On the four original songs, he addresses the wrong turns of “Street Life,” violent tendencies in “War,” love for his late grandmother in “Broken Link” and equality in “Born To Be Free.” Hitting on topics with which many can identify or understand, the penetrating song “Street Life,” produced by CoLa, became an immediate hit on Toronto's urban radio station Flow 93.5 FM. The track made it to #1 within weeks, and held its place at the top for four consecutive weeks!
“‘Street Life’ is my own experience with some people I hang around with, the things I see happening here in Canada,” explains Obie. “In Jamaica, it’s a different way of life down there and to come up here and see that people are suffering from the same things that we are suffering from there, and they have all these opportunities, but they’re still on the street trying, it’s understandable because some people aren’t coming from the best homes. They don’t have role models to look up to. I touch on all of that in the song.”
Born Mohanza Kelly in Jamaica, he was nicknamed “Obie” by his grandfather who won a Derby bet with a racehorse named Obie Wan Kenobi and declared his young grandson a good luck charm. His upbringing wasn’t privileged, but he didn’t know any better. “I just took it how it came,” he says.
Obie grew up in the church and has strong Christian beliefs, wanting to make a difference. He started singing in the church, eventually leading his youth choir, but he was also drawn to dancehall, soul and reggae music. “The message in reggae songs is something that I can relate to my own life,” says Obie. “Back in Jamaica, we were barely making ends meet and that’s what reggae music is — you sing about the struggles that people go through.”
In 2001, at age 16, Obie’s mother, who was already living in Toronto, brought him and his sister to Canada. He had graduated from high school in Jamaica and planned to go to university here, but discovered that the system didn’t acknowledge Jamaican education as equal. Obie had to return to grade 10 and was understandably discouraged. “I started falling off,” he admits. “So I surrounded myself with music to get my life back on track.”
Obie soon found out about Central Tech high school, which had a remarkable music program, including two in-house recording studios on which to learn. He transferred mid semester from another school in Rexdale and immersed himself in recording engineering. “I’d hang around the studio and learn stuff in the environment,” he says. “Being in Canada, I saw the different possibilities for things that I could do with myself and I started reflecting.” Obie cut some tracks at Central Tech, including “Keep The Dream Alive” to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Day. After graduating from Central Tech he worked at The Remix Project, a government-funded studio which allows up-and-comers to sign up, come in for an interview process, and get approval to record there for free. There, he cut such tracks as “Street Life,” “War” and “One In A Million.” Now he is an audio engineer at Toronto studio The Loft, where he finished up his debut EP, taking “War” and “Street Life” and combining them with “Broken Link” and “Born To Be Free.”
“War” is a killer dancehall-flavoured reggae-based track featuring rapper Krymes. “I can only write about the environment I see. Every summer is like a season for violence,” Obie says of the lyrical inspiration. “As soon as the weather gets a little warm, people start getting crazy. So the way I approached the track is ‘Why is this happening, people walking on the street beefing on each other for no reason?’”
“Broken Link,” he wrote for his grandma who passed away in 1998 in Jamaica. “I still have trouble with it because I grew up with her,” he says. “She was my mentor, my mother, everything in one. She would really look out for me and when she passed I wasn’t even there. I was coming from school and it was tragic the way I found out and it stuck with me. It’s saying if I get the chance to meet her again, how much I would tell her I love her.”
For “Born To Be Free,” Obie sampled Martin Luther King Jr.’s "I Have A Dream" speech and used snippets throughout the song. “He’s saying everybody’s one, we should be able to fight together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that one day we’ll be free — that’s the parts of his speech I used,” says Obie.
And Obie too, even at 23, would like to make a difference. “As a person and as a musician, I’m a big advocate of humanitarian acts. I think my purpose is to help the less fortunate in any way I can and use music as a tool to really get to them, as a medium to communicate with them,” says Obie. “So I see myself in the future owning some enterprises, but at the same time I’m going to go back to my home country or to Africa or wherever help is needed and try and set up a studio. I’m trying to use music as a tool to promote positive change.”
Todo el Ano
Obie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Y me la paso recordando los momentos
Que a tu lado fueron tiernos y perfectos
En invierno
En Marzo, Abril y Mayo por cuestiones de trabajo viajo
Y me la paso despejado y no pienso tanto en ti
Pero cuando llega el mes de Junio
Me deslizo en un abismo de tristeza y soledad
Todo el ano
Me la paso añorando tus abrazos
Se me hace tan difícil aceptarlo
Cada día, cada cambio me hace daño
Todo el ano
Y llega Julio con Agosto intentando regalarme
Un verano que te juro que es en vano porque sin tus besos
No hay calor
Septiembre y Octubre por cuestiones de colegio
Vuelvo a creer que ya te he olvidado
Hasta Noviembre
Pero cuando llega Diciembre
Me congelo en un lago de recuerdos y obscuridad
Que daría por que regresaras a mi lado
Todo el ano
Me la paso añorando tus abrazos
Se me hace tan difícil aceptarlo
Cada día, cada cambio me hace daño
Todo el ano
Sin ti la verdad es que no existe el calendario
Si no regresas a mi lado cada mes es un fracaso
Sin ti
, el tiempo me pesa más que el suelo
Me hace daño, me hace mal y me deja sin consuelo
Los días pasan y las noches se hacen más largas
La esperanza me abandona y solo quedan las lágrimas amargas
Y así todo el año, sin queja ni reproche
Solo esperando el momento en que vuelvas a mi noche
The lyrics of Obie's song Todo el Ano describe the emotional journey of someone who is struggling to move on from a lost love over the course of a year. The opening lines talk about the start of the year with January and February, where the singer spends their time reminiscing about the perfect moments they had with their lover during winter. The following months of March, April, and May are spent traveling for work, which helps them not to think of their lover too much. However, June brings a wave of sadness and loneliness that floods the singer's life, and they long for their lover to return to them.
