Jamaican Grammy Award-Winning Singer, Songwriter, Producer and Entrepreneur; Gramps Morgan, Shares His Creative Life’s Journey

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Episode Description

Dr. Christina Rahm ends season one with an incredible interview! Joining her this week is Grammy award-winning, Gramps Morgan. Father to 11 children, husband to Dr. Annabelle Morgan, Gramps is a singer, song writer and successful entrepreneur. He’s an active community member and founder of the global charity, Music Orchestrating Miracles (MOM), helping to alleviate human suffering due to poverty, diseases and natural catastrophes. Follow Gramps Morgan on Instagram @grampsmorgan or visit his website grampsmorgan.com to learn more.

Host

Dr. Christina Rahm

 

Guest

Gramps Morgan

TRANSCRIPT

Dr. Rahm [00:00:09] Hi there. Welcome back to this episode of Scientifically Beautiful, and I have the privilege and the honor to welcome Gramps Morgan, who is an award-winning Grammy Award winning artist and musician, and he also does everything from producing to directing to everything that has to do with music. And he, I think, is his best trait along with all of that is his heart and his spirit and how he gives back to others. So, thank you, Gramps for being on today.

Gramps Morgan [00:00:39] Thank you for having me. Thank you. Scientifically Beautiful.

Dr. Rahm [00:00:43] He knows about science. We’re going to get into that later because he married someone that’s scientifically beautiful, Annabelle. We’re going to talk about her. But we were just before the show talking about something that had to do with his hair because Gramps [inaudible]

Gramps Morgan [00:00:59] Dreadlocks.

Dr. Rahm [00:01:00] I asked him, I said, Is this real? And I asked him if I could touch it. He said yes. And then I asked him about it. And he was explaining to me, so I wanted him to tell the audience about his hair and how he grew his hair for 27 years and what it means.

Gramps Morgan [00:01:16] First thing, and these are dreadlocks, right? The reason why they’re curly like this now is because I had them twisted up like this. So, I’m about to wash it because yes, we do wash our hair, you know, a lot of people. You know, it’s funny that you asked about this, Christina, because a lot of people are interested to say, you know, how do you take care of it? And, you know, do you wash it? And how long does it take to wash? How long does it take to dry it? Well, first of all, it takes a very long time to dry. And it started off… It’s not only that Jamaicans have dreadlocks, it’s known in many other traditions, from the Aztec Indians to um in India, different parts of Africa, but where Jamaicans got the inspiration to start dreading up their hair, other than just a cultural thing, it was they were warriors in Ethiopia which were called The Falasha’s, which were warriors that were during the World War I that would dread their hair to make them look more scarier. Right? And so, in Jamaica, during the time of, you know, the whole black liberation movement and people that whole conscious during Marcus Garvey and, you know, the Harlem Renaissance, people were becoming awakening and saying, OK, black pride and all of this stuff. So, Jamaicans started to say, OK, let’s dread our hair as a way of identity, right? To say, hey, we are from Africa and, you know. But eventually we found out it wasn’t only Africans that were getting dreadlocks. And today you find people in Scotland with dreadlocks, people in China with dreadlocks. So, and people have them for different reasons. Some people just have dreadlocks for… I like it. It’s cool, right? Lenny Kravitz has dreadlocks and then he cut him off and put them back on again and then cut them. So, it’s for different reasons. And for him, he probably just likes the hairstyle. So, but for me and a lot of other Rastafarians, it’s a way of life. It’s a reminder that we should take care of our body. We should live good. Be kind. Don’t hurt any other human. Every human is equal. So, it’s a thing to remind you when it hits you on the side of your head, it means be good, or be kind, share love.

Dr. Rahm [00:03:35] I like it a lot. And everyone’s equal. I like it a lot.

Gramps Morgan [00:03:36] Yes. So, it’s a reminder of what we need to remember that equal rights and justice for all.

Dr. Rahm [00:03:44] That’s amazing. That’s amazing. So, I started with that question. I usually start with asking about your family and your life, and I know you have a huge family. He’s got two of his sons that are actually here, and they’re always welcome to come on the show. But these are great men that you’re raising and women. So, tell us a little bit about you and I know you’re from Jamaica, the audience may not know that. You’re a famous musician. The audience may have not had the opportunity. We’re going to get into that, too, but please tell us a little bit about how you grew up, who you are now and what is in your life.

Gramps Morgan [00:04:19] Well, um one of the most amazing things for me is this experience during the pandemic, you know? I’ve really gotten a chance to reflect on my life, and I’m anxious to see those around me catch up to where I am today as a man, as a father, as a husband, because I’ve been given this time to reflect, to grow. And in all those spots that I didn’t really have a chance to work on because where we were before this pandemic, everybody was consumed with work, right? We would just work, work, work, work, work. And the universe said, OK, chill out, human race.

Dr. Rahm [00:04:59] Yeah.

Gramps Morgan [00:05:00] And let’s kind of reset things a little bit, you know? And it was hard knowing that we couldn’t get toilet paper sometimes, right? When you go to the supermarket…

Dr. Rahm [00:05:09] Or you can’t get on a plane.

