The Tribune

By LESH

Tribune Features Reporter

acadet@tribunemedia.net

USING his talent to teach and influence others, local musician Najie Dun said it was God that inspired him to create music.

The young Gospel rapper said he has been interested in music for most of his life. So far, he has brought his fans the “Relentless Pursuit” album and he also has two mix tapes. One is called the “Relentless Pursuit Uncut” and the other is the “My Life” mix tape.

It was at the age of 10 that Najie first heard one of his songs being played on a local radio station. “I was coming home from school and at first I did not know that it was my song playing until I caught myself rapping the whole song. I was just happy to be heard and I really can’t explain the feeling,” he said.

The rapper said all of his songs are written by him. One of his most popular hits is “Pray For You.”

“It’s a popular song because they played it so much on Joy Radio station and it was the most requested. People were calling to request it so much, the radio was actually telling people they can only play the song so much in an hour. They were trying to get people to stop calling. I also got a Marlin Award for that song,” said Najie.

He said out of all of his songs, his most favourite was “Yes Lord.” “It is one of my favourite songs because I didn’t write the song, it was more like a freestyle, but it came straight from the heart. “Give Myself Away” is also another song I like and that too came straight from my heart. Most people related to that sing and like it because it’s already a huge song around the world by William McDowell. And I came out with my version and a lot of people related to it even more.”

With “Give Myself Away,”  Najie said he added his very own testimony to the lyrics. “I didn’t just speak about someone else, I put what the song meant to me and I put it over in my terms,” he said. Najie has had the opportunity to work with musicians such as Monty G, Ricardo Clarke, TJ Cross, M Deez and Junior Reid.

In the future, he said he would like to work with artists like Ronny Butler, Beezy and Johnathon. “I would like to go places that have never heard rap and never heard about the Gospel. It’s up to us to support each other, most of us have black crab syndrome,” he said.

Recently, Najie performed at a “Stop the Violence” event in Freeport, where he said he was well received. “The turnout was a good one and everybody took me in well. It was for a positive cause and at the end of the day, they were really trying to promote “Stop the Violence” and you really can’t promote stop the violence without showing recognition to God.

“I feel as if I can go far because already, my music reaches as far as Israel. I feel like in life, on a day to day basis, you can go as far as you want to go. I was just explaining to someone that when you dream, your dream is just your imagination but at the end of the day, that is an image that God gives to you. Everything you dream of, God can actually make happen,” said Najie.

Najie said he plans to release another album “The Pursuit Continues” on his birthday, which is January 7. His fans can find his albums and mix tapes in almost every record store in Nassau including Juke Box, the hit spot and Christian Book Shop.