The rest of the year is described as a series of failed attempts at distraction and acceptance. The summer months of July and August are empty without their lover's kisses, while September and October are spent focusing on school. November is a time where the singer starts to believe that they have finally moved on, but as December rolls around, they are consumed by darkness and memories once again. The song ends with the singer admitting that they cannot go on without their lover and every month feels like a failure without them.
Line by Line Meaning
Y llega Enero con Febrero
As the year begins with January and February
Y me la paso recordando los momentos
I spend my time remembering the moments
Que a tu lado fueron tiernos y perfectos
That were tender and perfect beside you
En invierno
During the winter
En Marzo, Abril y Mayo por cuestiones de trabajo viajo
In March, April, and May, I travel for work reasons
Y me la paso despejado y no pienso tanto en ti
I keep myself clear-headed and don't think so much about you
Pero cuando llega el mes de Junio
But when June arrives
Me deslizo en un abismo de tristeza y soledad
I slide into an abyss of sadness and solitude
Que daría por que regresaras a mi lado
I would do anything for you to come back to my side
Todo el año
All year long
Me la paso añorando tus abrazos
I spend my time yearning for your hugs
Se me hace tan difícil aceptarlo
It feels so difficult for me to accept
Cada día, cada cambio me hace daño
Every day, every change hurts me
Todo el año
All year long
Y llega Julio con Agosto intentando regalarme
As July and August arrive, trying to give me
Un verano que te juro que es en vano porque sin tus besos
A summer that I swear is in vain because without your kisses
No hay calor
There is no warmth
Septiembre y Octubre por cuestiones de colegio
In September and October, due to school matters
Vuelvo a creer que ya te he olvidado
I start to believe that I have already forgotten you
Hasta Noviembre
Until November
Pero cuando llega Diciembre
But when December arrives
Me congelo en un lago de recuerdos y obscuridad
I freeze in a lake of memories and darkness
Que daría por que regresaras a mi lado
I would do anything for you to come back to my side
Sin ti la verdad es que no existe el calendario
Without you, the truth is that the calendar doesn't exist
Si no regresas a mi lado cada mes es un fracaso
If you don't come back to my side, every month is a failure
Sin ti
Without you
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: OBED BERMUDEZ, ELSTEN TORRES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Lindines Gonçalves
Y llega Enero con Febrero
Y me la paso recordando los momentos
Que a tu lado fueron tiernos y perfectos
En invierno
En Marzo, Abril y Mayo por cuestiones de trabajo viajo
Y me la paso despejado y no pienso tanto en ti
Pero cuando llega el mes de Junio
Me deslizo en un abismo de tristeza y soledad
Que daría por que regresaras a mi lado
Todo el ano
Me la paso añorando tus abrazos
Se me hace tan difícil aceptarlo
Cada día, cada cambio me hace daño
Todo el ano
Y llega Julio con Agosto intentando regalarme
Un verano que te juro que es en vano porque sin tus besos
No hay calor
Septiembre y Octubre por cuestiones de colegio
Vuelvo a creer que ya te he olvidado
Hasta Noviembre
Pero cuando llega Diciembre
Me congelo en un lago de recuerdos y obscuridad
Que daría por que regresaras a mi lado
Todo el ano
Me la paso añorando tus abrazos
Se me hace tan difícil aceptarlo
Cada día, cada cambio me hace daño
Todo el ano
Sin ti la verdad es que no existe el calendario
Si no regresas a mi lado cada mes es un fracaso
Sin ti
Leuri Figuereo Espinosa
Un fuerte abrazo a este grupo selecto que vuelve cada año a escuchar este hermoso tema y a recordar los buenos tiempos.❤🇩🇴🥰
casita de luz
Me parece increíble que 13 después escuché por primera vez estás bellas canciones de este artista con esta voz tan bella 💕
Ronny Marquez
Increíble como el cerebro guarda recuerdos en algún rinconcito de el mismo, y cuando algo te hace recordar se siente como si te regresaras a el pasado con las mismas emociones que en algún momento sentiste.
Pearl G34
Si.
4860lolly
Asi es..
Mini_Mike
💔😔
JeuMarz
En el presente ya no hacen música como esta... Por eso tenemos que volver al pasado para escucharlas y recordar.
( Canciones del pasado que duelen en el presente )
Rebeca Meza
Si hay, por ejemplo Carlos Rivera, Reik, Dalú, Río Roma, etc solo que no la pasan en las estaciones de radio para gente joven, ellos escuchan puro urbano, ponle en estaciones donde pongan música romántica.
JeuMarz
@Rebeca Meza aaaa
Es que en la radio de mi país solo ponen mamadas ( canciones urbanas )
Beatriz Eugenia Lopez chica
Gracias a mis hijas que me la dedicaron hace años y hoy con una de ellas la escucho