Jemere Morgan On Legacy, Love, And A New Sound With Damian Marley

Reggae singer Jemere Morgan, joins us to unpack “No Better,” his latest single produced by Damian Marley, and the bigger meaning behind two legacy music families coming together on this riddim project. We talk about how that legacy shapes expectations, why this music feels like a more mature chapter, and how Damien’s production pulls out an R&B-leaning edge while keeping roots reggae at the center.

Transcript

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Welcome And Guest Introduction

Mikelah 0:11

Hello everyone and welcome to another edition of the Styling Vibes Podcast with yours truly. Today we have a very special guest. They are friends of the business and new to the Styling Vibes family. Welcome, welcome, Jamiri Morgan. What's going on, Jamiri? How are you feeling?

SPEAKER_00 0:29

I'm good, man. Give thanks for even welcoming me on this platform. We give thanks for even any platform to give me the opportunity to speak about reggae music and dance out on the culture and where I am. So we'll give thanks to you.

Mikelah 0:43

Absolutely. I received that. Thank you so much. I really and truly appreciate it. So I know that you're gearing up for an album, but this latest single, No Better, is produced by none other than Damien Marley.

Legacy Families Creating Together

Mikelah 0:57

Um, so given the connection, I really have to start this off with talking about legacy. Both of you are from legacy families who are carrying on, specifically the music legacy. What does that mean to kind of represent generation after generation? And how do you carry on the legacy while still remaining true to yourself as a solo artist?

SPEAKER_00 1:21

Well, when I sit back and hear you talk about it, it's special more than us just being in the moment creating. We do realize how special it is that two legacy families in music is coming together to work on a joint project. Um, to me, it's my first time ever working fully on a full-length project with Damien. Um I think it's my first time Marley and the Morgan family working together on a full-length project. So I'm excited for the world to hear a different side of Jameer. It's a more mature side of me. Um Damien put a way different side of me than normally if I went into the studio with a different producer. But he brought out the RB side of Jameer and polished it with some roots and still kept the roots in there. Um But yeah, I'm excited for the world to hear this music that we created. It's definitely a more mature side of me talking about relationships and knowing how to treat a woman, knowing the lessons of a relationship and knowing better and know you can do better. That's what know better is about, you know what I mean? Learning the lessons of love and just life itself.

Mikelah 2:27

So, in terms of just the connection of the rhythm, I spoke to Elaine earlier. Pressure Bus Pipe is also on there. You guys

Finding The Story For The Riddim

Mikelah 2:34

are really approaching love from a different perspective. So it's like you're getting a different story with each song on the rhythm. And so talk to me about that. Did you hear their songs before, or did you just kind of create based on your own experiences?

SPEAKER_00 2:51

Actually, this rhythm, while we was working on this uh on this album, I had this rhythm sitting in the fall for a while, and Damon is like, yo, I need you to voice this rhythm. And I'm like, yo, I can't find nothing to it. And big up to his son, Elijah. Elijah is the one who played on the drums, Elijah Marley and Shia Kore played um the drum and bass on this. And that was the original um form of the rhythm. And I had it for a while, and I just couldn't find nothing for it. And then and I worked with a um a writer called Natalia, um incredible writer from LA, and she helped me find this record, um, no better, honestly. And um, yeah, since then it's it's almost like she wrote my life story when she wrote the song. When I first heard the song, I was like, yo, this is me. Like, yeah, now I know better. That there's no better than you. You know what I mean? I should be focused on fixing myself and knowing that, you know, this woman here that I have in front of me, I need to do better to keep, you know, keep her in my life. So yeah.

Mikelah 3:50

Elaine also spoke about the challenge with writing to the rhythm and and the feedback that she got from

Jam Sessions That Reveal Truth

Mikelah 3:57

Damien. And you also kind of shared some of the challenges. And I think it's interesting that even within a genre, when you're stepping out of a box within your own self, talk to me about that process. Like you're talking about you collaborated and she dug deeper. Like, what is that process like for you to like really collaborate with someone who you trust and who understands you and your vision to kind of bring the song to life to a space where you're really proud of it?

