{"id":420,"date":"2011-01-13T04:57:24","date_gmt":"2011-01-13T08:57:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.guyanalive.com\/blog\/?p=420"},"modified":"2011-06-15T02:20:08","modified_gmt":"2011-06-15T06:20:08","slug":"one-on-one-with-natural-black-the-man-and-the-music","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stories.guyanalive.com\/?p=420","title":{"rendered":"One-on-one with Natural Black: The man and the music"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft\" style=\"float: left;\" src=\"https:\/\/stories.guyanalive.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011natural-black.jpg\" alt=\"Natural Black\" width=\"200\" height=\"299\" \/>Recently Guyana has experienced an upsurge of local acts with international potential but as they work out their game plan Jamaica based Guyanese artiste Natural Black is already on a role. Ultimately he aspires to take his music to the four corners of the earth and with it the Golden Arrowhead. Recently he sat down for a one-on-one candid conversation on Caribbean Music Box where Mondale Smith got up in his Business.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Mondale: We know you as the Kid from Plaisance who moved from welding to selling clothes after school and then became a hit on the Jamaica Music scene who has made Guyanese proud. What have you been up to of recent?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Natural: <\/strong> For me it&#8217;s naturally all music from start and continually. Sometimes you get so caught up in it that you go missing for a while and people start to wonder if you detaching your self from them but that not it cause you are with them spiritually.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Mondale: Some say that while you are a Guyanese you have sold your birthright is that true?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Natural: <\/strong>You can&#8217;t sell your birthright, what you are, is what you are. Me ah Guyanese 1000 percent and that can&#8217;t change no matter what people say. But me want them feh know that me don&#8217;t forget them cause if we forget we self we gon lost we self.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Mondale: Your name is Mortimer&#8230;How did you end-up with NATURAL BLACK?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Natural:<\/strong> I usually dress in black and white and in Jamaica they usually try to find another name aside from the one you have on your birth paper. At first I was Black and White but the Jamaican industry can&#8217;t see through that so since my lifestyle has always been Natural I just take off the white and added Natural and it stuck.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Mondale: Ten albums and counting what has the road been like for you?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Natural:<\/strong> Rough and rugged as life set up but it has it smooth time so I give thanks for those. The challenge is a great challenge but knowing that you can and have reached the level of over coming. It&#8217;s a great a joy to know me reach from one level to another.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Mondale: you seem to be very spiritual explain that.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Natural:<\/strong> Yes from you know yourself spiritually you know that you can rise above and go through life with a true purpose. The spiritual part of me ensures that I do not hurt myself or others. I think my spiritual connection keeps me balanced so that I can flow through physically.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Mondale: Take us back to life after school before your big break&#8230; <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Natural:<\/strong> I lost my mother when I was two and after school I joined the army as an apprentice. I moved all the way up to a Corporal and the experience thought me discipline. There I learnt welding then I resigned and started selling clothes by day and putting in appearances at some night spots at night. As I get in the talent line I started seeking out stage shows to perform then the opportunity came for a trip to Jamaica and the rest is my story.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Mondale: When you arrived in Jamaica what was it like?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Natural Black:<\/strong> In Jamaica the scene was a lot like Guyana and I had to work hard\u00a0 with much dedication and that I did then I got to record my first song. Now ten albums down the road I&#8217;m going to take it to another level because there are always greater things to\u00a0\u00a0 life&#8230; I&#8217;m trying right now to create an album that appeals to all the people.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Mondale: Let&#8217;s talk Family, your family!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Natural:<\/strong> I grew up with my aunty after my Mother died when I was two.\u00a0 Family life comes with various things and often we may not know or understand some mystic in life but I give thanks to my aunty who brought me through the struggle and eventually I got to know my brothers and sisters.\u00a0 My current family includes my woman and two sons.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Mondale: What&#8217;s your advice to youths regarding education?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Natural:<\/strong> It requires education to be in my business. With out knowledge you can find yourself in a tight spot because talent alone will not do it. You need discipline, nurturing and guidance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Recently Guyana has experienced an upsurge of local acts with international potential but as they work out their game plan Jamaica based Guyanese artiste Natural Black is already on a role. Ultimately he aspires to take his music to the four corners of the earth and with it the Golden Arrowhead. Recently he sat down &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/stories.guyanalive.com\/?p=420\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;One-on-one with Natural Black: The man and the music&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[90],"class_list":["post-420","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-natural-black"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stories.guyanalive.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stories.guyanalive.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stories.guyanalive.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stories.guyanalive.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stories.guyanalive.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=420"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/stories.guyanalive.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":926,"href":"https:\/\/stories.guyanalive.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420\/revisions\/926"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stories.guyanalive.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=420"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stories.guyanalive.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=420"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stories.guyanalive.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=420"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}