Gramps Morgan [00:05:11] Or you can’t get on a plane. But things are starting to open up again. But for me, as a man reflecting, you know, see my son graduate earlier this year and you know, watch him walking the same line as me as a football player that loves football and has the gift genetically to probably smash a couple of people and probably make a living out of football. And then he woke up one morning, told me that he wants to do music and I’m like. Whoa!

Dr. Rahm [00:05:40] It’s like you because you were a football player.

Gramps Morgan [00:05:43] Exactly! And I’m like, I was mad because I was telling him to say, use your athletic gift to get an education, at least, right?  Get into school, enjoy it and get the experience. But he knows what he wants to do, and he’s, you know, studying cryptocurrencies. He is coming out with an NFT with this music and he wants to sing so I’m like, who am I to judge?

Dr. Rahm [00:06:03] Yeah.

Gramps Morgan [00:06:04] Right? Because I walk the same road. And I also reflect back on my life when my younger kids like Jemere and or Oneida and Refail and Mimi were younger, and I wasn’t there because I was always on tour, but was a provider. But did we… I’m glad when I was home, I took them to Brewster’s to have some ice cream as a family.

Dr. Rahm Yeah.

Gramps Morgan Right? And they remember those times, but it still wasn’t enough. But for these two years, I’ve gotten the chance to be home almost every day.

Dr. Rahm Yeah.

Gramps Morgan [00:06:36] So if you don’t really, if your heart is not pure, even the older ones probably could be jealous of the younger ones because you’re spending so much time with dad. But it’s not me. It’s the universe, right?

Dr. Rahm [00:06:50] Right, right.

Gramps Morgan [00:06:50] But I’ve been given this chance to reflect where my life is coming from, where I am now, and where I want to take it. And there’s such a value on family now that you’ve… we’ve seen. I mean, I know you’ve lost friends, family, we all have…

Dr. Rahm [00:07:06] Yeah.

Gramps Morgan [00:07:06] And I think for once in this, this lifetime that we’ve been given, we can all say we were on the same page, right? That we can reflect and say we have something in common. And I think with all the things that’s going on in the world that in that has transpired for the past two years from, you know, people taking a look and putting the microscope on, you know, the whole George Floyd situation and people talking about and addressing systematic racism and all these things. I think now we’re coming together as a human race to have a conversation. You know, some of my friends here in Nashville are saying, you know, Gramps, what conversations can we have because those conversations weren’t happening before. It was like, now people that is of German descent or British descent want to know about black history and what struggle did you guys go through. Before they didn’t need to, they didn’t have to. It’s not my history. Why am I going to study Black history?

Dr. Rahm [00:08:02] Yeah, you’re right.

Gramps Morgan [00:08:03] You’re pressuring me here. So, but now it’s a conversation that people that is from a different world, you say, from British or European, they don’t know the history. They didn’t have to. It’s not a curriculum in school. It’s not a curriculum. And it’s not. It’s not their thing. But now, because of what the country is going through, it is now necessary for us to have a conversation, say, let me understand like how we’ve been taught what the Jews went through in the Holocaust. And we understand that, we understand what, you know, some of the things people are going through in North Korea. And we research because we saw it on the news and understand each other. So, I think as a human race, as a species, we’re headed in a great direction. I’m excited about it because we have become closer because now, we’re into each other. Now we’re like, how can…? And that’s exciting.

Dr. Rahm [00:09:00] I agree with you, Gramps, because I think it’s been a really chaotic experience to, you know, to and I always say, people ask me what my favorite countries are. I love actually India. I love different countries in Africa, the Middle East, because it’s beautiful chaos, right? But it’s been tough. But you come out of the end of that into something better because we only know what we know. And I feel like we all used to watch television and social media and believe everything. And now you’re right. We’re questioning things. We’re talking to each other. We’re trying to find the answers that are not just politically driven, right? And so, I think you’re right. I think in about six months and I don’t know the exact time frame, it’s going to be getting considerably different. Do I think it’s going to go back to normal? No. You and I talked about that. We’re not going to go back to…

Gramps Morgan [00:09:50] I think we’re going to be better off. I think we’re going to have a better sense of value of the small things, you know, time, showing up on time for things. Spending time with your family, you know, waking up. There’s a lot of people that woke up a year ago with their husbands and wives in the bedroom and they’re like, who are you? Who is this person? Because now they’re getting time to spend with each other.

Dr. Rahm [00:10:18] And it was difficult because I was, I’m like you. I was used to traveling all the time, but I can’t say I want to go back to that. I, I, of course, will have to travel to just like you, but to go back to being gone that many days, I’m like, you have… my older son is like your older kids are in the room. And I was gone all the time and my younger ones… I’m here, and it’s a much different experience.

Gramps Morgan [00:10:42] And I am, I think even for the children, it makes them look at life differently and is also preparing them for the future. I think also for corporate America in the corporate world. You know, the whole brick and mortar thing, people are seeing that they can be more productive without a brick and mortar.

Dr. Rahm Yeah.

Gramps Morgan Right? Saying, OK, I’m paying, you know, $2 million to lease this building a year and everybody’s working from Zoom. They just save that $2 million.

Dr. Rahm Yeah.

Gramps Morgan And they’re using this Zoom platform. I mean, I think we need to buy some stock in Zoom.

Dr. Rahm [00:11:14] So true. Do they sell stock? We definitely need to.

