Keeping it real: Gialiani
By Iana Seales
Stabroek News
February 10, 2007
"I am no gangsta rapper," singer Gialiani exclaims with a slightly baffled looked on his face. According to him, he neither dresses nor talks like one so why does everyone think he is one?
Maybe it's his video that set tongues wagging. Launched about two weeks ago under Wild Fire Productions Gialiani's "GT Rudeboi" projected a flat gangster rap image, but one nonetheless and though he raps about all kind of things in it the message most people heard was: it's okay to be a pimp and to emulate bad-boy behaviour.
But Gialiani insisted he is not a gangster rapper during a sit-down with us on Wednesday. Flashing a childlike smile and shaking his head in disagreement with what he considers misconceptions out there about him, the young singer said his lyrics are deep and if people listen more carefully they would realise this. He said his music stays true to the issues he faces on a day-to-day basis.
Gialiani says he is all about keeping it real and his music is no different.
"My inspiration comes from the personal issues I face and my music is all about that. The first video did confuse my image with some people out there but that will change after I release more music soon. I am no gangster. I don't dress like
one, talk like one or try to come over as one," he said with much conviction.
In keeping with who he is as a local hip-hop artiste he has a signature look. Cap tilted sideways on his head, one side stud earring and a slight curl in his walk. He does not have an accent but when he is rapping a pretty heavy one comes on. This, he said, is because rapping is just another job and while some require a shirt and tie his simply requires an accent.
He goes by the name Gialiani but was born Carlton Jevaun Washington 22 years ago. The name Gialiani is Italian but it has no particular meaning since according to him, he just put a couple of syllables together and hence the name. It is pronounced Gi-ali-ani.
Since 1996 he has been a huge fan of the hip-hop music genre and has deeply embraced the music of Jay Z, Naz and Notorious BIG. He referred to them as the greats and said their music had much influence on what he is doing. He started singing and writing music around the same time and has been at it ever since.
"GT Rudeboi" is not the first song he has written or recorded but it is his first major project to date. In April last year Gialiani recorded a track called "Escape" but decided to hold it for a later release and went with the controversial gangster track. He said "Escape" speaks about some of the hardships he has to face and is a song most people will be able to relate to.
Why go with the gangster track then? Gialiani said he wanted to do something different, something new. He said the initial idea was to launch a song and video with a concept that resembled nothing on the local scene. That he has accomplished.
"When I went over the song in my head I knew what the video was going to be like, but visually it was difficult to put together. The team I worked with eventually came up with a play, they added some visuals and we had a video. Unfortunately, some people didn't get it [the concept]," he said.
Gialani said he has lots of material ready for release and it is only a matter of time before he does so. He gave us a taste of one of the tracks, which sounded pretty okay and assured us that there is a lot more where that came from. Currently he is working on an album. According to him, he spends most of his days in isolation focusing on his album.
He said many of his songs are not club songs so people would not hear them playing at the groovy nightspots. However, he said, a few of them have dance beats which people will get hooked on when they are released, and hinted his next track is titled "Club". "It's coming and it's really good," he said.
Since his video was released Gialiani has not enjoyed much airplay. The song is yet to make it onto the radio station and it has not been on television as much. He said this is because the song has to be edited. He said a few of the lyrics have to go because some people found them offensive.
Added to that he said the soca craze which is usually felt around this time has understandably taken prominence. He insists that Guyana is yet to hear much of what he has to offer.
Prior to the launch of his video Gialiani lived a relatively low-key life. He attended Bishops' High School and after graduating he started focusing on music. He spent a short time co-hosting a few television programmes. But that was the extent of the exposure he got as an up-and-coming local singer.
Just over a year ago, word got around that he has a talent for rapping and it so happened that Jonathan Beepat caught onto this. He met Gialiani and a working relationship immediately developed. Beepat was instrumental in Gialiani recording his first song and subsequently established the Wildfire record label under which his first video was launched.
Gialiani has hopes to someday go international. He said the work he is putting out now is now just for a local audience since his tracks will eventually be sent elsewhere. He is one of three local singers on the Wildfire record label which aims to take a different style of local music beyond these shores.
Gialiani has a temperament which says no matter how people receive his music he is going to keep doing what he does because he loves it. His perception of keeping it real fits into his projected image outside of his music. He has only two words for the public - stay tuned.