certain things I don’t know about. Like what inspires you on the production side?
To keep going? I think sounds and new melodies inspire me to keep going, yuh nuh. To wake up tomorrow and sing a different melody you never heard before and even if it you heard it before it was so ancient that no younger yute want to sing it because if you sing it dem a guh seh yuh old. You know dem kinda vibe? What really keeps me going and makes me waan make music is the sounds. To be able to compile sounds together and move to it that is what keeps me going as a musician and a creator of music yuh know what I mean.

So long can you say have you been producing, how long you have been a producer?
Producer, I don’t know. I guess I would have to say from birth. But I guess the question is when I tek it serious…
Alright, when did you take it serious?
(Laughs)…. I took it serious when I found out it was going to be my bread, my daily bread. I tek it serious when my father see mi start sex pum pum and start drive, yuzimi. So mi haffi start buy gas and dem likkle ting deh. So instead a him a do dem ting deh, him a seh mi a man now. A so mi find out seh music a di ting, probably right after mi lef’ high school. Mi spend two years a di studio jus deh deh a do dancehall. Deh pon the road a try and promote artist and promote my song dem within the dancehall. Hitch up mi self beside a disc jockey dem a night time pon di road. Find myself haffi buy dem drinks a night time to say this is it, you know what I mean. It was like a new experience for me, coming out of high school mi never did know a suh the ting really guh, if yuh understand wah mi a seh. At di time mi a guh road and dem ting deh, my father was nowhere in the picture. So is not like seh him deh deh a tell mi wah fi do. Mi jus out deh ‘mongst bredrins and bredrins.
To be honest based on his history, your father was probably more in the studio working on stuff than out there on the road.
Him was more in the studio…. yes.
But you see because you have that experience more artist need fi come to you and talk about the reality of how certain things go because you always deliver the reality even when it harsh. Most of the artistes I know if they had come to you with certain tracks, you would have said nah man that caaan work. And that is the thing I really rate about you from long time because some producers can tell the artiste that this song not going anywhere.
No, and some artistes ‘fraid of producers like that too. I have come up against a lot of few of them that are out right now, current and young like me; who caan tek telling. Dem rather siddung and drink wid people weh nah help dem to better dem craft.
Too much yes-man
Too much yes-man around dem so dem environment get luu, dem don’t know when it is time for certain things. Dem don’t know when dem come link Giark, Giark nuh waan see nuh friend. Giark waan see you as di individual weh really waan create supp’im. Because if me hear how you sound there must be a reason why mi waan work wid your sound. Is not jus you coming to me wid everything readymade, nah man. When you come to me is like a school yuh a guh because all a wig uh school fi work out tings. So when you come link me is like a different problem we a work out fi solve ‘mongst di two a we. So we need help, we usually have study partners and dem ting deh …..
Yeah, is a process …..
Is a process, Some people just guh bout dem ting differently, yuh nuh.
How you get the name Giark in first place?
Well to be honest a di king name mi so yuh nuh. Spiritually! I asked him for a name and him jus show mi it, yuzimi. It I jus pronunciation yuh nuh, pronunciation reveal the power within the name. Something I was looking for.
Well, that name is very unique. When you say Giark is not like anybody else can come and say they have that name….
Thank you! It means to eliminate crosses, it means to eliminate bad spirit, bad vibes; I am the eliminator.
Which instrument are you proficient with?
Well, I can play the drums but all a dem ting deh mi waan leave to the musicians now. Wid di transition within myself, a lot of changes have to be made. I like to create music with more than one heartbeat that is just my process. A lot of people like to create by themselves but I think I work better with a lot of heartbeats around me to make the music connect, you know what I mean.
How long has it been since your father entrusted you to work with the name Digital B Records?
You know seh him never really open him mouth yet to be honest. Him jus watch It and mek it flow because as I seh when mi did jus leave school and within the baldhead stage, a guh road and a buy alcohol for disc jockey and this and that, mi create a next label. Mi did have a labl name spliff cafe, mi did a mek some tune under and ting. But when mi sight far I now is like far I a show mi now seh why I a start all over, you know what I mean. That a di vision wah mi a get, why start all over. Why guh register something again….
I understand what you mean. Why go through that process all over again when you already have this….
This thing going. So mi a she to myself a betta mi try treat it like a mother label because VP son, Chris Chin son come so boom and come now him nah go seh ‘Yo, Daddy mi a guh form my own label’.
Too much work, too much hassle…
That a too much work. All when him seh him have di links.
You know and in a way it could be disrespectful. Because you have a legacy so it would be like if my father did say he was doing something and I was inclined to that as well. Why would I separate from that, why shouldn’t I just add to it and build a big mansion instead of having a one bedroom?
A that mi start pre, yuzimi, mi start pre out the ting with a different aspect instead of the starting over thing.

Because to honest although money is not the motivation, these things come with hard work. The hard work we see people like Anheuser Busch, it is years and years of legacy and people building on top of that and they build to make everything better. It is not like you are going to make something completely different, if I am inclined to work in that industry let us build a legacy that can sustain across generations.

Yeah man, generations. Longevity we deh pon. So Digital B a di mother label, anything else come after.

What was your most recent release?
I think the 5 Star “Warn Dem” but the Joe Frazier riddim will be out this month. Di “Warn Dem” is on the Blackistan riddim which will also be out this month.
I actually thought Blackis Tan was your code name but it literally could have many meanings.
Ahh Thank you…. Open ended. It can mean anything you want it to mean.
Moving forward, is your father still a part of Digital B?
Yes man, until death. I am just the label manager now.
That is quite a huge undertaking. You have to be in contact with people from around the world.
Yeah I try to, I try my BEST to communicate with people a lot. But it can be difficult.
What is the final thing you would like to let the people know about what is to come from Digital B?
Well, Digital B have a lot of things coming. Especially Giark as an individual, we are going to start to break the barrier from behind the board to on the stage. So we coming at the world with vocals now. Right as we speak that is the transition we are in. So mi a next thing coming from the camp that is why mi nuh sign nuh artiste cause me a di artiste.