Gramps Morgan [00:11:17] I’m sure, I’m sure. But I think the productivity for a lot of companies is even up because people are home. They get in, they have a coffee, they come in, boom, boom, boom. They get on their Zoom, boom, and they get right to it, they jump off. Even kids’ school. The kids are doing what we’re doing better on Zoom.

Dr. Rahm [00:11:37] I think it’s going to change completely. The education system. I had one of my degrees and the name in Cornell when I went back to, you know, nutrition. We did it online and people were criticizing it even when I changed over to come over to Root, you know, and now everything’s online and everything… Even Ivy League schools are online. It’s just going to change completely. And I think that kids are so used to and even me learning quickly online or reading through something to sit in person, it’s a little bit different. So, we’ll see some changes. But I do… I want to ask you because one of the things we talk about is that life is tough.

Gramps Morgan [00:12:13] Yes.

Dr. Rahm [00:12:13] And a lot of people see people that are famous like you, and they think he has everything like everything has been given to him. It’s been easy. Look at the gifts he has. And they don’t understand the challenges that you’ve gone through. So, I would love for you to share with the audience. And the reason this is important that I want you to share this. I want you to share something very tough or hard that you overcame and how you overcame that, what you leaned on because I think a lot of people give up, you know, depression has been something that’s gotten even worse during this time. And I don’t know if it’s because people are adjusting to the change. But I would love for you to share your strength and where you found it to get to where you are, because I’m sure there had to be days where you wanted to quit. Or it wasn’t easy. Life’s not easy. Like I said.

Gramps Morgan [00:13:03] It’s not. And like I said, Christina is where we are in this time, in this dispensation, we’ve been given the time, the opportunity to reflect to value things like devotion, appreciation and dedication, right? And that comes… that connects to your parents, your spouse, your kids. So, for me, of course, the work ethic. It has changed, of course, because we found that productivity is up without brick and mortars, are having to travel and things are getting done more. But the biggest thing for me is my kids, you know, it’s been tough, right? I mean, you can understand what I’m saying because you lived a similar life and especially now. Excuse me. That you’re able to be home and in like, wow, what was my life like before?

Dr. Rahm Yeah.

Gramps Morgan So, it’s a lot of self-reflection where you sit there and you say, Man, if I value it now, what was I missing before?

Dr. Rahm [00:14:12] Yeah.

Gramps Morgan [00:14:13] And are those around me and how much did it affect my kids? Because you start to look and say, OK, this time is great, and we’re out in the park and enjoying… Cause I remember there was a point in this pandemic you couldn’t even go outside unless you were going for eggs and toilet paper and sugar and milk, right? And now we’re at a point… So, for me, the biggest point that I struggle with was a reflection of my life and wondering, you know, how my children were affected, how my past relationships were affected? Was I the best man, dad, brother, sister, son that I could be? You know, you struggle, you struggle. And not really struggle but reflect.

Dr. Rahm [00:14:56] Well, yeah, like what cost was the job? And that, you know, you help made other people happy by traveling everywhere but your own family? And yeah.

Gramps Morgan [00:15:05] Yeah. Well, we’re like hey daddy or my son. You know, I remember my dad calling me and say, you don’t call me, you know, my dad is like one of my best friends, right? And sometimes it’s like, you know, I heard somebody say, like this, and you know, Christina is like, you know, the work ethic. There are some people that work and there’s some people that WORK, right? And me and Christina, we WORK. And then it’s people that don’t understand that work ethic and I be like, oh, you’re acting like you’re busier than anyone else. We’re all working. Hmm no.

Dr. Rahm [00:15:39] Yeah, it’s a lot of work.

Gramps Morgan [00:15:40] It’s different, right? It’s like, you know, you hear about people like Puff Daddy, which is one of my um, somebody I look up to as a businessman, right? And for his, I think he has six kids and for all of his children, he has 26 people that is responsible just for his kids after school program, go shopping, make sure their homework… and just imagine. So, me and you we are, we’re in trouble.

Dr. Rahm We are in trouble.

Gramps Morgan We need help.

Dr. Rahm [00:16:09] Yes.

Gramps Morgan [00:16:10] All right. I’m just I’m talking according to our work schedule, like, you can’t stop what you’re doing. You’re doing such amazing things with vitamins and research. And how can we afford for Christina to stop? Because you’re helping to do God’s work, right? You know how many people that need the medicine that you’re creating? So how can me or your husband say, oh, come on, Christina, come over for some jerk chicken. Forget about your work.

Dr. Rahm I should have gone over for that jerk chicken. No but you know, and you’re married to some… Annabelle is the same way. She WORKS. And I know, I know her. She works. And it’s a different thing. And then I used to be very proud of that and now… I have to be honest. Going back to your thoughts, I think was it worth it? It’s and that’s why I think humility comes to me. Just to be honest, I am this… people will say, well, you’re humble. Of course, because I’ve let so many people down and as much of a bright light, it may be here something sacrifices for that, right? But you have to look at what your mission is overall, I think, and you had this mission to touch lives Gramps, and you have and you’re touching even my daughter, you… So, Gramps helps my daughter Marinella with singing, and he’s been a gift, and I’ve recognized it because Mari has more confidence. I think even more than music. I think music is very important, but I’m sure you know this you’ve got two boys here that you love more than anything, all your kids, you want them to be happy, you know what I mean? You want them to have good lives and be better than you even. And that doesn’t mean a better musician. It means to be more evolved and developed and to serve. And I love when you talk about your hair because that’s a great reminder to serve and to treat people good.

