A rapper who is yet to be embraced at home for his hip-hop message, Don Gialiani remains a constant voice, spitting lyrics at his critics while rapping about the economy, poverty, his dreams and a life that seems pretty much unattainable.
While few at home seem to care to listen or sit and take notice, Barbados did, and in one weekend Gialiani (as he is popularly known) was signed to a company – Timeless Barbados Inc; one of the islands foremost promotional agencies for Barbadian entertainers. He is the company’s first non-Bajan artiste.
“Feels pretty good,” Gialiani told The Scene earlier this week summing up what it means to him as a Guyanese rapper. He is scheduled to return to the island early next year as a guest and presenter at the Barbados Annual Music Awards (BMA).
Gialiani was one of the headlining acts at the fifth annual Hip Hop Festival in Barbados earlier this month at Club NXS, St Lawrence Gap. Timeless Barbados Inc threw out an invitation to Gialiani after viewing one of his performances and he accepted. According to the rapper, he was unsure of what to expect and how he would have been received, but all that changed when he took the stage.
Reports from the island labelled him as ‘impressive’ and raved about his performance as solid. He was also praised for holding his own while sharing the same stage as Canadian hit-maker Kardinal Offishall, who performed the hit single “Dangerous” with Akon. Kardinal who is signed with Konvict Label was the headlining act of the festival.
Gialiani was featured in entertainment newspapers on the island and in the dailies following his performance. He referred to the attention as encouraging pointing out that he hopes to build from the momentum as he works on his craft.
While in Barbados Gialiani met Bajan music producer KB Sharp and is currently working with him. He has also collaborated with rising Bajan music star, Dwane Husbands.
According to him, other collaborations are in the works and if all goes as planned he will soon hook up with Bajan singer Kirk Brown who has been nominated for five awards including male artiste of the year at the upcoming BMA.
The local rapper is promising fresh releases in the new year. Gialiani adds that he still involved in local entertainment through MusiCentral Production, which he co-owns with business partner and fellow rapper, Ry.
Close to two years ago Gialiani burst onto the local hip-hop scene with a controversial video for his first single, “Rudeboi”. The song received regular rotation on television but never made it to the local airwaves due to its lyrics, which he had promised to clean up but never got around to. He had a few other releases after that.
