familiarity to this city that reminded me of the Caribbean, and Brooklyn. The weather is beautiful (which is great for maintaining healthy hair, skin and nails) and last but not least, the music. As an artist, I decided to immerse myself in the birthplace of American music and learn about my history. Now that I've been here for a while, this just feels like home. GAYNIELLE: What are the cultural similarities and differences between your home and New Orleans? Cole: Well, I'm Jamaican-American and first generation American on my mother’s side of the family. I grew up in East Flatbush, the Caribbean neighborhood in Brooklyn. There are actually a lot of similarities between the Brooklyn-Caribbean culture and New Orleans. There's the annual Caribbean/ Labor Day parade that happens every Labor Day weekend, and that's like Carnival. The Brooklyn I know and grew up in has a lot in common with New Orleans. Because New York is a “melting pot,” there is a lot of access and inclusion of other cultures, which makes Brooklyn or New York culture many things. New Orleans is so closely connected to the roots and history of music, civil rights and politics. Every street here has a story. Old buildings still stand almost as a constant reminder. New York is filled with a lot of the new and progressive that can overshadow the history of the city. There are high-standing apartment buildings mixed in with connected houses, massive amounts of people taking the buses and the subway 24 hours a day and everyone and everything feels as if they are in constant motion. There is an appreciation of living in the moment in New Orleans that I really appreciate and resonate with. GAYNIELLE: Any new music on the horizon? Cole: I'm still promoting my fourth album, Sin City the mixtape, that I composed, produced, mixed and mastered myself. It's a body of work I am very proud of. It's based on my life experiences and my perspective on the world I'm observing. I feel it's my most honest work because the process took me to many different internal places. It felt like therapy sessions sometimes. This album is the manifestation of my genre, African Rock. African Rock is a genre-bending sound that blends my Jamaican and Brooklyn roots with the blues, R&B and West African rhythms. African Rock is also about the lyrics and stories. It's about the knowledge and wisdom that occurs at many levels within one lifetime. I created African Rock as a way of inspiring and empowering all people to live their lives with love, peace, compassion, authenticity and spiritual and self-awareness, and have fun every step of the way. GAYNIELLE: Tell us about your Jamaican roots. Cole: My father is American and my mother is from Spanish Town, Jamaica. She comes from a big family, and I have 10 aunts and uncles on my mother’s side. She was the first of her siblings to come to the U.S., and I know her aunt (my grandmother’s sister) was living and working in Brooklyn when my mother arrived. I remember visiting Jamaica every year for the first 15 years of my life. Honestly, I didn't appreciate the experience then as much as I do now. It was country over there. I learned how to catch water to save for when the water cut off in the afternoon. I learned about natural spices, street smarts and what's really important in life. Jamaican culture is a bit hard to describe because it's regal, healthy, lovers of life, hymns, British haute aura, respect for your neighbor culture juxtaposed with hot pink batty (bâ-ti) rider shorts with the matching hair. It's a lot of extremes and the people and the land have a distinctive pulse. Jamaicans have faith and a knowing about life and my Jamaican heritage is a big part of who I am. Let me also point out the stereotype that Jamaicans have 20 jobs. That's not true; we only have seven. PHOTOGRAPHER: TEMPLE OF ZEN PHOTOGRAPHER: PHILLIS KWENTOH GAYNIELLE: What’s next for Cole Williams Band? Cole: We're working on our first album as a band at Long Gone Studio in the 9th Ward. It's a pretty interesting process for me, and I'm learning how to share my vision and trust my musicians more. I'm really excited about this project because it will also be my first album as a New Orleanian. I completely immersed myself in New Orleans when I moved here, and this album is a “glimpse” into who I am now. We're also going on our first East Coast tour in July, and we'll be at World Cafe Live in Philadelphia, as well as some other clubs in NYC, DC and Boston. I'm excited to bring African Rock back to the East Coast. �� J U LY / AU G U S T 2 0 1 7 breakthrumediamagazine.com | BREAKTHRU MEDIA | 23
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