Gramps Morgan [00:17:55] That’s correct. And it’s just… a I love it. As you know, it’s a reminder of how you should… because your body’s a temple to, right? So, you find a lot of Rastafarians don’t eat meat. Not necessarily because it’s not good, cause, you know, there was a point when I had great beef, you know, you had a great steak. You ever had a great steak, people? It’s delicious. But I chose that consciously for the past 27 years not to eat meat. When my first son was born I decided I had to be around for him, right? Because now I’m responsible. It’s not a dog or a cat. Right?

Dr. Rahm [00:18:30] Yeah.

Gramps Morgan [00:18:30] And I love dogs. Shout out to Midnight. You know.

Dr. Rahm [00:18:34] I love dogs, too. But they’re not humans. I understand.

Gramps Morgan [00:18:36] So we’re talking about a human life. So, when Jemere was born, it was like, yo, I got to do the best thing possible to be around for him. And now, you know, all my other kids, especially now one my biggest projects now for me is to, you know, I got my first grandbaby. I’m like, Okay, yeah. So, it’s like, OK, I got to preserve myself and then my son Priel, that’s a singer. He’s over here. I got to be able to…

Dr. Rahm [00:19:02] Come and say hi boys. Before we get on.

Gramps Morgan [00:19:04] Absolutely. And just to prepare his journey, his life road because he’s going to need me and I’m like, up to this morning. I was speaking to him and saying, I can’t afford, and we can’t afford it for our children to make the same mistakes that we did.

Dr. Rahm [00:19:22] No, I say the same thing. I made major mistakes, and a lot of it, I do believe, was from me not being present. I was not great in relationships. I was gone. Do you know what I mean? And so, I’m sure it was hard to be in a relationship with me, do you know what I mean?

Gramps Morgan [00:19:36] Yeah.

Dr. Rahm [00:19:36] Because it was hard for me to be present.

Gramps Morgan [00:19:38] Yeah.

Dr. Rahm [00:19:38] I had all this, and I always knew that this was this mission that I was looking. And to me, my kids, it was… were so important. I was like, once I had a child, Ducain was my oldest, my life changed. My importance… the mission, what I needed to do, the other things went on the back burner.

Gramps Morgan Yes.

Dr. Rahm Even time with them. And so, it’s interesting when I talk to people, I actually gravitate not to people that are successful, but to people that have had a journey that I can talk to and learn from. And then I’m like you, I want our kids to learn from what we did and somehow adjust things maybe a little bit, so that they understand never to let other people feel left out, you know?

Gramps Morgan [00:20:22] That’s correct. And our culture and I’ll share with you, we say in the Jamaican culture, we say experience teach it wisdom, and you cannot gain wisdom without experience. But I was able to crack the code, when growing up always hearing that experience teach it wisdom is like what I did, like my older brothers is like, oh, when you guys graduate high school, you’re going to get in trouble with daddy, watch. I said, Okay, OK. And so, the last year of high school I watched everything my older brother did wrong, and I said, check, I was just taking notes. I make sure I don’t do that. Don’t do that. Don’t do that. That’s why I don’t, I don’t…

Dr. Rahm [00:21:06] And then God said, let me teach you another lesson Gramps.

Gramps Morgan [00:21:08] And I said I still had to learn my own lessons. But out of that, I’ve learned not to smoke. That was one of my biggest things. I don’t smoke cigarettes, marijuana and never have, never had a desire to smoke. And some people are shocked because it’s like, OK, you’re a reggae artist and just to show you the whole stereotype that comes… We perceive one thing, right?

Dr. Rahm Yeah, yeah.

Gramps Morgan So, when we perceive a certain thing, it’s like, OK boom, every Italian is the mafia.

Dr. Rahm [00:21:38] Yeah.

Gramps Morgan [00:21:38] Right? And every Colombian is a drug dealer, sounds good. Right? It’s perception of life.

Dr. Rahm [00:21:43] Yeah, it is.

Gramps Morgan [00:21:44] I think that’s another thing in the pandemic that we’re learning to just relax a little bit. Reach out and say to someone that and hence my new solo album, Positive Vibration. How It Came About, hurts me. I’m in Nashville, Tennessee, and I was invited to a hockey game. Go Prince, right?

Dr. Rahm [00:22:08] That’s right. Go Prince.

Gramps Morgan [00:22:10] So I went to the hockey game. Normally you’re not going to see a guy like me at the hockey game, right? Because it’s not [inaudible] and not because I never tried it or… but I’m a football guy. I mean, I love the NBA, right? And I said, all right, let me try this hockey thing. And actually, I went out for the hockey team in junior high school.

Dr. Rahm [00:22:29] They’re pretty tough. The hockey players, let’s be honest.

Gramps Morgan [00:22:34] I’ve learned to respect the sport of hockey.

Dr. Rahm Yeah.

Gramps Morgan Because I took the chance and went to see what is this hockey thing about? And let me tell you something, it’s one of the toughest sports. I mean, guys are losing their teeth and getting a broken nose because, you know, and I’m like, and out of that…

Dr. Rahm [00:22:52] I like it because they fight for each other. I know that sounds ridiculous but I’m like, I’ve always been this person about loyalty and defending people, and they certainly will go to the end for their teammates. So, I have to tell you, I love hockey.

