Dezarie: "I'm a very quiet and shy person. I don't like attention, but I have to do this. It's a mission!"

Dezarie, because you don't do many interviews, I'd love to start at the beginning. Before there was Dezarie the singer, what first drew you to music? And when did you realize you had a voice you wanted to share with the world?
Dezarie: "I've been singing from when I was still in elementary school. I started out doing gospel, as that was what I would hear around the house."

Of all the musical styles you could have embraced, what was it about reggae that captured your heart?
Dezarie: "To me, the music in itself is spiritual. Just hearing the music and not paying attention to the words, you can already feel a deep vibration. I find it to be the most suitable genre for me, for the message I want to bring to the world."

You were born and raised in the U.S. Virgin Islands. How much of a presence does reggae have there? Is it something you hear every day, wherever you go?
Dezarie: "Reggae is huge in Saint Croix, but we have such a melting pot of nationalities that genres like salsa, calypso, and soca are also very prevalent."

Your music is unmistakably conscious, every song seems to carry a purpose. Was that your vision from the outset, or did you gradually grow into that approach?
Dezarie: "When I started, I was still doing a lot of dancehall. At that time, I'd moved from St. Croix to Atlanta and used to hang out with a sound system called Jungle International. They hailed from Jamaica, resided in Florida for a while, and then moved to Atlanta. I was rolling with them, and was just doing dub plates at first and then they started putting me on shows. Back then, I was actually chanting and deejaying more than I was singing. I started switching to singing more when I got involved with Rastafari."

So, how did Rastafari find you then? How did that happen?
Dezarie: " I got into Rastafari through some guys at school who were into the livity. At that point I wasn't Rasta yet, but I'd already stopped eating meat, and started smoking herb from a young age."

From a vocal perspective, who would you say were your influences going into music?
Dezarie: "I have very few English speaking vocal influences. I don't know what it is, but I'm drawn to music from Mali and Senegal, and I listen to a lot of Indian music. I don't know why, it's probably in my DNA somewhere."

For your first two album projects, 'Fya' and 'Nemozian Rasta', you collaborated with Midnite. Given their importance in Virgin Islands reggae, would you say that every artist from the islands is somehow connected to their sound or influence, or is that overstating their impact?
Dezarie: "At the time, they were the only ones going beyond St. Croix to do music. They had experience we didn't have. So, if you wanted to get out there, and you had a true message, you could know them if you wanted, and be an alright artist. But they had to like the music!"

Compared to Midnite's music, your lyrics often feel more direct and accessible. Is it important to you that people can immediately understand the message you're sharing?
Dezarie: "Yes, for me it's important people know and understand what I'm trying to get across and understand the process."

There is a certain mystery surrounding you and your music. You don't often give interviews, and there isn't much personal information available about you. Is that a conscious choice, or does it simply reflect your personality and the way you prefer to move through life?
Dezarie: "I'm a very quiet and shy person. I don't like attention, but I have to do this. It's a mission. I have to do it. I do a lot of praying, because with this, a lot of spiritual fights come, so you have to know how to handle that stuff. I've broken out of being an introvert to some extent, but only because I have to."

Foto: © Peter Verwimp