SPEAKER_00 4:28

Um, it's an amazing uh process to work with someone that has experience into just knowing how to um build unique sounds and be yourself with the music. You know, I mean, not really copying what's out there, what's on the radio. The AMA approach to music is always like, yo, what you go into in your life right now, let's jam, let's let's get the guitarist, let's get the bass player, let's get the drummer and a keyboardist, and we're gonna jam and and see what you're feeling. Let's hear the melodies of your story and where you're coming from. And I I think that jamming process is a big part of the um evolution of ourselves as artists, you know, when it whether it comes from me, whether it comes from Elaine, whether it comes from Christopher Ellis, Black Amai, any artist that works with Damien, um, I think that that jam session really brings out the like the true story of you, you know?

Mikelah 5:22

Yeah, you talk about the the lessons, and you know, you've had your own experiences, been in this business.

Mature Love Versus Younger Love

Mikelah 5:30

Uh, how is this expression of this type of love different for you than say your 18, 20-year-old self?

SPEAKER_00 5:39

Before I would be like, There's a girl in my neighborhood, everybody wants it. And now it's like really going through love and real relationships are like, yo, yo, woman no easy. You know what I mean? So, and man no easy neither, you know. So it's just about finding that true balance of love and and just as humanity, like in any relationship, whether it's a business relationship, whether it's a love relationship, as a person, you get you get to learn life and lessons too. Just you know, through just through your journey, you know, through the journey of life. And it's important to document it as an artist, it's important to document those things through music. Because this is our art form, and this is our export of our thoughts and our feelings.

Mikelah 6:25

You talk about love as a lesson. What's a lesson that you have learned in love?

SPEAKER_00 6:30

Oh, oh, you

Relationship Lessons And Best Advice

SPEAKER_00 6:32

put on the spot. What's a lesson I've learned from love? I would say the greatest thing I've learned from love or being in a relationship is know the mother and the father of the person that you're dating. And then you will know the person that you're dating.

Mikelah 6:51

Now I have to go into the best advice about love. I asked Elaine the same question too.

SPEAKER_00 6:58

The best advice. Um your partner should be your best friend. You know, if you can't laugh with your partner, if you can't be mad with your partner and then happy again and know that you can speak the truth with that person, and that person will understand and hear you clearly through communication, um, through a healthy communication. Um, I think that's the best way to pick your partner in in life, you know. That person should be your best friend.

Mikelah 7:25

Now, in knowing better, what do you think is one habit that you have left behind to be the person that you are today?

SPEAKER_00 7:34

Um I would say entertaining woman, you know? You know, sometimes as artists, you know, women come at you so fast, unpredictably sometimes. And um sometimes as uh when you're in a relationship and you're on the road, you know, woman just kind of distracts you. So I think being fair and understanding that um I wouldn't want my woman doing that if she did go up on the road or a vacation. I would want it to be the same way that I would want her to behave. So, you know, knowing those things like yo, can't do certain things that like I imagine my woman did this back to me. No. So, you know, being aware of those type of things and knowing how to handle those situations when you get in front of a a flirty, friendly woman, you know? You know, you have to be truthful.

Mikelah 8:23

And what do you hope like listeners get out of this song? It's a new uh sound from you, but also kind of deepening your lyrics around something personal. What do you what do you hope that they take away?

SPEAKER_00 8:36

Um I would say just make sure you choose the right one, you know, when you're ready. When you're ready for love and you're ready to do better, you know, make sure you choose the right one so that you can spend your time wisely.

Mikelah 8:48

That is great advice. So tell me a little bit more about the album that you have coming up. When is it releasing? If you can

Building A Dedicated Love Album

Mikelah 8:55

share, and talk to me about how this single plays a role in that.

SPEAKER_00 9:00

Well, this album is I'm I'm so excited for the world to hear. It's a different side of Jameer, more mature side of me talking about love making to a woman, you know, doing better and treating a woman better. And just um, yeah, this full album is really a love album. Like I said, it's a different side of me. Normally I would do a project where we have diverse songs talking about life and roots and culture and all those things, but this album is specifically the one side of my heart, you know, as my dad would always say, yes, two sides of his heart. But this one is one side of my heart. Um, and this is the love side. We're um dedicating this album to all women, you know what I mean, all relationships. This is the love making album of Jameer.

Mikelah 9:46

And why was that important to release now?

SPEAKER_00 9:49

Um, boy, it was just what we created, to be honest. You know, when you when you jamm it, like I said, um, you know, where you're at in your life and and the process that I love with Damien is that we're jamming his music and our subconscious thoughts are coming into the music, you know what I mean? So I guess I was in the love phase of my life when I was creating these songs. Um, and we created some great songs, you know, that I think represents love in a kind of mature way.