Gramps Morgan [00:23:06] I fell in love with hockey. You see? And this happened in the pandemic. Just imagine that.

Dr. Rahm [00:23:10] Yeah, because you don’t even have time to go to stuff like that. People used to ask me to do this, you know, X, Y and Z. I’m like, No, I…

Gramps Morgan [00:23:17] It wasn’t my go-to, right?

Dr. Rahm [00:23:18] Yeah.

Gramps Morgan [00:23:19] But out of that came me meeting Johnny Reid, right? Which is an incredible songwriter here in Nashville, one of the top songwriters here in the city. And if you know this is Music City, if you don’t know about Nashville, it’s called Music City. The same way Las Vegas is called Sin City, so we’re known for music.

Dr. Rahm [00:23:37] And health care.

Gramps Morgan [00:23:38] And health care. Yes. Yes. Yes. The top health care in the U.S., I think.

Dr. Rahm [00:23:45] The United States. And it is known for its music.

Gramps Morgan [00:23:48] Yes, but I was able to learn and just go outside my box. And here it is. I met this man from Scotland. Now living in Nashville, Tennessee, plays amazing guitar and writes amazing songs. And he invited me to his studio over in Berry Hill which is a very famous part of town where a lot of historical studios are. And out of that meeting him, he invited me because we both got a little bored at the hockey game. He was like, oh mate, I’ve got to get out of here man, I got to get out of here. I was like, All right. And then we went to the side. He said, hey, give me your number. We exchanged numbers and I went to his studio. It just was restored by Randy Scruggs family. He passed away, rest in peace and to… Randy Scruggs and condolences again to the Scruggs family, which is like country music royalty, right? And Johnny Reed restored the studio. I came by and I was interested just to hold the microphones that he had that Willie Nelson sang on and all these great country singers. I said, Can I just hold these mikes?

Dr. Rahm [00:24:54] Oh yes.

Gramps Morgan [00:24:55] I got to the studio and he played a song for me called Runaway Bay. And I’m like… I said to him, I said, that’s my song. And it was a song that he had written and had, but he never put it out. And then before you know it? I come back to the studio a week later. We record one song. He said, Let’s do some writing as, in one of the things I wanted to do Christina is become a better songwriter during the pandemic. Right? It wasn’t planned, but I said at some point in my life, I want to be able to sit down and to strengthen my songwriting skills, right? Because everyone thinks their songs are great. But when you have a professional songwriter? Trust me, it’s a night and day situation.

Dr. Rahm [00:25:43] I’ve heard that. I…

Gramps Morgan [00:25:45] Oh it’s, these… these people do it for a living. They’re not artists, their songs… they make hits.

Dr. Rahm [00:25:49] And they’re really good.

Gramps Morgan [00:25:49] And they’re really good. And I always wanted that. And country music is a big genre in the Caribbean, which a lot of people didn’t know. And I’m kind of bringing that to light.

Dr. Rahm Oh, that’s great.

Gramps Morgan So, a lot of people don’t know, and I said, Man, we have more in common than we think. And people try to put it about borders and walls between us and try to make it seem like we’re all different. We’re not very much different. And I learned that through my new solo album Positive Vibration, just putting it together, meaning Johnny Reid, here’s a Scottish man, and here’s this Jamaican guy living in Nashville, Tennessee, right? You know, America is a melting pot.

Dr. Rahm [00:26:25] It is.

Gramps Morgan [00:26:26] A beautiful culture from so many different… the Indians, the Asians, and I met Johnny Reid, right? Scottish man. And we’re making magic.

Dr. Rahm Positive Vibrations.

Gramps Morgan Positive Vibrations.

Dr. Rahm [00:26:38] And you’re touring with that, right?

Gramps Morgan [00:26:40] I did a little bit of touring, a couple of things. We planned to do a couple of album releases just to celebrate the album in life, and I’m really wanting mine and Johnny Reid’s relationship to be a light to the world, you know, to that it can show it two different people from two different walks of life, two different countries come together in Nashville, Tennessee, and make this incredible album. One of my best works to date. When you talk about the production quality, it was just like nothing I’ve ever done before, so I’m really excited for people to discover this album. Those who haven’t heard it yet, you have… And it wasn’t even planned.

Dr. Rahm So it’s released, right?

Gramps Morgan The album is out now on all digital platforms, and there was no plans. It was just, it was touring as usual with my band Morgan Heritage, which is my family band.

Dr. Rahm [00:27:34] And you took to Zero- In.

Gramps Morgan [00:27:36] And I tell you that.

Dr. Rahm [00:27:39] I thought Clayton was teasing me when he told me that.

Gramps Morgan [00:27:41] He was- I’m gonna tell you that story, but let me finish about Positive Vibration. When putting together the album I really just called upon friends to say, hey, I’m working on a project and you know. So, I called India Arie was on the album. My dad is on the album, my son Jemere he’s on the album, you’ve met Jemere my oldest son, he does music, and Shaggy is also on the album um, “Mr. Lover.” And so, it was a family and friends project. And before, you know, we had an album.

