Jahrimba: The business and patriotic artist |23 November 2013

Jahrimba (Richard Marimba) had been almost absent from the local music scene since releasing Spektakiler in 2009.

This, despite Laviktwar, his last album which was produced in 2011 while the artist was temporarily based in Mauritius. On the album features a hit tune Island girl.
Jahrimba was in Mauritius as part of a contract with local producing house ‘Melimelo’ dating back from 2010.

From Mauritius, Jahrimba had for the last six months moved to England, from where we had only last week got news of his performance at the Miss Francophone UK (United Kingdom).
We had then not been expecting a so soon surprise visit from the artist. But he was there in our newsroom on Monday afternoon to talk to us about his UK experience as well as future plans.
“I have been creating musical contacts and performing,” he said.

He revealed that he has signed a contract with Buzwakk Records, a Jamaican reggae label based in the UK whose chief executive is Bucky Jo.
“The deal consists of a project whereby different reggae artists sing on one same beat. Known artists such as Egyptian, Gappy Ranks, Luciano J. Octain, Bunny Lie Lie, Queeny, Buckjijo and Real African also feature on the six compilations produced so far. And I have already worked on six beats,” explained Jahrimba.

On his choice to move abroad, the business-minded Seychellois artist combines economic and patriotic reasons:
“It is difficult to live on music in Seychelles. Even the Mauritius market is not enough for me though I am among the top five reggae artists in the Indian Ocean right now. One Euro gained away from the Indian Ocean is really a plus. But although I want to be the best artist, all is not about money. It is also about exporting my musical talents and Seychellois music. When we talk of the Indian Ocean we talk only about Mauritius. I want to bring Seychelles’ music on international scenes and make the world know about Seychelles.”

Being a musical ambassador will not prevent Jahrimba from taking a break from his international assignments and find time to come back to Seychelles to realise a future project, which is the release of a new album.

“I am working on a new album. Although it will be produced by another Mauritian company – ‘Paradise Burning’ – and distributed in the Indian Ocean, it will be recorded in Seychelles by Extra Big Sound at La Misère. Compared to Laviktwar which was completely built in Mauritius with Mauritian musicians, this one will be a more Seychellois album,” promised Jahrimba.

However, in spite of coming back to his native La Misère, the artist, who has to date always sung in Creole, will with the album add a new dimension to his musical career:

“It will contain my first English single, ‘Twinkle twinkle’.
The qualified cook and ex-footballer who won a gold medal at the first Commission de la Jeunesse et des Sports de l’Océan Indien (CJSOI) football competition in 1994 in Madagascar remains nevertheless rooted to his homeland and this is how he concluded our conversation:

“I will never forget my origins and people. My hero remains Sir Jeris Cesar, who coached me at club and also national team level. He has given me football qualities such as discipline and confidence which I have transferred to music.”

As the best line of his poetical lyrics which I always recall, “En zoli marimba, zis bon pour Jahrimba”, these words can only come from unique, the one and only Jahrimba, a former Ragga Blastaz crew.

M. S.