Mikelah 10:17

And and in creating this particular album, was there anything that you wanted to get across specifically, or you just really went with the feeling of where you are right now and just kind of let the spirit lead you?

SPEAKER_00 10:31

Really, that's it. You said it in in in all words properly, like just where I'm at, you know, chapter two, maybe me turning up or singing some party songs, which I eventually want to do. I mean, I've always wanted to like I go to parties and I'm like, yo, I wish I sang that song. So I think the next project uh and the next avenue that I will jump into is more some party songs, Optember songs.

Mikelah 10:54

Now, in terms of like today's uh music industry, like how we talk

Promoting Music In The AI Era

Mikelah 11:01

about a lot, you know, AI and going viral, and how do you kind of approach promoting and marketing your music in a way that feels authentic to you in today's age?

SPEAKER_00 11:13

Man, I'm I'm an artist that grew up with the live concert era, you know? So even now it's still that that the whole TikTok and Snapchat and doing shooting content is so hard for me. Like my label has to be like, yo, Jamiri, come on, let's make some content. We need some more stuff for the video. And I'm like, yo, catch me on stage. You come get, I'll sing it at the show. You know what I'm saying?

Mikelah 11:35

Like, but don't create all the music already. Yeah, no, you want to.

SPEAKER_00 11:40

But I think that um, you know, the the industry evolves every 10 years, you know? Um, and it's our job as artists to evolve with it, you know. Whether we're in the food business and and there's a new trend of food, we would have to give the people that like how Dubai chocolate came in and everybody wants to have Dubai chocolate. It's our job as musicians, you know, to evolve with the music. So, you know, the business is not like back in the day where you would have artist development and um the labels taking you and and you know, putting you through with this producer and this. Now these people that want to become an artist, they just get a laptop and a and a um an interface, a microphone, and they're ready to go. You know, to they're ready to express how they feel to music. So, um, and then and then on top of that, these new breed of artists that that have the access to this stuff are creating content same time. So we as you know generational artists can't fall behind the new industry, which is the new AI and all this stuff. I think these things are tools to what we do and we should use it. You know, we shouldn't it shouldn't be a fight against AI or all these things. We should use it to our advantage, you know?

Mikelah 12:50

What would you say has been like your biggest lesson or growth uh growing up in the industry?

Manners, Respect, Rapid Fire, Wrap

SPEAKER_00 12:57

Um, one of the greatest things my dad has taught me is manners and respect were carried through the world. And that has carried me every part of this world, from Africa to England to America to the Caribbean, um, to Europe. You know, I I would go places and I would run into people that was inspired or happy that they met my grandfather 20 years ago because he treated them with so much kindness and love. And now that falls on my shoulder. Now these people are ready to give me a place to stay just because of, you know, the manners and respect, you know, law that my family and and we we live by, you know, manners and respect carry through the world and treat people kind. So I I find that one of the greatest keys for me to get along with people all around the world, whether he's a poor man on the side of the road, whether whether you're a stranger, whether you're the garbage man or the security at the venue, we treat you with the same love, you know?

Mikelah 13:55

I love that. Alright, so I have some rapid fire questions for you. That's easy, don't worry yourself. Um what's a reggae album that you believe every young artist should hear?

SPEAKER_00 14:08

Stephen Marley Revelation Part 1.

Mikelah 14:11

Do you prefer vinyl or streaming?

SPEAKER_00 14:14

Me personally streaming.

Mikelah 14:17

Studio session or live performance?

SPEAKER_00 14:20

Live performance.

Mikelah 14:22

What's one artist outside of reggae that you would love to collaborate with?

SPEAKER_00 14:27

Chris Brown.

Mikelah 14:29

One Jamaican artist who doesn't get enough credit.

SPEAKER_00 14:33

Romaine Virgo.

Mikelah 14:35

Finish the sentence. Reggae's future depends on reggae's future depends on the industry. I love it. I love it. Thank you so much, Jamiri. I really appreciate having you on to talk about no better. Um, I'm really looking forward to the album coming out. And when you drop it, come back and talk to us and we'll talk even more about the album. You know, Midlot. Thank you again.

SPEAKER_00 15:06

Thank you.