Ad [00:28:15] At Root. We’re trying to clean out the body, so we’re trying to take the waste out. And then we’re also trying to supplement because once you clean the cell and clean the body, you’ve got to put the right things into the body. We are a company dedicated to non-GMO, vegan, clean products, organic, and I think this is very important when we’re developing products. One of my favorite products is Root Clean Slate, and so I want you guys to think about when you write on a whiteboard and you write on it all day. If you don’t wipe that whiteboard off, then it’s dirty. So, with the Zeolite product, we’re able to really clean the slate, get rid of things and start over. So, we have a product called Zero-In. This particular product is able to really help people focus by affecting the neurotransmitters of the brain. It’s also able to help people with just daily life and energy levels. We used a lot of ingredients in this particular formula, a lot of natural ingredients, amino acids that the body really needs. So, if you look at our first round of products and then what we’re coming out with, you really are going to have something that you use on a daily basis. Just like pharmaceutical and biotech, we’re a nutraceutical company because our goal is not to end today. Our goal is to have a bright future where we help people daily. Your body needs a foundation and it needs a strong foundation, and that’s what we’re giving people.

Dr Rahm [00:29:40] It’s gradually released into the system.

Gramps Morgan [00:29:40] Gradually released, and so I didn’t feel it right away, so I’m still like, Oh God, I need some energy. And all the sudden, while I was on stage into about my third song, I just felt like it was a sunrise. My body just went like this… and it was like the perfectly tuned 440 hertz and… this was… I was booked to do an album performance and I ended up performing for two and a half hours. And I was like, even, I mean, this is on tape, people. You can go on YouTube and see pieces of it that when I’m walking off the stage and I’m like, Goodnight. And it was a song I was closing the show with, a song called The Almighty. I am free as the Almighty. And I’m singing. I’m leaving the stage and I run back on the stage and the crowd goes nuts because they think the show is over and I end up performing for another, like, 20 minutes.

Dr. Rahm We need to get that show Preston and show it.

Gramps Morgan I’m gonna try to hunt a piece for that for you and just let you see the energy that was… It was incredible. So, thank you Clayton wherever you are for letting me get a little package of the Root Zero-In, because it really… my focus.

Dr. Rahm [00:31:02] I want Annabel to take it too you got to tell her because for me, when I’m doing like patents or doing research, he’s got a beautiful wife that is a PhD researcher that I want to collaborate on a CBD product with. Because her? That’s her…

Gramps Morgan [00:31:16] Yes.

Dr. Rahm [00:31:17] Her expertise.

Gramps Morgan [00:31:18] Yes.

Dr. Rahm [00:31:19] Beautiful, looks like a model, and she is an amazing athlete like you, and then an amazing scientist. But I it helps me focus when I’m trying to write things and…

Gramps Morgan [00:31:29] She’s… she’s something else, you know, like, as a mom, as a wife, as an expert in her field. She’s a cell and developmental biologist, and she by having that gift and sacrificing herself because you and Annabelle, you guys sacrifice yourselves like, really. Let’s be frank here from school and spending time away from your kids. But what happened with our son she was able to lean upon cannabis, you know, and what happened with Macario he was having uncontrollable seizures at the age of… he was less than six weeks, right? And he was having them at birth. The first day he came from the hospital, I saw that and we went back to the hospital. And long story short, she was able to go into the lab because of her training and sacrifice of school and create something for him to to help him. And this was after the surgery, and she created a product called Messiah, Messiah CBD and which means happy in the Filipino language called Tagalog. And she created this formula, and it changed his life. She saved our son, and I’m thankful for her making that sacrifice to go to school for 17 years, right? For our son, that it came in, and that was that skill set was able to help our son. And… but she… that was just one dimension of what she does, right, to use cannabis because she dove deep into it. And but I mean, there’s a world of things that she does like you, you guys are like my superwoman super hero friends, right? But I mean…

Dr. Rahm [00:33:19] Well, she she’s doing research in Manchester and Annabelle’s like me, so she’ll make a product. This happened to us this weekend. We had all these people posted something that said I made a product that cured cancer. I said, I never said I cured cancer. And, you know, because I’ll hear a story where we are able like Annabelle to help do things that we’ve worked on. We don’t claim that we’re curing. We claim that we’re helping people to be the best they can be. And it’s God’s miracle. And I really believe that, and I know you all do too. But she’s got a very special gift. And I wanted… and thank you for bringing that up, because when you save one person or help one person’s life, I think through music or sports or science, you know, because there’s a lot of ways, I tell my kids this all the time. I told my daughter this this week, and there’s a lot of ways to save people or help people or empower people, right? So, when you do that, it’s… it doesn’t mean it will work for everyone, you know, because we don’t control every decision in the world and we don’t control everybody’s bodies. But I think between you and Annabelle, the impact you make to people’s lives, I mean that sincerely, everybody that I introduce you all to, or I made that no, I mean, they’re like, they’re just so nice. They’re so good. My own son, Preston came home Marinella is always telling me how kind you all are, and it’s a testimony to your dread… to your promise to yourself 27 years ago. I mean that. You, you have… none of us are perfect, but you’ve taken this mission, and this journey very serious so that you can make the most out of every day of your life and Gramps that’s amazing.

Gramps Morgan [00:34:58] Yes, we are here to serve the people. We’re servants, we’re public servants, right? You’re in the field of medicine and science. What are you going to do with these skill sets? And I tell people it doesn’t cost anything to be kind people and it’s not like you, you’re going to go into Wal-Mart and say, Can I have two pounds of kindness, please? No, you have to have that, it’s have to be a self-inborn concept in your mindset. You know, that’s what I love about learning about different cultures. You know, I’m learning about Buddhism and study and learn a little bit and learn about Islam and still study, you know, the Judaism and because the world is bigger than just one thing.

Dr. Rahm [00:35:40] Absolutely. Absolutely. And one thought process or one belief, I say the same thing. It’s… to put everything in a box does not work. And I think you’re right, the pandemic has brought people together that normally wouldn’t be.

Gramps Morgan That’s correct.

Dr. Rahm So, I really, I know that we have to end because of our time. But I want to tell you, thank you, and I want to… I don’t think you can sing because it’s part of your album, right? You can’t release it. But I do want to introduce my son and your son.

Gramps Morgan [00:36:13] Yes, absolutely.

Dr. Rahm [00:36:14] I don’t know where your other son is.

Gramps Morgan [00:36:15] Where’s Priel? Oh, he’s probably making money… Bringing the money. We need it.

Dr. Rahm [00:36:25] Do you want to… Do you guys want to come say, hi, talk OK? I don’t think they want. I always want people to know that our kids are the brightest part I think of our lives, you know, they’re… And I think that who knows what your kids will all do? Whether they’ll be in music or not music. And bitcoin!

Gramps Morgan [00:36:47] And sports, bitcoin, crypto currencies, the future is here, people.

Dr. Rahm [00:36:51] Cooking… Can someone be a chef?

Gramps Morgan [00:36:53] Oh yeah, because I love food.

Dr. Rahm [00:36:55] I love food too, that’s why I said that.

Gramps Morgan [00:36:57] Yeah, we’re foodies. I think food has been a big staple also in the pandemic because it brings people together. If you talk about Christmas dinner or Thanksgiving family reunion, you hear about things like that. Food is the centerpiece.

Dr. Rahm [00:37:12] Yeah.

Gramps Morgan [00:37:12] And then it’s music. And then we’re going to have to need medicine the morning after.

Dr. Rahm [00:37:16] Yeah, that’s right. I have a product called Clean Spirits that helps get rid of that. Well.

Gramps Morgan Yes.

Dr. Rahm [00:37:21] You have to try it. So anyway, thank you so much. I mean that you’re a gift, and I know you’re famous. I never feel like you’re famous when I’m with you. I have to be honest because we are friends. And yeah. So hopefully we’ll get to see you guys New Year’s again.

Gramps Morgan Absolutely.

Dr. Rahm And we’re trying. Everyone keeps contacting me and saying that they had fun last year because, you know, we all just… You know, Bill and I were like, the worst at the game. Do you remember that?

Gramps Morgan [00:37:47] Yeah.

Dr. Rahm [00:37:48] Annabelle was like, Christina, we’re not going to be good at this.

Gramps Morgan [00:37:51] And it was so fun. Like, you know, I know everybody was like pre-pandemic, that was right before things… the mask thing got kind of crazy, but it was so good to be over with you at your home and just enjoy that. And because we can all stay in our little spaces and be like, Well, what does that do? What does that accomplish? What does it mean to be with friends and celebrate life?

Dr. Rahm [00:38:12] It’s yeah, I feel great when I’m… Because you and Annabelle kind of share the same life as we’ve talked about. So, it’s… I could not see you all for three or four months, and I just feel blessed every time I see you. And I also feel a nonjudgment zone like sometimes I feel so guilty when I see people because I’m like, I know I haven’t seen them for a while, but with you all, you’re all over the place.

Gramps Morgan [00:38:34] You know, it’s the same thing. It’s reciprocal, right?

Dr. Rahm [00:38:36] Yeah.

Gramps Morgan [00:38:37] I know. I know it’s been crazy for you. So, once you have that mentality, you did and there’s no time to, you know, and that’s what I was talking about earlier where I say, when we know how hard we work and then there’s other people that you got to work, people. I mean, you have work or it is those people that is not on that work work level. That’s like, Oh, you didn’t call me. I’m sorry, it’s just been crazy.

Dr. Rahm [00:39:03] Yeah.

Gramps Morgan [00:39:03] I’m trying to build an empire for us, right?

Dr. Rahm [00:39:06] Yeah.

Gramps Morgan [00:39:07] To make things easier.

Dr. Rahm [00:39:09] And the guilt doesn’t really help.

Gramps Morgan [00:39:10] Yeah.

Dr. Rahm [00:39:12] The guilt treatments for my personality aren’t very…

Gramps Morgan [00:39:15] And you’re trying to make people understand, especially friends and family. But you know, it’s no love lost. It’s just that it’s a busy time.

Dr. Rahm [00:39:22] I want to ask you this, and I know we probably [inaudible] and they may cut us off and not show this part. But your family from Jamaica, are they all musicians, Gramps? Because I saw at your wedding all these famous people that were there and within your own family had a presence, I felt like that was bigger than life. If that makes sense, you can always kind of feel the energy. I tell people, if you ever want to know what’s going on, just close your eyes and feel the energy. You’ll know something’s good. You’ll know something’s bad. So, are they famous or what… is your daddy?

Gramps Morgan [00:39:55] My father had a huge hit in 1981 called “I’ll Do Anything For You” his name is Dan Roy Morgan. So, he had a record that exploded. He was one of the first Jamaican reggae artists to really explode upon the scene before Shabba Ranks, before Shaggy and Beenie Man and all these great artists. And it was a time of when Bob Marley had passed away in 1981. My father got one of his biggest hit records in the United States.

Dr. Rahm [00:40:26] Oh, wow.

Gramps Morgan [00:40:26] And so we’re growing up seeing him going on tour and Frankie, Beverly and Maze and all these artists…

Dr. Rahm Did you get to go on tour with him?

Gramps Morgan I didn’t get to go with my younger brother and Morgan heritage Mojo. He was… because Mojo used to dance like this, and everybody used to look at him like, Oh, this guy’s a star. And my dad took him on tour and he had on this little blue suit with ruffle feathers. You ever see those ruffle shirts? When was the last time you seen a ruffle shirt?

Dr. Rahm [00:40:53] Michael Jordan, Michael Jordan… Jackson, they used to kind of [inaudible]

Gramps Morgan [00:40:57] Exactly that’s how they had my little brother dressed in a little blue suit. He’s huge now, but he was the only one that went on tour with my father as a child and he was also performing. And then we became very famous in 1998 after, you know, the journey of the music business but around 1998, we had a record that exploded. So, between our family there they call us the royal family of reggae music.

Dr. Rahm [00:41:29] And you guys probably all work in the industry somehow, because it seems like your family is like everyone’s a part of each other’s lives, which I have to say I love because that’s how I want my family… family support.

Gramps Morgan [00:41:41] Family is good, it can be good and then stressful, and it can be, you know. You know, and I tell people this not all of your family are friends and all of your friends are family, right? Because there’s some people…

Dr. Rahm [00:41:55] There are some friends that are like family that if you needed them, they’d be there. And there’s some family that wouldn’t be there if you needed. And I agree with you, that’s a great way to say. That’s a great way to say that.

Gramps Morgan [00:42:05] And we can never choose our families. Is what you get, right?

Dr. Rahm [00:42:08] Yeah.

Gramps Morgan [00:42:08] But God bless the thing and the energy called love, because that’s the most important. And I’ve learned that I’m blessed to have an amazing family. I have sisters that are in the medical field as well, and do incredible at Emory in Atlanta. And so, and they’ve gone to school for a long time as well. I have another sister that has a Ph.D. in education at St. John’s University in New York. So, my father, when he came to this country, he always believed because he dropped out of school in fourth grade. And he said, if there’s anything that I’m going to change in my life for my kids is to make sure they get an education. And he did that. So, as well as we know our native tongue, our language, we speak English very proper. You can understand me.

Dr. Rahm [00:42:55] Oh, yeah, but when your family was together at your wedding, I didn’t understand what you guys were taking about but I am used to that because of travelling. Like when I go into different tribes, you know, I met kings and different… They all have their different languages, and I just kind of sit there and try to understand what they’re saying.

Gramps Morgan [00:43:12] And that’s what makes the world beautiful, you know, and it makes you who you are because you’ve experienced different cultures, different countries, your own culture and able to see that, hey, man, we this is such a beautiful world. You know, you go to Mexico, you see their culture, you go to China, and it’s…

Dr. Rahm [00:43:32] People are good everywhere. I’m going to tell you the one last thing before we get off and I think you’ll agree with me. We had all these thoughts like we’re like this country, like is bad. Like, I’ll give you an example. Lebanon, or Syria, the day when I go there are very nice to me. And I just want to say there are good people everywhere despite what people think. So, don’t think Russia, China, I’ve been to those countries as well. It’s not like everyone in those countries are bad… It hurts me actually to hear people, say, well, we hate China or we hate Russia, and I’m like…

Gramps Morgan [00:44:04] We’re taught that.

Dr. Rahm We’re taught that.

Gramps Morgan [00:44:06] It’s a systematic thing and we got to, if it’s anything that we’ve learned out of this pandemic is that we cannot lean upon just what you see on the television, go and see it for yourself.

Dr. Rahm [00:44:17] Yeah.

Gramps Morgan [00:44:17] And that’s what I think people are discovering and saying, Hey, man, you’re amazing. I didn’t know, oh, you’re different than I thought. And hence my new album, Johnny Reid. And then even working on a project, Christina, we were like, what are we going to call this album? This was a bunch of great songs, and we said, man, we just want people to stay positive. And he said, positive vibration.

Dr. Rahm [00:44:40] I like it a lot.

Gramps Morgan [00:44:42] And I was like, All right!

Dr. Rahm [00:44:42] I’m a nanotechnologist, we talk about vibrations and frequencies all the time. And you talk to me. We do. We live in a world of energy between energy. I mean, that’s just… it’s real. It’s real. So, thank you, Gramps. Thank you. So, this is the end of the episode. I could talk to him forever, but his kids are here, which I could keep calling them kids. They’re men.

Gramps Morgan [00:45:03] Yeah, they get great care. And one of my babies, Divine, if you guys see him, he’s getting big and you know, he’s grown and these kids don’t stay long. So, enjoy your kids’ people.

Dr. Rahm [00:45:14] Enjoy.

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